http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article1935
An explosive situation
Towards a general strike
Sandra Demarcq
The political situation in France is dominated by the mobilization
against the proposed reform of the pension system. This reform is at
the heart of Sarkozy's austerity policy. Although it is presented as
an obvious demographic necessity, it is meeting increasing opposition
in public opinion.
The mobilization has been growing since the start of the mobilizations
in May and the first day of action in June. Since the beginning of
September three days of strikes and demonstrations (the 7th and 23rd
of September and the 2nd of October) have brought out 3 million people
on each occasion. The CGT estimates that 5 million people have
participated in the strikes and demonstrations since the start.
On each day of action, we have seen that there are more private sector
workers, more young people – even high school students are beginning
to mobilise and block their schools - and more radical demands.
Popular rejection of Sarkozy's policiesThe battle against the draft
law on pensions also shows a massive rejection of the whole politics
of Sarkozy. There is not only the question of the pension, numerous
sectors are extremely mobilized, on strike on various topics: post
offices, in hospitals, the nurse-anaesthetists, the dockers...
Faced with this resistance, the government is more and more unpopular.
These accumulated difficulties are provoking a crisis within the
right.
To try to reassert his control, Sarkozy has stressed his racist and
security policies, in relation to the Roms in particular. But also in
the last few weeks, the government has tried to make people forget the
social question by advancing the terrorist danger. But without much
success.
Dissatisfaction is growing and the situation is "explosive". Faced
with the success of the demonstrations and strike days, the government
has not moved and says that nothing will be changed in its proposal.
The crisis and the debt are poor excuses to justify the reform.
Sarkozy and his government want their reform. Faced with the
determination of the government, many workers know that to win it's
necessary to impose social determination.
Today, in numerous sectors, it is time for an all-out strike. For
example in the RATP (Paris public transport system), the SNCF (French
national railway company), but also in the chemical and engineering
industries there is a possibility of a continuing srike from Tuesday.
[1]
We know that the next day of strikes and demonstrations, on Tuesday
12th October, will be a success. And today, the idea that we can win
is increasing.
The state of the movement It is, at the moment, a very political
movement. The strike rates are strong but not exceptional. The
self-organization of the movement today, is very low. General
assemblies in the various sectors have very low participation.
It is a unitarian movement. There is an inter-union coordinating
committee [2], which gives the calendar of mobilisations but which is
pushed by the intransigence of the government and by the very radical
militant teams.
This movement is characterized by a massive refusal of the reform, a
spectacular mistrust against the power, against Sarkozy but we don't
know what will be the end result of this confrontation. Everything is
possible.
On the political levelThe NPA participates with the whole French left
including the PS, but without LO, in a unitarian campaign against the
pensions reform .
This unitarian campaign, launched by Attac and the Copernic
Foundation, is based on the demand of a pension at 60 years for all
and the withdrawal of the law.
Although all the left agrees on these two demands, there are several
disagreements.
The disagreement over demands is in particular with the Socialist
Party. They agree with the demand of 60 years old as retirement age
but they defend the idea that workers must work longer to get a full
pension. And so they voted with the rightwing deputies for the
increase of years worked to qualify for the full pension.
There are also disagreements about the strategy for winning against
the government and obtaining the withdrawal of the draft law. There
are disagreements with the Socialist Party but also with the Communist
Party and Parti de gauche (Left Party). The Socialist Party ask us to
wait for the next presidential elections in 2012 and the other
political forces demand a referendum, turning the class struggle into
an institutional question. They are all refusing the social
confrontation necessary to win.The NPA's profileSince the beginning of
the mobilization, the NPA has worked in two directions:
The first : to be completely in the unitarian campaign, defending
retirement at 60 years old with full pension. We also demand the
withdrawal of the law. Olivier is the party spokesperson who has
participated at the most unitarian meetings around the country. For
us, the main demand is the redistribution of wealth and the sharing of
work. Our profile is clear, since last May we have been working for a
massive social and political confrontation.As the government is very
unpopular, one of our demands is to sack Woerth, the labour minister,
and president Sarkozy.11th October 2010Sandra Demarcq is a member of
the Executive Committee of the New Anti-Capitalist pary (NPA) in
France, and a member of the leadership of the Fourth International.
NOTES
[1] The right to strike is embodied in the French constitution. Trades
unions have to give a "warning" (préavis) of a strike for the workers
to be considered legally on strike. In these sectors there has been a
préavis for a "reconductible" or all-out strike, that is one that is
revoted each day by the workers.
[2] [The "intersyndicale" brings together the five confederations,
including two usually classed on the "right", CGT, CFDT, FO, CGC and
CFTC; the radical union SUD Solidaires with important implantation in
the postal, transport and health sectors, FSU and UNSA (teachers and
public sector)
--
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear
of punishment and hope of reward after death." --
Albert Einstein !!!
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