The SGP Police FO union in Paris organized a parade of police officers on open-top buses to draw attention to the need for accelerated talks about labour conditions and pay during the 2024 Olympics to be held in the French capital.”This is a warning shot to authorities to say that six months before the event, police forces do not know how the summer will turn out for them,” said Gregory Joron, head of the union, speaking to Sud Radio.
Joron stressed that the conditions under which police forces are being thrown into the Olympic games are not good and reiterated demands for clarity about work conditions, including a 1,500 euros bonus for all police officers. The police unions have already called for a Jan. 18 strike to voice their discontent ahead of the games.
Buses with banners reading “What is important is to … anticipate,” left the Saint Augustin church square, in central Paris, earlier on Wednesday and were headed to the Bastille square in the East.
With the Olympics starting in late July, which is the middle of the national holiday season, the event is set to put further strain on Paris’s workforce. This comes at a time of heightened security threats and chronic staffing shortages at police, hospitals, and public transport.
Around 30,000 police officers and soldiers will be mobilized to secure the opening ceremony on July 26, when some 600,000 people are expected to watch athletes and delegations sail along the Seine river. The lack of clarity and concern for the labor and security conditions during the event is a cause for significant unrest among the police unions.
The need for clarity about work conditions ahead of the Olympics is vital, and the parade was organized as a visible sign of the police officers’ discontent. The unions are emphasizing the urgent need for discussions with authorities and are advocating for improved labour conditions and bonuses for officers.
With less than six months to go before the 2024 Olympics, the police forces are seeking assurances and improvements to their work conditions during the high-stress event. The demands from the unions are a response to the lack of communication and preparation for the challenges that will be faced by police officers during the games in Paris.
The parade organized by the SGP Police FO union has drawn attention to the concerns of the police forces amid the upcoming 2024 Olympics, and the demand for better labour conditions and pay has become a focal point of discussion and potential action ahead of the event.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Tomasz Janowski)
