ckaihatsu
24th January 2015, 04:15
The Political Situation in France and the Activity of the Independent Workers Party (POI) -- by Alan Benjamin
The Organizer
[to subscribe / unsubscribe, contact [email protected]]
The Political Situation in France and the Activity of the Independent Workers Party (POI)
By Alan Benjamin
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Casher supermarket in Paris, hundreds of thousands of people across France took to the streets spontaneously to express their anger over the killings, their commitment to freedom of expression, and their great anxiety over seeing France become embroiled in an endless wave of terrorist attacks followed by growing State repression at home and expanding wars abroad.
The deep support for freedom of expression in France is deeply embedded in the secular tradition of the French Republic, going back to the French Revolution. It’s as deeply rooted in the French psyche, a French activist said, as is the right to bear arms in the American psyche and body politic.
While the initial outbursts included people with “Je Suis Charlie” [I Am Charlie] signs throughout the marches, by days two and three “Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie” [I Am NOT Charlie] signs could be seen everywhere. These signs expressed a sense of uneasiness over the content of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. Many of the people carrying these signs told the French media that they condemned the killings and supported Charlie Hebdo’s right to publish what it saw fit, but they were worried that Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons may have incited Islamophobia and may have contributed to provoking the attacks.
French President François Hollande understood the depth of the emotions that had gripped the French people over these attacks and immediately began what can only be called Operation Hijack. He immediately issued a call for all French people and for all “social partners” -- media, political parties, trade unions and religious orders (especially Muslim religious leaders) -- to join in a massive “national unity” march on January 11 “for democracy and freedom, and against terrorism.” On behalf of the French ruling class, he set out to channel this mass anger and anxiety and to redirect it in the interests of imperialism, particularly U.S. imperialism.
Toward this end, Hollande contacted the heads of State from across the planet to make sure they were in Paris to kick off this demonstration. The Paris events thus provided the fertile ground to establish the broad “international coalition against terrorism” that George W. Bush and even Obama had never fully been able to bring together -- with all the warmakers gathered in one place to launch with renewed vigor their war on democratic rights and on the working class and on oppressed peoples and nations the world over.
On January 10, the national leadership of the Independent Workers Party (POI) of France, having assessed the overtly reactionary character of the January 11 political operation, issued a statement titled “Our Position” in which it explained why the POI was not calling to mobilize on January 11. They wrote, in part:
“Can a step be taken toward a solution in keeping with the aspiration for peace and democracy in a demonstration led by François Hollande, Angela Merkel, Mariano Rajoy, David Cameron, Matteo Renzi, Juncker (President of the European Commission), Obama's Attorney General and even NATO’s Secretary General?
“Who can believe that these same people -- who under Obama's command comprise a coalition that is sowing war and desolation in Syria, Iraq, Mali, Libya and Central African Republic -- could possibly be qualified to lead and represent the aspiration for peace?
“Who can believe that these same people -- who are imposing austerity, unemployment and deregulation in every country of Europe under the auspices of the European Union -- could possibly be qualified to respond to the aspiration for social justice and the defense of rights?”
Supporters of the POI in the trade unions, and POI elected officials in city councils across France, armed with this leaflet, explained why they would not be marching on January 11. “We do not march arm-in-arm with the MEDEF [equivalent to U.S. Chamber of Commerce – Tr. Note], with the government, with the Church, and with the warmakers,” they said.
These activists made every effort not to be isolated from their base in the unions and in the communities, while sticking to their principles and patiently explaining. And though this was not easy at first, it soon became clear that they were not isolated; in fact, and this is very significant, one of the two main trade unions in France, CGT-Force Ouvrière, also refused to sign on to the call for January 11 – throwing a monkey-wrench into the entire “national unity” hijack operation.
Issue No. 334 (January 15, 2015) of Informations Ouvrières [Labor News], the weekly newspaper of the POI, captured very well the complex, contradictory character of the January 11 demonstration on its front cover. ” [See attached cover photo.] There are two photos side by side, reflecting the two marches that took place that day. The first photo (on the left) has a large caption that reads, “Millions march against the attacks, and for democracy, secularism, and peace.” The second photo shows the lead contingent of heads of State. Its caption reads, “The heads of State from across the planet, NATO, the religious orders, the MEDEF, march for the ‘Sacred Union.’”
