With students, unions and the pay-freeze queue all demanding a seat, the prime minister’s diary now has a waiting list for the waiting list.
PARIS, France (The Paris Fool) – After receiving student leaders at Matignon alongside the education and higher education ministers, the prime minister’s office has confirmed that it is exploring a permanent “meetings lane” for anyone carrying a placard, a sign, or a strong opinion, as reported by The Local France.
The talks followed more than a month of lycee protests over school conditions, education reform and the cost of living. A news conference by the two ministers closed the afternoon, which is where, by tradition, the real meeting begins.
A Diary Like a Rush-Hour Metro
Staff at the Hotel de Matignon say the schedule is now so full that meetings are being held inside other meetings. A leaked planning sheet reads like a departures board:
10:00 Students. 10:45 Students, second delegation, also upset about the first delegation. 11:30 Public-sector unions, pay. 12:15 Public-sector unions, other pay. 13:00 Lunch (cancelled). 13:05 Lunch (still cancelled). 14:00 Someone who says he is from the ministry of the interior and is holding a pastry.
A senior aide, Corentin Vasseur-Delmas, defended the system. “Nobody can accuse this government of not listening. We listen for hours. What we do afterwards is a separate department.”
The Freeze Everyone Wants to Discuss
The public-sector unions are next in line. The government has said the point d’indice, the base on which civil service pay is calculated, will stay frozen next year, a decision covered by the specialist outlet Acteurs Publics, which also reports the savings at about two billion euros and the unions’ view that this is scandalous.
One union cited a claim that 862,000 public agents are paid below the minimum wage. At the finance ministry, a statistician called Prudence Lacombe-Villard said the figure was “an interesting number, and so is the number of times we have been shown it.”
Cool Kids and Public Education
One placard at the protests read that “cool kids hate the Public Education,” which a ministry spokesman called “a bold curricular position” and which the minister of national education was reportedly seen photographing for the staff room.
Comedian Marius Quenelle-Dufour, who tours school halls with a show about adult responsibility, said the students have a point. “They have been told for years to stand in line, queue quietly, and wait their turn. Now they stand in line outside Matignon, and the line is for a meeting about a line. It is the most educational thing the school system has ever done.”
The Waiting List for the Waiting List
To cope with demand, Matignon is considering a ticketing app, a colour-coded wristband scheme for grievance type, and a small display on the front gate showing the current mood of France. The mood is currently listed as “under review.”
Analysts at Bohiney note that the only group not yet represented at the table is the people who need the table, a problem the prime minister’s office hopes to solve by buying a larger one. It will be delivered after the next budget.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/