Extract
[...] In line with its jurisprudence Jamart of 1936 (ministers are competent to take the necessary measures for the proper functioning of the administration), the administrative judge in 1950 in its Dehaene decision that 'it is up to the government, responsible for the proper functioning of public services, to set itself, under the control of the judge, as regards these services, the nature and extent of the aforementioned limitations'. But 'the government', that remains vague. Thus, one can estimate that, as regards a ministry, it is up to the minister to regulate the strike (Jamart jurisprudence, 1936). But as regards, for example, a public establishment? [...]
[...] This general interest to be preserved is specified and the limits thus brought to the strike are as follows: 'to avoid an abusive use of the right to strike, or contrary to the necessities of public order or the essential needs of the country'. In this case, one can wonder which decisions were taken to requisition the agents and whether they fall within one of the indicated limits. To answer this, the administrative judge recalls that electricity is a public service that 'has the object of ensuring electricity supply throughout the territory, in respect of the general interest'. This public service 'contributes to independence and supply security, energy demand management, economic activity competitiveness and contributes to social cohesion'. [...]
[...] And the Council of State has clarified that "the governing bodies of the EDF company are competent to determine the limitations to be imposed on the right to strike of its agents"." 1. It is therefore necessary to ask in what measures these governing bodies, and more generally certain bodies, are competent to limit the right to strike of their agents. To answer this question, we will first recall that the strike is a right that has limits before analyzing the granting of limiting this right to different authorities (II). [...]
[...] Council of State April 2013, n° 329570, Federation Force Ouvrière Energy and Mines - To what extent are the governing bodies competent to limit the right to strike of their agents? This judgment rendered by the Council of State deals with the issues of the right to strike and the competent authorities to limit this right. To recall, the facts in this judgment are relatively simple. In the spring of 2009, several nuclear reactors managed by the EDF company were shut down for maintenance operations. However, strikes affected these reactors in April 2009. The strikes led to a delay in the restart of each reactor. [...]
[...] The Federation Force Ouvrière Energy and Mines requests the annulment of the entire set of decisions. For this, the requesting Federation has brought the matter before the Council of State (here competent in the first and last instance). Thus, to request these annulments, according to the applicant, the EDF company (and therefore its managers) was not competent to issue the rules applicable, in the event of continuation of the strike, to the agents whose presence at their post was essential for the restart of the reactors. [...]
