FRENCH MOVEMENT AGAINST PENSION REFORM BUILDS MOMENTUM

INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE (ISA)

Since January 19, millions of workers and youth in France have been demonstrating and striking against Macron’s pension reform. We now have to build for a general strike, renewable upon vote by workers’ general assemblies, beginning in March to do away with Macron and all austerity policies.

Macron’s pension reform would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 alongside other actions that will negatively impact workers. More than two million demonstrators participated across France in the first day of action against the pension reform, organized by the intersyndicale — the common front of France’s eight largest trade unions – what a historic and promising beginning!

From the start, the most combative layers of youth showed a stronger determination than in past years to join the movement and to struggle alongside the trade unions and workers. The 150,000 strong demonstration in Paris on January 21, two days after the first union mobilization, had been planned and mobilized for weeks in advance by student and youth organizations as well as France Insoumise, adding further momentum.

One of the most crucial elements in the development of the movement so far are the impressive demonstrations of working-class power and control over private production through the “Robin Hood” actions. Hospitals, public sports centers, libraries, high schools, nurseries, etc. were placed on “free electricity or gas.” What a powerful illustration of what a society led by the working class would look like.

After the first national intersectoral mobilization on January 19, another four followed. On January 31, 2.8 million participated across France, on February 7, over 2 million, on February 11, over 2.5 million, and on February 16, 1.3 million joined the demonstrations. Overall participation in the strike movement is even higher, as some elite used against the working class. With mass emigration of South Asians to the United States, caste discrimination has followed.

We need to fight caste discrimination everywhere and spread this victory around the country. To succeed, we need to build fighting workers’ organizations and movements strong enough to counter the lies and mobilization of the right wing. The groups who opposed our movement in Seattle had strong ties to the Modi government and right-wing organizations. This included the Vishva Hindu Parishad, a dangerous far-right organization which, according to Human Rights Watch, was one of the three fundamentalist organizations considered most responsible for the massive carnage in the Western Indian state of Gujarat in 2002. Whenever working people fight for our rights, we will face determined opposition from reactionary forces like these.

Our power as working people comes from our solidarity and collective action, including our ability to shut down production in the workplace. We need a mass workers’ movement to fight against caste discrimination, racism, sexism, and ALL forms of oppression. And our victory in Seattle shows once again: when we fight – we can win! J stayed at the picket lines and did not join the demonstrations.

ISA activists participated with a contingent in the demonstration in Paris. The mood was very combative and not only was there a palpable anger against Macron, but a genuine desire to stop him. At the same time, there is also a basic understanding that a series of mass demonstrations by themselves, without being connected to each other and a strategy of escalation, will not be enough.

So far, the government and Macron are not backing down. They hope for a repeat of the 2019- 2020 movement, when the struggle, although titanic, had suffered from the lack of a bold plan of action towards a general renewable strike. The movement was running out of steam after nine days of intersectoral mobilizations that were not connected enough to channel the anger in a way that can create a continuous and escalating dynamic linked to a perspective to win.

It is urgent to organize assemblies of struggle in the workplaces open to all colleagues, unionized or not, and to organize similar committees in the high schools, universities, and neighborhoods to build for a general renewable strike. J

Movements

SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE

ISSN 2638-3349

EDITOR: Keely Mullen

EDITORIAL BOARD: George Brown, Tom Crean, Grace Fors, Chris Gray, Joshua Koritz, Greyson Van Arsdale, Tony Wilsdon Editors@SocialistAlternative.org

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Socialist Alternative is part of International Socialist Alternative (ISA), which has sections in over 30 countries. Learn more about the ISA at internationalsocialist.net.

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