France – Timothée Esprit readmitted by Toray: a victory through struggle!

The pro-Palestinian French unionist who was dismissed by his company, Timothée Esprit, in a case of repression, has been readmitted. This happens after a large and unitary campaign for him, on which we reported on. We hereby share an unofficial translation of the note published by La Cause du Peuple.

For almost a year, Timothée Esprit has been struggling for his readmission following his dismissal. Indeed, after posting photos of PFLP combatants in Facebook, his employer decided to fire him in order to “not harm the company’s image.”

This is obviously an excuse: Timothée Esprit is primarily a militant of the working class, a union leader recognized for his combative spirit, a leader in one of the most militant branches of the CGT.

For over a year, the FNIC-CGT, [Translator’s note: National Federation of Chemical Industries of the CGT] supported by the Unitary Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah, which Timothée Esprit has always backed, has been working to achieve his readmission, which means a political victory.

The name and cause of Timothée Esprit have been brought to factories, with the mobilization of chemical unions, but also in neighborhoods where the People’s Committee of Mutual Aid and Solidarity (CPES) are present, during community events. The Fédération Syndicale Étudiante (FSE) and organizations such as the Ligue de la Jeunesse Révolutionnaire (LJR) and the Jeunes Révolutionnaires have also defended him.

We have heard about Timothée in the factories of the Toray group and within the union, which is the main thing, but also in the heart of Minguettes and Mirail, during a people’s festival in Villejean in Rennes, or in the Malakoff neighborhood of Nantes, where speeches were made during meetings, demonstrations, and conferences for Palestine, as well as in dozens of universities. Thousands of posters and stickers have been put up, and actions have taken place, such as against Medef [Translator’s note: bosses association in France]… All of this culminated in the major day of action on February 8.

Timothée’s victory is an inspiring victory for the entire class and calls for further united, determined, and combative mobilizations, primarily for the targeted unionists in the Toray group and for all those repressed for their combative political engagement, class struggle, and anti-opportunism.