Latest news with #SophieBinet
LeMonde
17-07-2025
- Business
- LeMonde
Abolishing two public holidays has limited impact on economic growth
Working two additional days per year to boost the economy by eliminating two public holidays was one of the proposals unveiled by Prime Minister François Bayrou on Tuesday, July 15. The aim is to reduce the deficit to 4.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026. The government claims that the gains from these two extra working days would amount to €4.2 billion in increased production. "It's a triple penalty," said Sophie Binet, secretary-general of the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail, France's major left-wing trade union). "We'll work more to earn less, while seeing our social rights taken away," she added. If the measure is adopted, employees will therefore work two more days for the same salary. In exchange for this additional working time, companies will pay a contribution to the state, though the terms have yet to be determined. "One of the keys to restoring the country's economy lies in the length of the work week," argued the prime minister when presenting his plan to save €43.8 billion. "We need to work more; the entire nation must work more to produce [more]," he stated. The French work on average 100 fewer hours than the Germans, stressed Minister of the Economy Eric Lombard a few hours later on France 2 television station. Fewer people at work It is true that the French work less than the Germans, as shown by an in-depth study from the Rexecode institute (a French economic research institute), published in December 2024. If we look only at full-time employees, the Germans have the advantage (1,790 hours per person per year, compared to 1,673 in France). But when part-time workers – who are far more numerous in Germany – are included, this gap narrows: working time reaches 1,553 hours in France, 1,630 in Germany. When the self-employed and non-salaried workers are also counted, France overtakes Germany, with 1,607 hours compared to 1,548. In reality, the issue is not the annual working hours per individual, but the fact that proportionally fewer French people work compared to Germans: 68% of people aged 15 to 64 are employed in France, compared to 70% across Europe and 77% in Germany. This difference is mainly due to the difficulties young people and older workers face in finding and keeping a job. "If France matched the best-performing European countries," Rexecode estimated, "it would have about 2.3 million more jobs."
Local France
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Local France
French dock workers block shipment of military material for Israel
Dockers at the port in Fos-sur-Mer outside Marseille have refused to load crates of links used to assist the rapid fire of bullets aboard the cargo vessel, the CGT trade union said. Links are small metal pieces, used to connect machine gun bullets and allowing rapid bursts of fire. There has been concern in media and among rights groups that they have likely been used against civilians in the Gaza Strip. Christophe Claret, leader of the dock workers in the port, said they had been notified that the ship was due to be loaded on Thursday with the material. Advertisement "We managed to identify it and set it aside," he told AFP, emphasising that once dockers refuse to load a shipment, no one else can do it for them. The other containers for the ship will all be loaded. According to the union, the cargo is 19 pallets of links manufactured by the Marseille-based company Eurolinks. The CGT said the move made clear its refusal to "participate in the ongoing genocide orchestrated by the Israeli government." Leading rights groups have accused Israel of committing genocide in its military campaign, a charge vehemently rejected by the government. Contacted by AFP, Eurolinks did not respond to a request for comment. The Port of Marseille-Fos had no comment. "We are very proud of this action led by our comrades and which is part of the CGT's long internationalist tradition for peace," CGT secretary general Sophie Binet told reporters in the eastern city of Strasbourg on Thursday. "It is unacceptable that CGT dockers should be the ones forced to uphold the fundamental principles of international law and French values. The government must immediately block all arms deliveries to the State of Israel," she said. The move was also welcomed by hard-left and left-wing leaders in France. "Humanism is not for sale," said Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure. Advertisement According to the investigative website Disclose, which had access to maritime data, two other such shipments between Fos-sur-Mer and the Israeli port of Haifa took place on April 3rd and May 22nd. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu had stated at the time that these parts exported by the Marseille company would be "re-exported" through Israel and not used by the Israeli army. The latest war started after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 55 remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 2023 has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the occupied Palestinian territory, while the United Nations said on May 30th the territory's entire population of more than two million people was at risk of famine.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
French dock workers block shipment of military material for Israel: union
French dock workers at a southern port are blocking the shipment of military material bound for Israel in protest at Israeli actions against Palestinians in Gaza, their union said. The stevedores at the port in Fos-sur-Mer outside Marseille have refused to load crates of links used to assist the rapid fire of bullets aboard the cargo vessel, the CGT trade union said. Links are small metal pieces, used to connect machine gun bullets and allowing rapid bursts of fire. There has been concern in media and among rights groups that they have likely been used against civilians in the Gaza Strip. Christophe Claret, leader of the dock workers in the port, said they had been notified that the ship was due to be loaded on Thursday with the material. "We managed to identify it and set it aside," he told AFP, emphasising that once dockers refuse to load a shipment, no one else can do it for them. The other containers for the ship will all be loaded. According to the union, the cargo is 19 pallets of links manufactured by the Marseille-based company Eurolinks. The CGT said the move made clear its refusal to "participate in the ongoing genocide orchestrated by the Israeli government." Leading rights groups have accused Israel of committing genocide in its military