Public employees in Nîmes protest against civil servant index point freeze
Des agents de la fonction publique ont manifesté à Nîmes ce 29 septembre pour défendre le service public et dénoncer le gel de leur point d’indice. Answering a national strike call, state, territorial, and hospital workers gathered near the Maison-Carrée at 14:30. The crowd moved along avenues Perrier and Carnot, protesting the freezing of their index points and demanding better conditions for essential services.
Unions Unite Against Inflation
Banners, megaphones, and music filled the streets. Demonstrators from major labor unions—including the CGT, FO, CFDT, and SUD—united under common grievances. The protest targeted the ongoing freeze on the civil servant index point, which participants argue leaves public employees defenseless against rising inflation. Marchers carried slogans emphasizing that the quality of public infrastructure should never depend on restrictive accounting logic.
Healthcare and Education Strained
Demonstrators placed special emphasis on vulnerable users, including hospitalized patients, students, and children in care. Audrey Solignac, a nursing assistant and departmental secretary for FO Santé, pointed to an unyielding imbalance in regional medical facilities. Patient influxes continue to surge while staffing numbers remain completely static.
Pascale Thoiret, a primary school teacher holding two FSU 30 flags, voiced deep frustration over the clash between public value and budget constraints. Teaching staff and state agents argue that severe resource shortages directly impair the daily functioning of local schools and municipal agencies.
The Psychological Toll on Professionals
A former hospital nurse who now works in private practice described the immense psychological toll of being asked to care for patients too quickly. The pressure to sacrifice care quality for speed ultimately drove her out of the public hospital system, though she returned to the streets of Nîmes in solidarity with her former colleagues.