The massive turnout on January 11 – 1.5 to 2 million people in Paris, more than 4 million across France – attests to the depth of the anger and emotion provoked by the attacks, but the presence of all the heads of State at the front of the march attests to the crisis of leadership of the French working class, as all the main political parties claiming to represent workers’ interests (the Socialist Party, the French Communist Party, and even the Left Party of Melenchon) all lined up behind Hollande, Merkel, Netanyahu, Poroshenko, and the rest of their ilk in this “Sacred Union” march.
[“Sacred Union” is the name of the “national unity” movement that brought together representatives of all French political parties (including the Socialist Party), trade unions, employers’ associations, and religious orders at the onset of World War I in the name of the fight against the common enemy: Germany. The workers’ representatives all rallied behind the flag for this “class truce,” putting the workers’ specific demands in abeyance.]
The POI was one of only three political parties in France that did not call to march on January 11. The other two were Lutte Ouvrière and the NPA (New Left Party). But the fact that the POI, with its strong influence in both major trade union federations, refused to rally behind the “Sacred Union” is what has the bosses and the government worried.
It should also be noted that Marine Le Pen, head of the right-wing National Front, was not invited by Hollande to be part of the lead contingent of dignitaries in the Paris march. Given this “slight,” as Le Pen called it, the National Front did not call on its supporters to join the big march in Paris -- but in many other cities across France where they have a base, the National Front marched on January 11 with signs that read, “Paying Homage to the Victims of Islamic Terrorism!”
Another fact of note: One of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists killed on January 7, Honoré, had been a regular contributor of cartoons to Informations Ouvrières. He was also a subscriber to the newspaper till his tragic death.
The editors of Informations Ouvrières paid tribute to Honoré by printing in their issue No. 334 (January 15, 2015) a half dozen of his cartoons, two of which are included here as attachments. The first shows the Catholic Church (in the form of an archbishop) jumping atop the French Revolution. This was at the time of a right-wing campaign to get the French government to subsidize Catholic school education, much like the vouchers in the United States today. The second cartoon shows Pope John Paul II before one of his trips to Africa. The symbol of the cross has a small sign with “IMF” at the top.
The editorial in Issue No. 335 of Informations Ouvrières (January 22, 2015) exposes the efforts by the bosses and the government in France to manipulate the Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Casher killings toward their goal of putting a freeze on the class struggle in the name of a common fight against terrorism. It states, in part:
“Diverting the legitimate indignation that was provoked by the attacks of January 7-9, the government is seeking to force the unions to give up defending workers' interests. The ‘Sacred Union’ is thus little more than an attempt to impose a corporatist framework linking the workers' organizations to the capitalist class and the government.”
The centrality of this issue cannot be stressed enough. For months, the bosses’ association (MEDEF) and the government have done everything in their power to woo the French trade union federations into taking part in the Social Conference aimed at getting the unions to buy into and support the “Responsibility Pact,” the territorial reform, and the Macron bill -- all of which are profoundly reactionary and anti-worker.
For months, the European financial press (Les Echos, Financial Times, Die Zeit) have demanded that the French government conclude an agreement with the French trade unions in support of their corporate “reforms.” France’s failure to discipline the unions into accepting the dictates of the financial institutions, these periodicals have insisted, is holding back the entire EU, IMF, European Central Bank (the Troika) “reform” agenda.
The January 7-9 attacks at Charlie Hebdo and at the Hyper Casher supermarket gave the ruling class the opportunity to attempt, once again, to bring the trade unions on board in the implementation of this anti-working class program.
As the second POI statement on January 14 put it:
“On January 26, the French government wants the National Assembly to vote the Macron bill into law, which will open the door to more lay-offs and put collective labor-protection rights on the chopping block.