campaign, a charge vehemently rejected by the government. - 'Humanism is not for sale' - Contacted by AFP, Eurolinks did not respond to a request for comment. The Port of Marseille-Fos had no comment. "We are very proud of this action led by our comrades and which is part of the CGT's long internationalist tradition for peace," CGT secretary general Sophie Binet told reporters in the eastern city of Strasbourg on Thursday. "It is unacceptable that CGT dockers should be the ones forced to uphold the fundamental principles of international law and French values. The government must immediately block all arms deliveries to the State of Israel," she said. The move was also welcomed by hard-left and left-wing leaders in France. "Humanism is not for sale," said Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure. According to the investigative website Disclose, which had access to maritime data, two other such shipments between Fos-sur-Mer and the Israeli port of Haifa took place on April 3 and May 22. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu had stated at the time that these parts exported by the Marseille company would be "re-exported" through Israel and not used by the Israeli army. The latest war started after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 55 remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 2023 has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the occupied Palestinian territory, while the United Nations said on May 30 the territory's entire population of more than two million people was at risk of famine. san-av-sjw/ah/rl
France 24
05-06-2025
- Politics
- France 24
French dock workers block shipment of military material for Israel: union
The stevedores at the port in Fos-sur-Mer outside Marseille have refused to load crates of links used to assist the rapid fire of bullets aboard the cargo vessel, the CGT trade union said. Links are small metal pieces, used to connect machine gun bullets and allowing rapid bursts of fire. There has been concern in media and among rights groups that they have likely been used against civilians in the Gaza Strip. Christophe Claret, leader of the dock workers in the port, said they had been notified that the ship was due to be loaded on Thursday with the material. "We managed to identify it and set it aside," he told AFP, emphasising that once dockers refuse to load a shipment, no one else can do it for them. The other containers for the ship will all be loaded. According to the union, the cargo is 19 pallets of links manufactured by the Marseille-based company Eurolinks. The CGT said the move made clear its refusal to "participate in the ongoing genocide orchestrated by the Israeli government." Leading rights groups have accused Israel of committing genocide in its military campaign, a charge vehemently rejected by the government. 'Humanism is not for sale' Contacted by AFP, Eurolinks did not respond to a request for comment. The Port of Marseille-Fos had no comment. "We are very proud of this action led by our comrades and which is part of the CGT's long internationalist tradition for peace," CGT secretary general Sophie Binet told reporters in the eastern city of Strasbourg on Thursday. "It is unacceptable that CGT dockers should be the ones forced to uphold the fundamental principles of international law and French values. The government must immediately block all arms deliveries to the State of Israel," she said. The move was also welcomed by hard-left and left-wing leaders in France. "Humanism is not for sale," said Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure. According to the investigative website Disclose, which had access to maritime data, two other such shipments between Fos-sur-Mer and the Israeli port of Haifa took place on April 3 and May 22. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu had stated at the time that these parts exported by the Marseille company would be "re-exported" through Israel and not used by the Israeli army. The latest war started after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 55 remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 2023 has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the occupied Palestinian territory, while the United Nations said on May 30 the territory's entire population of more than two million people was at risk of famine.
Local France
14-05-2025
- Business
- Local France
French unions want British Steel-type rescue of ArcelorMittal operations
CGT union chief Sophie Binet promised hundreds of workers demonstrating outside ArcelorMittal's offices of its French subsidiary in France that she would press the issue with President Emmanuel Macron. 'I will deliver to him the CGT proposals to nationalise,' the group's French operations, she told the protesting workers. Macron later debated a range of high-profile figures on television , including Binet, as he set out plans for the final two years of his term. ArcelorMittal announced plans last month to cut 600 jobs across the seven sites it has in France, from a total workforce in the country of around 7,100. It is in the process of negotiating the job reductions with unions. The group – the second-biggest steelmaker in the world, formed from a merger of India's Mittal Steel with European company Arcelor – has warned of industry 'uncertainty' after the United States imposed 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. Yet the group in April posted a quarterly group net profit of $805million. To shave costs, it is shifting some support jobs from Europe to India, and last year it suspended a $2billion decarbonisation investment in France. French unions believe Macron's government can follow the lead of its British counterpart, which last month passed a law allowing it to take control of ailing British Steel. Advertisement Italy last year also ousted ArcelorMittal as owner of its debt-ridden ex-Ilva plant, accusing the company of failing to prop up the operation after buying control in 2018. 'The Italians have done it, the British have done it... so why aren't we French able to also do it?' asked regional CGT head Gaetan Lecocq. But a junior French minister for business, Veronique Louwagie, told parliament that 'nationalisation is not a response in itself to the difficulties faced by the European steel industry'. She also said, however, that the government expected the company 'to give what its mid-term strategy in France is'. A lawmaker with the hard-left La France Insoumise, Aurelie Trouve, has put forward a bill for the nationalisation of ArcelorMittal in France. Trouve said the company 'has clearly been organising the offshoring of production for years, and now we are faced with an emergency'.
