Airport unions in France announce strike in the week before the Olympic Games in Paris

Unions representing workers at Paris airports said on Monday (July 8) they had called a strike over a dispute over bonuses for staff in the week before the Paris Olympics.

The CGT, CFDT, FO and UNSA unions called for a strike on July 17 – nine days before the start of the Paris Games – to demand that all employees receive an Olympic bonus, condemning “unilateral decisions by the CEO to pay a bonus to only part of the staff”.

The unions of the state-controlled Groupe ADP, which operates Paris’ main airports Charles de Gaulle and Orly, had previously called for a strike on May 19, but this did not lead to any major disruptions.

The two airports will be the main gateway to France for foreign Olympic visitors. During the Games, up to 350,000 people are expected to transit there every day, as well as most of the athletes and their equipment.

Thousands of athletes are expected to arrive from July 18th, when the athletes’ village will be opened. At Charles de Gaulle airport, there is a new, temporary, oversized baggage terminal for handling equipment such as kayaks, bicycles or pole vault poles.

Unions representing workers across the public sector in France have called for additional pay or support for their work during the Paris Olympic Games from July 26 to August 11, which fall during the traditional French summer holidays.

Police officers, air traffic controllers, garbage collectors, government workers, subway and train conductors and firefighters have all made demands. Their employers are under pressure to give in to avoid disruption.

Workers at the state mint that produces the medals also went on strike, but management said production was not affected.