“It wants to push the implementation of the ‘Responsibility Pact’, which would cut 50 billion euros from public spending -- meaning fewer school placements for kids, fewer teachers and fewer jobs in the public services, hospitals, the Postal Service, etc. – while giving 41 billion euros in tax exemptions to the bosses.”
But not all the trade unions signed the call of the political parties and trade unions for the January 11 demonstration in Paris.
The CGT-Force Ouvrière trade union federation – as was noted earlier -- refused to sign the call for the January 11 mobilization, thereby creating a huge fissure in the entire “national unity/Sacred Union” offensive and compelling Hollande to call off the Social Conference. But this is not all. Today, all the main class-based trade unions (CGT, CGT-Force Ouvrières, FSU and Solidaires) are calling for a Day of Action and Strikes on January 26 against the Macron draft law.
The class struggle is alive and well in France, despite all the intense pressures to bury it in the name of “national unity to fight terrorism.”
But as central as the trade union question is in France today, it is not the full picture.
While there were 4 million in the streets on January 11, there were more than 5 million people in France of North African origin – mainly youth -- who wanted nothing to do with this march. Their absence from the demonstrations and from the continued tributes and political theatrics was glaring, as was the absence of people from West African or Caribbean origin.
This is what prompted the POI leadership to write the following in their second statement on January 14:
“On January 11, millions of people demonstrated to express their rejection of barbarism and their wish to live in peace and democracy.
“Others chose not to demonstrate: they have the same aspirations, but they are wary of political manipulation; they fear the oversimplifications and speeches about ‘communities’ -- in whatever form -- that are feeding hate and division, instead of combating them. . . .
“The government wants to use the legitimate emotions aroused by the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Casher supermarket in the Vincennes district to set up a ‘Sacred Union’ that would allow a policy of war, deprivation, and poverty to be pursued.
“Does this policy contribute toward peace and democracy? No, quite the opposite!
“The solution will come from the united mobilization of the workers with their organizations and the youth, against war and in favor of democracy, against the government’s plans and its counter-reforms.”
Addressing the youth, particularly the youth of North African origins in the cités -- that is, the suburban ghettos that surround Paris -- is therefore an urgent task.
The French media were alarmed, for example, that the youth in the cités were refusing to honor the minute of silence each day that was mandatory in all schools across France. They reported that students were walking out of classes and that teachers were not forcing the students back into the classrooms for the minute of silence, or, worse still, the teachers themselves were refusing to honor the minute of the silence.
In fact, teacher unionists have reported that a number of school-teachers were fired for not honoring the minute of silence. Quite clearly, it will be necessary for the teacher unions to fight and reverse these unjust terminations, just as it will also necessary to oppose each and every restriction on democratic rights -- every step down the road toward a French version of the Patriot Act.
And, as Informations Ouvriéres has begun to do, it will be important to address the deep concerns among both French citizens and immigrants of North African origin about the racism and Islamophobia that are bound to reach new levels in the aftermath of the January 7-9 killings.
The articles published in the past two issues of Informations Ouvriéres by the French Jewish Union for Peace, by Israeli historian Shlomo Sand, and by Lucien Gauthier are very significant in that regard.
The French Jewish Union for Peace writes, for example:
“In France, the unbearable social situation facing the population that has resulted from post-colonial immigration, the racism of State, the Islamophobia, the discrimination, the stigma and 24-hour identity controls . . . all of these bear a responsibility in the development of these fundamentalist currents -- currents that affect a fringe of a youth of all backgrounds, a youth without horizon.
“But Charlie Hebdo waged a political battle. . . . How can the criticism of religions ignore the relationship between the dominator and the dominated? Criticizing religions is also done in a context, in a political moment that is in no way neutral toward Muslims. The acts of Charlie Hebdo, and the cartoons and articles, are acts that contributed to the development of Islamophobia in France. . . .
“People of North African origin have been designated as scapegoats for the economic and social crisis. . . . We reject in advance all the new ‘security’ laws and all the new forms of discrimination against Muslims that this ‘national unity’ will no doubt produce.”
