New head of CGT in France

Philippe Martinez, a former worker at the Renault car company and head of the French CGT union confederation’s metalworking section, has been elected overall head of the CGT. The CGT is one of the two main union confederations in France.

The election of Martinez on 3 February follows several months of turbulence in the CGT. His predecessor, Thierry Lepaon, was forced to resign after two embarrassing incidents where it emerged that substantial sums had been spent on renovating a flat for him in Paris and that he had received a payment when he left his previous CGT position.

However, Martinez, rejects the idea that the CGT has faced a “major crisis”, calling it instead “a novel period”.