The reappointment of Marylise Léon is accompanied by an affirmation of the union line against the RN and an increased feminization of the national union leadership.
Marylise Léon, general secretary of the CFDT since 2023, was re-elected on Thursday June 25 as head of the first French union. She is leaving for a four-year term.
The re-election of Marylise Léon comes as the organization’s 51st congress has been held since Monday in Bordeaux. She will always represent the union during the presidential campaign after having assured during the congress that “there is no compromise possible” with the National Rally (RN), whose elected officials she refuses to meet. Marylise Léon, 49, opened the congress by criticizing “the desire of part of the political class to hit the unions”.
Renewal of the management team
The 41 members of the elected national office also reappointed Yvan Ricordeau as deputy general secretary on Friday and designated Laurent Soulier as confederal treasurer, from the Chemistry-Energy federation, replacing Jocelyne Cabanal. On Friday, the more than 1,600 delegates of the congress will vote on a demand resolution which will serve as a road map for the reformist union for the next four years.
With Sophie Binet, reappointed at the beginning of June as head of the CGT, and Christelle Thieffinne, who took over as head of the CFE-CGC management union on June 10, succeeding François Hommeril, three of the five representative unions at the national level will be led by women for the years to come.
