At dawn on Friday 20 October, Jean-Paul Delescaut, general secretary of the CGT Nord (the Lille department), was arrested at his home by the police on charges of ‘apologia for terrorism’ following statements in support of the Palestinian people. He is currently in detention, together with the administrative coordinator of the UD CGT Nord.
“Our UD CGT North has always been committed to solidarity with the Palestinian people, supporting their rights as a Nation, condemning the Israeli colonial and far-right regime, its aggression, its incessant destruction and its daily crimes against humanity,” reads the statement published on the union’s Facebook page.
In response to the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, the CGT North launched an appeal for solidarity and a fundraising campaign for the civilian population massacred by constant bombardment and forced to flee their homes to who knows where.
In addition, the CGT Nord had repeatedly denounced the ban on demonstrations in support of Palestine imposed by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, denouncing ‘the worrying authoritarian and fascist drift of a government that restricts public freedoms, erodes the democratic rights of citizens and increasingly openly uses repression as a method of government’.
