Int. Alcatel-Lucent demonstration in Paris: 4000 Marched against Redundancies

We came from far and wide to this demonstration. The Spanish flew in. For many it was a long trip, some having to travel through the night.

We assembled at the French Stock Exchange. We didn't come to buy or sell shares, we came to protest and the protest was loud. Whistles and crackers were some of the things heard. First there were various speeches in French and German. Then the march begun.

We marched more or less by nation and union. There were flags from the different unions and many homemade banners or posters were to be seen. There were so many that it was difficult to register them all. There was also one couple dressed up to symbolise the marriage of Alcatel and Lucent and were met with a lot of laughter.

We caused chaos on the streets of Paris. In the radio they said that parts of the city would be blocked for over four hours. All along the route people came out to watch the demonstration from their window or from the street. A number even waved or cheered us on. A heartening experience.

It took about two hours for us to complete the 3km route to the Alcatel-Lucent headquarters. Well, not quite. The march was not allowed to end in front of the headquarters, apparently because opposite it is the the building of a conservative French party, the UPM.

The way was blocked by a fence, with police and their vans behind it.

At the end of the demonstration there were a large number of speeches. Far too many were in French. None of them were translated. A few were held in other languages and they made life a little less boring for those who did not understand French.

The demonstrators were in a good mood and cheered the speakers – whether they understood them or not. The colleagues from Rennes even began to sing as the generator for the amplifier ran out of petrol. It was a welcome interlude and surprising that they could be so cheerful considering the fact that their locations are planned to be closed.

A long day ended with many either going back to their buses for the trip home or sitting outside one of the many bars sipping beer and discussing what they had experienced. More personal reports will follow – along with an awful lot more pictures.

Update, March 18th: A collection of videos can be found at the French Alcatel-Lucent rank-and-file sites Notre Avenir ist ici and Plan Social Alcatel Lucent .

See more fotos from demonstration here