Likewise, Israeli historian Shlomo Sand, did not mince words:
“I am all for freedom of expression, but I am also opposed to racist incitement.
“An ill wind, a foul wind of dangerous racism is hovering over Europe: There is a fundamental difference between attacking a religion or a prevailing belief in society, and inciting attacks against the religion of a dominated minority.
“In France or Denmark, in Germany or Spain, where there are millions of Muslim workers -- workers who are relegated to the most menial and difficult tasks at the bottom of the social ladder -- we must exercise the utmost caution before criticizing Islam and, most important, we must not ridicule this religion crudely.
“Today, especially after the terrible massacre, my sympathy goes to the Muslims living in ghettos adjacent to the metropolitan areas. They are likely to become the second victims of the murders that took place at Charlie Hebdo and at the Hyper-Casher supermarket.”
For his part, Lucien Gauthier, editor of Informations Ouvrières, wrote the following:
“To date more than 50 mosques and Maghreb associations have been the object of attacks. At the same time, an outrageous political-media campaign has been unleashed to demand that all ‘Muslims’ issue a personal statement on these attacks. This is not directed at them as citizens, but as ‘Muslims,’ thus identifying a sector of the population with a religion and that religion, in turn, with terrorists. . . .
“In France, there are millions of people from Northern Africa, the majority of them French citizens. They are among the most exploited and oppressed layers of the population. This campaign, under the pretext of the fight against terrorism, is directly targeting this sector.
“Moreover, the same people who are waging this campaign against the people of North African origin are the ones who placed the representatives of Qatar and Saudi Arabia at the head of the January 11 demonstration in Paris. These are two countries that finance the groups that the press calls ‘Islamists’ and that impose a reign of terror against their own people in the name of Sharia law!”
Also very significant is the section in the statement adopted January 15 by the Paris Departmental Union of the CGT trade union federation, which declares:
“For the CGT Departmental Union of Paris, unity and the desire to live together in a fraternal society cannot be transformed into a ‘Sacred Union’ aimed at having us forget the social misery produced by the economic policies implemented in recent decades that are the breeding ground for the emergence of such criminal acts.
“Nothing will obstruct the CGT Departmental Union of Paris from fighting back against the austerity policies of these leaders!
“We call for strengthening solidarity among working people, and promoting unity in the fight against discrimination, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all the plans of austerity implemented in France and around the world by French imperialism.
“The best answer today for the defense of democratic rights and freedoms is to combat the ‘Responsibility Pact,’ the ‘territorial reform’ and the Macron draft law -- a Draconian piece of legislation fostering social regression.”
The Departmental Union brings together all the CGT unions in the city of Paris. The CGT trade union federation, it should also be recalled, was controlled with a tight grip during many decades by the French Communist Party. But, as the statement above attests, this is no longer the case.
Events in France are at the center of the world political situation today. These are very challenging and difficult times for the comrades in the POI. It would be wrong to underestimate the pressures and hardships they will have to face given the stance they have taken and the role that they play in the class struggle.
But this is also a time laden with big opportunities for these POI comrades. Not only has the French working class not been defeated, it is rising up anew and reclaiming its best class-struggle traditions.
https://siteofficieldupoi.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/honorc3a9.jpg?w=630
http://s24.postimg.org/mz3km7axx/Honore_Drawing_2.jpg
https://siteofficieldupoi.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/imagette-io-nc2b0334.png?w=300&h=160&crop=1
The Organizer
[to subscribe / unsubscribe, contact [email protected]]
The Political Situation in France and the Activity of the Independent Workers Party (POI)
By Alan Benjamin
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Casher supermarket in Paris, hundreds of thousands of people across France took to the streets spontaneously to express their anger over the killings, their commitment to freedom of expression, and their great anxiety over seeing France become embroiled in an endless wave of terrorist attacks followed by growing State repression at home and expanding wars abroad.
The deep support for freedom of expression in France is deeply embedded in the secular tradition of the French Republic, going back to the French Revolution. It’s as deeply rooted in the French psyche, a French activist said, as is the right to bear arms in the American psyche and body politic.
