France: Cold winter, hot social and political climate
ByPablo Vasco
On Sunday 18 from December, international day of migrants, on a freezing morning with six degrees below zero, with several thousand people started the march that covered almost 40 blocks from Porte de la Chapelle to Place de la République. It is part of the struggles in France, in a social and political situation that is heating up.
The slogans were the regularization of all "undocumented" immigrants and the repudiation of Darmanin's bill., Macron's reactionary interior minister, which intends to further toughen the requirements and facilitate expulsions. They would only exclude certain trades "in tension", as needed gastronomy staff, construction, cleaning, logistics child care, hard and poorly paid tasks almost always carried out by immigrant workers. An undemocratic reform, utilitarian for the capitalists and that denies equal rights.
At the head of the march were the associations of migrants, including workers organized in the CGT and SUD unions, and then social groups, of human rights and the Trotskyist left. Of parliamentary reformism, the NUPES[1] that will lead Mélenchon, hardly any pennants were seen. Hubo a Workers' Struggle Group, but not so from the CCR[2], that although he was in congress he did not even send a testimonial delegation. And as for the NPA[3], that last weekend was divided, the sector of the revolutionary left contributed the most numerous and combative column of the entire march, five times greater than that of the sector that seeks to unite with Mélenchon.
Crosses on the left and extreme left
Of the 9.000 militants who regrouped in 2009 when it was founded, now, in its fifth congress, in which I participated as a guest of the MST and the LIS, the NPA was reduced to about 2.000 formal militants and only 1.500 real. The leading Mandelist sector (platform B), that proposes unity with reformism and for that it intends to put an end to the internal democracy of the party, took out the 48,5% of votes. The left opposition (platform C), that groups three fractions, achieved the 45,3%. and a third section (platform A), akin to B, Took out a 6,2%.
On the second day of the three planned congress, sector B left the room never to return, thus causing the breakdown of the party. It's a political impact, because together with LO the NPA was one of the two main forces of French Trotskyism, which in turn was always an international reference.
This deep crisis allows us to draw three first central conclusions:
1. If the CCR, instead of leaving on its own, had stayed in the NPA together with the other left currents to dispute a combative political orientation, In this congress the revolutionary sector clearly won the leadership. But the CCR chose a sectarian and self-proclaimed course, whose recent congress unfortunately seems to reaffirm.
2. The Mandelist sector, that keeps the public figures of Poutou and Besancenot, continues to recede as a result of applying in France and other countries the wrong policy of the United Secretariat: eternal "broad parties", following reformism under the pretext of being the "left of the left" and abandoning the construction of the revolutionary party and intervention in the class struggle. For example, a third of their votes were by mail, of compañeros who are not really militant anymore.
3. the left wing, which in order of importance groups the streams La Chispa, Anticapitalism and Revolution and Revolutionary Democracy, as well as independent militants, and that for now continues to dispute the legitimacy of the NPA, is faced with the great political-organizational challenge of constituting a new revolutionary organization, neither opportunistic nor sectarian. For this task there is undoubtedly space between the worker and youth vanguard, open to revolutionary ideas. The militants of the LIS in France are part of this regrouping through the comrades of La Chispa, current that in addition to its union insertion directs the Youth of the NPA.
On the other hand, In Unsubmissive France there is a strong internal crisis. It has already suffered some wear and tear with the recent parliamentary suspension and trial of deputy Quetennens, former spokesman and former coordinator of the bloc, due to gender violence. Now bigger problems are added, with strong criticism for the notorious lack of internal democracy. No real militant structure, the FI is an assembly of movement-type figures whose leader is Mélenchon.
Days ago the "representative assembly" met, integrated by the coordination of spaces, local leaders and a hundred militants at the rate of one for each elected department... by lottery!! An easy scheme to manipulate. Several figures were relegated to a consultative-only "political council", in a purge in fact, but everything is decided by the coordination controlled by Mélenchon. These bureaucratic methods cause discontent among militants and sympathizers who had expectations of him. as we see, A bad political moment chose the Mandelist sector of the NPA to go after FI...
The boiler gathers pressure
In France winter is cold, but the social and political temperature grows. Macron's government rose with low votes and is supported by a rather unstable coalition, the extreme right of Marine Le Pen grew stronger, the FI also with the electoral polarization in the presidential elections but accumulates problems, and a dissolution of parliament and early legislative elections are not ruled out.
As for the class struggle, in these previous months there have already been strong strikes and wage mobilizations of the workers of the oil refineries, railwaymen and drivers, nuclear power plants, public health and various private companies; also feminist marches and direct actions of environmental groups.
To the anger over low wages and the rise in transport rates, electricity and food is added to Macron's plan to move forward with his anti-pension reform to raise 65 years the retirement age and/or 37,5 the years of contributions. By pressure from the bases, all the union and student centrals foresee forceful measures if it materializes. Macron will announce the details on 10 from January, just as a pay strike begins at the RATP, the public transport company for Paris and its suburbs[4]…
As the editorial of the revolutionary wing of the NPA rightly points out: "If retirement funds are really in such bad shape, there is a simple solution: a deficit of 5% is immediately covered by an increase in wages, and therefore of the contributions, of the 5%! If wages went up what we need today, that is to say at least 400 euros, there would be no more 'deficit' problem. And that would also solve some other problems, our end of the month, for example!
This is obviously not an option for the government.. But remember the mobilization of 2019 that it had made it difficult for him to approve the old pension reform before the Covid crisis. So he pretends to consult with the union leaders, who rushed to the table even before trying to mobilize.
"Nevertheless, We all know that there is nothing to expect from these 'conciliations' and 'social dialogue'. The Macron government knows very well what it is doing: act on behalf of capitalists, like he always did. Our field does not need 'concertations': is mobilization, days, all and all together, like we did in december 2019. This is what, from now on, we must push".[5]
[1] New Ecological and Social Popular Union: FI, PS, PC, Greens and minor groups.
[2] Revolutionary Communist Current, French section of the international Trotskyist Fraction that leads the Argentine PTS. It was part of the NPA until it broke up in June 2021 by presenting a presidential candidate of his own.
[3] New Anti-Capitalist Party.
[4] includes the subway, groups, intercity trains (RER) and trams.
[5] https://www.convergencesrevolutionnaires.org/ Reforme-des-retraites-la-vie-devant-soi-abosser?navthem=1
