The Sud spectacle union is protesting against a collective agreement, signed by management and three other unions, the CFDT, the CGT and FO, providing for a new remuneration system.
Some of the staff of the Paris Opera were on strike Thursday over salary demands, forcing the establishment to cancel the premiere of the opera Hercules loverwe learned from management and the Sud Spectacle union. “We regret to inform you that the performance of “Ercole amante” on May 28 (…) at theOpéra Bastille  is canceled due to a strike followed by some of the staff »wrote the institution on its website, in a message to its spectators.
“Fair and equitable remuneration”
“Anger is growing within the collectives towards the management of the opera”declared to AFP a central union delegate from Sud Spectacle, who did not wish to give his name. The union is protesting against a collective agreement, signed on March 31 by the management and three other unions of the institution, the CFDT, the CGT and FO, but not by it, which provides for a new remuneration system for the approximately 500 technicians, costume designers, props workers, reception staff, etc. It does not allow “fair and equitable remuneration”estimated the union, the majority among this category of staff. This one also demands a “significant revaluation” of a bonus integrated into the salary, a long-standing demand.
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500,000 euros loss per day
Management argued that the agreement had been “signed by an inter-union representative representing the majority of the staff” and was “valid”. “Exchanges between management and unions continue, with other meetings scheduled in the coming daysâ€she added. This is the first trial by fire that Aude Accary Bonnery, new deputy general director of the Paris National Opera, appointed in March 2025 to replace Martin Ajdari, is going through.
This day of strike is the fifth in just over a month. At Sud’s call, the four other days of mobilization, April 24, May 5, 6 and 12, had impacted tourist visits and had also resulted in cancellations of shows including Roméo et Juliette, Satyagraha et The Lady of the Camelliasleading to financial losses estimated at 500,000 euros per day.
Two new strike notices have been filed by Sud Spectacle for June 3 and 9.