While the initial outbursts included people with “Je Suis Charlie” [I Am Charlie] signs throughout the marches, by days two and three “Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie” [I Am NOT Charlie] signs could be seen everywhere. These signs expressed a sense of uneasiness over the content of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. Many of the people carrying these signs told the French media that they condemned the killings and supported Charlie Hebdo’s right to publish what it saw fit, but they were worried that Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons may have incited Islamophobia and may have contributed to provoking the attacks.
French President François Hollande understood the depth of the emotions that had gripped the French people over these attacks and immediately began what can only be called Operation Hijack. He immediately issued a call for all French people and for all “social partners” -- media, political parties, trade unions and religious orders (especially Muslim religious leaders) -- to join in a massive “national unity” march on January 11 “for democracy and freedom, and against terrorism.” On behalf of the French ruling class, he set out to channel this mass anger and anxiety and to redirect it in the interests of imperialism, particularly U.S. imperialism.
Toward this end, Hollande contacted the heads of State from across the planet to make sure they were in Paris to kick off this demonstration. The Paris events thus provided the fertile ground to establish the broad “international coalition against terrorism” that George W. Bush and even Obama had never fully been able to bring together -- with all the warmakers gathered in one place to launch with renewed vigor their war on democratic rights and on the working class and on oppressed peoples and nations the world over.
On January 10, the national leadership of the Independent Workers Party (POI) of France, having assessed the overtly reactionary character of the January 11 political operation, issued a statement titled “Our Position” in which it explained why the POI was not calling to mobilize on January 11. They wrote, in part:
“Can a step be taken toward a solution in keeping with the aspiration for peace and democracy in a demonstration led by François Hollande, Angela Merkel, Mariano Rajoy, David Cameron, Matteo Renzi, Juncker (President of the European Commission), Obama's Attorney General and even NATO’s Secretary General?
“Who can believe that these same people -- who under Obama's command comprise a coalition that is sowing war and desolation in Syria, Iraq, Mali, Libya and Central African Republic -- could possibly be qualified to lead and represent the aspiration for peace?
“Who can believe that these same people -- who are imposing austerity, unemployment and deregulation in every country of Europe under the auspices of the European Union -- could possibly be qualified to respond to the aspiration for social justice and the defense of rights?”
Supporters of the POI in the trade unions, and POI elected officials in city councils across France, armed with this leaflet, explained why they would not be marching on January 11. “We do not march arm-in-arm with the MEDEF [equivalent to U.S. Chamber of Commerce – Tr. Note], with the government, with the Church, and with the warmakers,” they said.
These activists made every effort not to be isolated from their base in the unions and in the communities, while sticking to their principles and patiently explaining. And though this was not easy at first, it soon became clear that they were not isolated; in fact, and this is very significant, one of the two main trade unions in France, CGT-Force Ouvrière, also refused to sign on to the call for January 11 – throwing a monkey-wrench into the entire “national unity” hijack operation.
Issue No. 334 (January 15, 2015) of Informations Ouvrières [Labor News], the weekly newspaper of the POI, captured very well the complex, contradictory character of the January 11 demonstration on its front cover. ” [See attached cover photo.] There are two photos side by side, reflecting the two marches that took place that day. The first photo (on the left) has a large caption that reads, “Millions march against the attacks, and for democracy, secularism, and peace.” The second photo shows the lead contingent of heads of State. Its caption reads, “The heads of State from across the planet, NATO, the religious orders, the MEDEF, march for the ‘Sacred Union.’”
The massive turnout on January 11 – 1.5 to 2 million people in Paris, more than 4 million across France – attests to the depth of the anger and emotion provoked by the attacks, but the presence of all the heads of State at the front of the march attests to the crisis of leadership of the French working class, as all the main political parties claiming to represent workers’ interests (the Socialist Party, the French Communist Party, and even the Left Party of Melenchon) all lined up behind Hollande, Merkel, Netanyahu, Poroshenko, and the rest of their ilk in this “Sacred Union” march.
