Toulouse Météo-France site blockade November 5 protest, Digi Mart USA News (Toulouse, France): Patience was required this morning for anyone trying to travel near the Météo-France site in Toulouse, where a blockade has been in place since 7 a.m. Striking employees, students and representatives of the CGT union have been filtering access around the Albert Vandel roundabout in the Basso Cambo sector.
At the end of Gaspard Coriolis avenue, access to the site is blocked by containers and pallets. With music and pastries, striking workers and students gathered at the site were exchanging views and preparing for the afternoon demonstration in support of the high school student movement and against austerity.
Robin, a researcher who has worked at Météo-France for thirteen years, first expressed his indignation at “seeing high school students mutilated by police forces who act with total impunity.” The striking employee, a member of the CGT Météo-France union, also stressed his motivation to fight austerity policies.
“Defending the public service is something that speaks to us here as well, as we have lived through more than ten years of austerity. There is money in the country; it needs to be shared more fairly.
Research is under attack and has been underfunded for a long time. At Météo-France, we are increasingly called upon regarding climate change, but we do not have more resources.
We have also seen an explosion of contract workers, colleagues who do the same work as us but in precarious situations,” the researcher said.
Several students from the École nationale de la météorologie are actively taking part in the blockade. “We mobilized to be here with the high school and university students of Toulouse, and we proposed blocking the Météopôle site to encourage a renewable general strike.
The movement must leave the student and high school world and reach companies. Within our engineering school, we were a little ashamed to see others moving while we were not.
We are very happy to be supported by the staff.”
The strikers had planned to meet in a general assembly before joining the protest march in Toulouse’s city center.
