More than 90% of French people who voted in an unofficial ‘anti-privatisation’ ballot reject plansto restructure La Poste, according to the scheme’s opponents. But the government dismissed the
figures and is keeping to its reform plans.A lobby group comprising 62 unions, left-wing political parties and social organisations,held a ‘public consultation’ at thousands of locations in front of town halls, in marketplaces andat other gathering points in French towns and cities in the week leading up to October 3. Theballot stated: “The government wants to privatise La Poste. Are you for or against this?”
According to the organisers, 2.1 million people voted in the ballot and more than 90% of themwere against the government’s plan.
The overwhelming result reflected people’s attachment to the public postal service whichplays a vital and irreplaceable social role in addition to its economic role, the ‘Comité nationalcontre la privatisation de La Poste’ (‘National committee against privatisation of La Poste’)stated.
“The president and his government must listen to this verdict and finally give up on the(postal) law,” the group declared. Any change in La Poste’s legal status should be approved in areferendum, it added. The group called on French MPs to oppose the postal law which will enterParliament this autumn.
In response, French prime minister François Fillon told Parliament yesterday that thegovernment wanted to reform but not privatise La Poste. “Privatisation is selling part of publicownership. What the government proposes is to contribute €2.7 billion from public funds to La Posteso it can modernise itself and face up to the changes taking place in our economy,” he declared.
If nothing was done, “it will be foreign companies such as the German Post for example whichwill come on to French territory to distribute the parcels that French people order on theinternet…We don’t want that. We want La Poste to be a major strategic public service.”
The draft postal law will be debated in the upper house, the Senate, at the start of Novemberand in the National Assembly in December, Fillon announced.
Under the draft postal law, La Poste will become a limited company as of January 1, 2010.Under a subsequent €2.7 billion capital increase, designed to raise financing for modernisation andstrategic growth, the French government would contribute €1.2 billion and the state-owned Caissedes Dépôts (CDC) a further €1.5 billion. La Poste’s current status as a public organisation (‘établissement public industriel et commercial’) legally prevents such a capital increase.
La Poste’s public service obligations, including letter deliveries six days a week,affordable prices and high quality as well as maintaining 17,000 postal outlets nationwide, willremain unchanged under the draft law. La Poste will also be charged with fulfilling the postalUniversal Service Obligation for the next 15 years.