[“Sacred Union” is the name of the “national unity” movement that brought together representatives of all French political parties (including the Socialist Party), trade unions, employers’ associations, and religious orders at the onset of World War I in the name of the fight against the common enemy: Germany. The workers’ representatives all rallied behind the flag for this “class truce,” putting the workers’ specific demands in abeyance.]
The POI was one of only three political parties in France that did not call to march on January 11. The other two were Lutte Ouvrière and the NPA (New Left Party). But the fact that the POI, with its strong influence in both major trade union federations, refused to rally behind the “Sacred Union” is what has the bosses and the government worried.
It should also be noted that Marine Le Pen, head of the right-wing National Front, was not invited by Hollande to be part of the lead contingent of dignitaries in the Paris march. Given this “slight,” as Le Pen called it, the National Front did not call on its supporters to join the big march in Paris -- but in many other cities across France where they have a base, the National Front marched on January 11 with signs that read, “Paying Homage to the Victims of Islamic Terrorism!”
Another fact of note: One of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists killed on January 7, Honoré, had been a regular contributor of cartoons to Informations Ouvrières. He was also a subscriber to the newspaper till his tragic death.
The editors of Informations Ouvrières paid tribute to Honoré by printing in their issue No. 334 (January 15, 2015) a half dozen of his cartoons, two of which are included here as attachments. The first shows the Catholic Church (in the form of an archbishop) jumping atop the French Revolution. This was at the time of a right-wing campaign to get the French government to subsidize Catholic school education, much like the vouchers in the United States today. The second cartoon shows Pope John Paul II before one of his trips to Africa. The symbol of the cross has a small sign with “IMF” at the top.
The editorial in Issue No. 335 of Informations Ouvrières (January 22, 2015) exposes the efforts by the bosses and the government in France to manipulate the Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Casher killings toward their goal of putting a freeze on the class struggle in the name of a common fight against terrorism. It states, in part:
“Diverting the legitimate indignation that was provoked by the attacks of January 7-9, the government is seeking to force the unions to give up defending workers' interests. The ‘Sacred Union’ is thus little more than an attempt to impose a corporatist framework linking the workers' organizations to the capitalist class and the government.”
The centrality of this issue cannot be stressed enough. For months, the bosses’ association (MEDEF) and the government have done everything in their power to woo the French trade union federations into taking part in the Social Conference aimed at getting the unions to buy into and support the “Responsibility Pact,” the territorial reform, and the Macron bill -- all of which are profoundly reactionary and anti-worker.
For months, the European financial press (Les Echos, Financial Times, Die Zeit) have demanded that the French government conclude an agreement with the French trade unions in support of their corporate “reforms.” France’s failure to discipline the unions into accepting the dictates of the financial institutions, these periodicals have insisted, is holding back the entire EU, IMF, European Central Bank (the Troika) “reform” agenda.
The January 7-9 attacks at Charlie Hebdo and at the Hyper Casher supermarket gave the ruling class the opportunity to attempt, once again, to bring the trade unions on board in the implementation of this anti-working class program.
As the second POI statement on January 14 put it:
“On January 26, the French government wants the National Assembly to vote the Macron bill into law, which will open the door to more lay-offs and put collective labor-protection rights on the chopping block.
“It wants to push the implementation of the ‘Responsibility Pact’, which would cut 50 billion euros from public spending -- meaning fewer school placements for kids, fewer teachers and fewer jobs in the public services, hospitals, the Postal Service, etc. – while giving 41 billion euros in tax exemptions to the bosses.”
But not all the trade unions signed the call of the political parties and trade unions for the January 11 demonstration in Paris.
The CGT-Force Ouvrière trade union federation – as was noted earlier -- refused to sign the call for the January 11 mobilization, thereby creating a huge fissure in the entire “national unity/Sacred Union” offensive and compelling Hollande to call off the Social Conference. But this is not all. Today, all the main class-based trade unions (CGT, CGT-Force Ouvrières, FSU and Solidaires) are calling for a Day of Action and Strikes on January 26 against the Macron draft law.
The class struggle is alive and well in France, despite all the intense pressures to bury it in the name of “national unity to fight terrorism.”
