For Sophie Binet, "the pan is Macron's"

April 20, 2023

“The saucepan” of the protests which continue, “it’s Emmanuel Macron’s saucepan” estimated Thursday Sophie Binet, the new general secretary of the CGT, on the move to Gardanne (Bouches-du-Rhône).

“The saucepan is the pension reform, it’s Emmanuel Macron’s saucepan. And if this reform is not withdrawn, Emmanuel Macron will have a hell of a saucepan, because this saucepan will prevent him from finishing its five-year term,” Ms. Binet told the press during a visit to the site of the former coal-fired power plant in Gardanne, which is being converted into a biomass power plant.

She was questioned about the statements of the President of the Republic on Wednesday, who had assured that “it’s not saucepans that will move France forward”, during a trip to Alsace during which he was heckled by opponents of his reform retirements.

“You cannot govern a country against its people”, continued the news number 1 of the CGT, considering that the current situation was “an impasse between almost the entire population and a man locked in his palace of the Elysium”.

“When we are in a situation of impasse like this, the wise solution is simple and democratic, we come back to the people, we vote and we see if the citizens want this reform or not”, she continued, referring to a referendum.

Asked about Mr. Macron’s announcement on Wednesday that he intended to “re-invite (the social partners) in May”, Ms. Binet stressed that the decision to accept or not would be taken by the inter-union. “We have an inter-union which is solid, (…) it is united. We will decide together the follow-up to May 1 (Editor’s note: on the occasion of which the unions call for a massive mobilization), on the continuation of the mobilization and our relationship with the government”.

“The power acts as if we could simply turn the page and move on. No, that’s not possible. The proof we saw with Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Alsace yesterday,” he said. -she says.