Hosted by the Fédération CGT de la Santé et de l’Action Sociale at CGT headquarters, the event -"Public Services and Trade Union Action in Europe and Internationally: A Bulwark Against the Far Right" - gathered over 80-100 union leaders from CGT federations and beyond.

Discussions focused on the dangers of far-right and extreme-right forces across Europe and globally, their attacks on health and social care sectors, and the vital role of trade unions and public services in building resistance.

The conference opened with remarks from Barbara Filhol, General Secretary of the CGT Health and Social Action Federation, and Françoise Geng, President of the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU). A moderated international roundtable, led by journalist Delphine Bauer, featured Bertossa alongside prominent leaders - all from PSI affiliates:

• Humberto Muñoz Beltran, General Secretary, CC.OO. Health Federation (Spain)

• Federico Bozzanca, General Secretary of Public Services of CGIL (Italy)

• Giordana Pallone, National Secretary of Public Services of CGIL (Italy)

• Mari Keturi, Chief Executive Officer, JHL (Finland)

• Eric Vermeulen, Director, FNV (Netherlands)

• José Simões, SEIU (USA)

Participants exchanged national experiences, covering far-right impacts on public services, union strategies to counter harmful policies, successful mobilizations, and effective ways to communicate with members.

Bertossa emphasized PSI's global perspective, highlighting concrete threats to unions and activists while stressing the need to channel public anger toward progressive, democratic goals through coordinated solidarity. As Bertossa noted in his remarks, "More importantly, we must recognise the anger people feel and channel this legitimate anger toward real change through collective action. If we don’t, the far right will."

The event reinforced CGT's efforts to build a counter-offensive, including reflections on past attacks like the 2021 assault on CGIL headquarters in Italy.