At the CGT, 18 federations demand an immediate debate on the succession of Philippe Martinez

Posted on Jan 31, 2023 at 1:58 PMUpdated on Jan 31, 2023 at 11:33 p.m.

“Our organizations are different, but we share the need to find a way to bring the CGT together. “This is how a letter begins, of which “Les Echos” has been informed, which was sent Monday evening to the management of the central by 18 of the 33 federations of the second French union.

This letter, the principle of which was recorded at a meeting attended by 22 federations last week, comes as the next congress of the central to be held in Clermont-Ferrand must designate a successor at the end of March. of Philippe Martinez and that Marie Buisson, the candidate chosen by the CGT, is struggling to win.

A special solemnity

The 18 federations ask the CGT leader to open a debate between the CGT organizations before this meeting on “the design and operation of the confederal management [et sur] the methods of construction of the confederal office”. Including, therefore, the designation of the general secretary. The deadline is very close since the last meeting before the congress of the National Confederal Committee of the central which brings together the number one of the departmental federations and unions starts this Wednesday for two days. If the discussion takes place, it will therefore have to be from the first day to give everyone time to express themselves.

Such a request is not new and until then, the number one of the central has always refused, arguing the legitimacy granted by the outgoing management of the union to the one he appointed in June to succeed him. This time, however, the interpellation takes on a particular solemnity.

Two-thirds of members

Its value is first and foremost due to its signatories: they represent some 390,000 members, i.e. two-thirds of the 605,606 CGT members registered in 2021. There are also four of the first five federations of the central: health, public services, energy and trade. The only thing missing in the quintet is the third CGT force, the federation of metallurgy, the one from which Philippe Martinez comes.

The legitimacy of the interpellation is also reinforced by the diversity of the signatories. From chemistry, supporter of the ultra Olivier Mateu, who wants to run against Marie Buisson, to the Syndicate of Journalists, rather favorable to the latter’s candidacy, all say they are “worried about the fractures that are widening in [l’]organization “. Fractures fueled by opponents of Philippe Martinez, but also his relatives, who, in an attempt to impose his candidate, were discreetly at the initiative of very controversial petitions accusing those who do not support Marie Buisson of misogyny.

The risk of a new crisis

Finally, the letter is also worth the alert it contains on the risk, not to open the discussion before the congress, of triggering a new crisis at the CGT while the union still bears the stigmata of that opened at the departure of Bernard Thibault. Pleading to work on a rally that will lead to Clermont-Ferrand at the end of March on “a very widely adopted orientation and direction”, the 18 federations refuse to “take the risk of going out [du congrès] with a badly or not elected leadership”. They thus de facto return to the team of Philippe Martinez the responsibility for such a scenario.

The signatories of the letter have planned to meet on Thursday, after the CCN meeting, whose management will have to modify the agenda if it wants to make a gesture of openness. Failing this, some plan to request the holding of an extraordinary CCN before the start of the congress, but it is not certain that they will be followed, as the initiative appears divisive. What is certain, on the other hand, is that the CGT will enter a strong zone of turbulence if the succession of Philippe Martinez is settled at the congress.

Following the letter, the 50 members of the executive committee (the extended management of the confederation) which alone can modify the agenda of the CCN was convened this Wednesday at 1 p.m., shifting the start of the meeting accordingly. of parliament.