The CGT calls on the public sector to strike on September 10 and 18

The main representative union in the civil service, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), is calling for a "blockade of everything" and a strike on September 10 and 18, according to a press release published on Monday, September ¹ , while the other two main organizations are focusing on September 18. For these two dates, the call for a strike is shared by the federations of the three sectors - the state civil service, the hospital civil service and the territorial civil service, Sylviane Brousse, one of the coordinators of the CGT-Public Service, confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The organization of state agents "calls on public agents, civil servants and non-permanent employees, active and retired, to block everything by striking to fight austerity, defend, reconquer and develop public services" , we can read in the press release. This initiative follows the calls for mobilization on September 10 launched on social networks and which had received the support of the entire political left, led by La France Insoumise, which is calling for "a general strike" .

It also falls within the call for a strike launched by an inter-union on September 18 , ten days after a vote of confidence that should seal the fate of François Bayrou's government. The CGT also called for a boycott of the bodies of social dialogue with the administration.

It is the main representative union for all 5.8 million civil servants. In detail, the CGT is the leading representative union in the territorial and hospital sectors of the civil service, and the fifth in the state civil service, which includes police officers and teachers. In 2024, the state civil service had 2.5 million employees, the hospital civil service 1.9 million, and the territorial civil service 1.3 million.

For its part, Force Ouvrière-Fonction Publique (FO) has confirmed that it will join the strike on September 18, but must decide within the week whether to participate in the September 10 strike, FO-Fonction Publique's general secretary, Christian Grolier, told AFP.

For its part, the CFDT-Fonction publique, the third-largest union in the entire public sector, has decided that it will not participate in the September 10 strike, "in line with the confederation," its general secretary, Mylène Jacquot, explained to AFP. However, it filed a strike notice on Monday and will be "fully mobilized" for the September 18 strike, the union leader added.