In France, the social ultimatums from radicalized unions, using the "Olympic Games blackmail," are multiplying. All public sector groups are joyfully demanding money from the French state, which no longer has a single Euro to spare. The public debt exceeds 3000 billion! The latest example is Sud Rail at the SNCF, which is again making financial demands for French railway workers! The latest union demands are astonishing: At the SNCF, this union wants "100 euros net per day, including rest days, during the Olympics," as well as "a specific bonus for the Paralympic Games for all SNCF employees" of more than 1000 euros, similar to the RATP, and "a general salary increase of 400 euros per month." Social dialogue is one thing, but social blackmail is another... The Pandora's box of public spending is wide open...

A few days ago, it was the RATP where some unions urgently requested to meet the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal. For Unsa, the third-largest union at the RATP, it is even considered a social emergency! There is no strike notice at this stage, but the recent episode at the SNCF (cancellation of the pension reform) could motivate the RATP's union members... And the approach of the Olympics is making the government tremble and opening the door to all sorts of categorical demands. So, after the SNCF, is it the RATP's turn? The "gratifications" granted by Jean Castex, the former Prime Minister and current CEO of the RATP, to ensure the summer service of buses, subways, and other trams in Paris during the Olympic and Paralympic Games until September 8... do not seem to be enough! The disagreement is about an unclear decree for the union regarding retirement at the RATP. The union is demanding "the immediate cancellation of the retirement decree at the RATP." The social agreement at the SNCF on end-of-career arrangements, which cost SNCF's CEO Jean Pierre Farandou his job, is it the target at the RATP? Quite possibly! All social blackmail is possible on the eve of the Paris Olympics! "We are asking to implement an end-of-career scheme," even pleads Arole Lamasse, the leader of Unsa RATP, based on the model of the SNCF... After the scandal of the cancellation of the pension reform at the SNCF, will there be the same scandal at the RATP? The elections to the RATP's board of directors will be held from May 27 to 31. All union one-upmanship is possible between Unsa, CGT, and FO... the first and second largest unions at the RATP!

The government continues to bow down. After ignoring social dialogue, Emmanuel Macron and his government are now yielding under the weight of categorical demands. Avoiding making waves to give a positive image of France during the global event of the Olympics seems to be the French government's leitmotif. Once again, the authority of the French state is trampled upon. The "Whatever it takes" policy deployed by the French state during the Covid crisis has transformed into "Whatever it takes" for the Paris Olympics this summer.