Against all odds, Sophie Binet became the general secretary of the CGT this Friday. The one who was until then in charge of the General Union of Engineers, Executives and Technicians (Ugict) of the union thus succeeds Philippe Martinez and at the same time becomes the first woman to direct the Montreuil plant since its creation in 1895.
This appointment comes as a real surprise when Marie Buisson, nicknamed Philippe Martinez, and Céline Verzeletti, co-general secretary of the Federal Union of State Unions-CGT (UFSE), were proposed to compete for the position of general secretary. But neither the first, with a more reformist line that highlights environmental issues and gender equality, nor the second, in favor of an “offensive” and demanding line, have managed to reach a consensus.
Committed to gender equality issues
The choice of Sophie Binet, a former Higher Education Advisor (CPE) at a vocational secondary school in Marseille and then at Blanc-Mesnil (Seine-Saint-Denis), was a good compromise. She who has always actively participated in the struggles led by the organization, being committed to environmental issues and gender equality.
In addition to her position at the head of Ugict, she held the position of reference for the CGT mixed women’s collective and is a member of the Superior Council for equality between women and men. In 2016, in an article entitled “Sophie Binet, a symbol of renewal in the CGT”, the Unbreakable presented it as one that “combined class struggle and gender equality”,
To the magazine, Sophie Binet explained: “In the history of the labor movement, the class struggle has long been considered superior to the fight for emancipation against discrimination. This is no longer the case in the CGT, where we know they must be tackled head on.”
Fight against the CPE and the Labor Law
Beyond her commitment to environmental issues and gender equality, Sophie Binet has established herself as a figure in certain emblematic social struggles led by the CGT in recent years.
Born in 1982, this former philosophy student at the University of Nantes has been an activist since her teens. In the 2000s, she joined the national office of Unef (National Union of Students of France) and in 2003 she became president of Unef Nantes and vice president of students. In 2006 she will be one of the main faces of the movement against the first job contract (CPE), the last great social victory of the unions.
Ten years later, it is against the Labor Law, or El Khomri law, that Sophie Binet will fight, this time within the CGT. Together with Caroline de Haas, she will be one of the promoters of the petition “Loi travail: non merci!” which will collect more than 1.3 million signatures.
Source: BFM TV