But as central as the trade union question is in France today, it is not the full picture.
While there were 4 million in the streets on January 11, there were more than 5 million people in France of North African origin – mainly youth -- who wanted nothing to do with this march. Their absence from the demonstrations and from the continued tributes and political theatrics was glaring, as was the absence of people from West African or Caribbean origin.
This is what prompted the POI leadership to write the following in their second statement on January 14:
“On January 11, millions of people demonstrated to express their rejection of barbarism and their wish to live in peace and democracy.
“Others chose not to demonstrate: they have the same aspirations, but they are wary of political manipulation; they fear the oversimplifications and speeches about ‘communities’ -- in whatever form -- that are feeding hate and division, instead of combating them. . . .
“The government wants to use the legitimate emotions aroused by the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Casher supermarket in the Vincennes district to set up a ‘Sacred Union’ that would allow a policy of war, deprivation, and poverty to be pursued.
“Does this policy contribute toward peace and democracy? No, quite the opposite!
“The solution will come from the united mobilization of the workers with their organizations and the youth, against war and in favor of democracy, against the government’s plans and its counter-reforms.”
Addressing the youth, particularly the youth of North African origins in the cités -- that is, the suburban ghettos that surround Paris -- is therefore an urgent task.
The French media were alarmed, for example, that the youth in the cités were refusing to honor the minute of silence each day that was mandatory in all schools across France. They reported that students were walking out of classes and that teachers were not forcing the students back into the classrooms for the minute of silence, or, worse still, the teachers themselves were refusing to honor the minute of the silence.
In fact, teacher unionists have reported that a number of school-teachers were fired for not honoring the minute of silence. Quite clearly, it will be necessary for the teacher unions to fight and reverse these unjust terminations, just as it will also necessary to oppose each and every restriction on democratic rights -- every step down the road toward a French version of the Patriot Act.
And, as Informations Ouvriéres has begun to do, it will be important to address the deep concerns among both French citizens and immigrants of North African origin about the racism and Islamophobia that are bound to reach new levels in the aftermath of the January 7-9 killings.
The articles published in the past two issues of Informations Ouvriéres by the French Jewish Union for Peace, by Israeli historian Shlomo Sand, and by Lucien Gauthier are very significant in that regard.
The French Jewish Union for Peace writes, for example:
“In France, the unbearable social situation facing the population that has resulted from post-colonial immigration, the racism of State, the Islamophobia, the discrimination, the stigma and 24-hour identity controls . . . all of these bear a responsibility in the development of these fundamentalist currents -- currents that affect a fringe of a youth of all backgrounds, a youth without horizon.
“But Charlie Hebdo waged a political battle. . . . How can the criticism of religions ignore the relationship between the dominator and the dominated? Criticizing religions is also done in a context, in a political moment that is in no way neutral toward Muslims. The acts of Charlie Hebdo, and the cartoons and articles, are acts that contributed to the development of Islamophobia in France. . . .
“People of North African origin have been designated as scapegoats for the economic and social crisis. . . . We reject in advance all the new ‘security’ laws and all the new forms of discrimination against Muslims that this ‘national unity’ will no doubt produce.”
Likewise, Israeli historian Shlomo Sand, did not mince words:
“I am all for freedom of expression, but I am also opposed to racist incitement.
“An ill wind, a foul wind of dangerous racism is hovering over Europe: There is a fundamental difference between attacking a religion or a prevailing belief in society, and inciting attacks against the religion of a dominated minority.
“In France or Denmark, in Germany or Spain, where there are millions of Muslim workers -- workers who are relegated to the most menial and difficult tasks at the bottom of the social ladder -- we must exercise the utmost caution before criticizing Islam and, most important, we must not ridicule this religion crudely.
“Today, especially after the terrible massacre, my sympathy goes to the Muslims living in ghettos adjacent to the metropolitan areas. They are likely to become the second victims of the murders that took place at Charlie Hebdo and at the Hyper-Casher supermarket.”
For his part, Lucien Gauthier, editor of Informations Ouvrières, wrote the following:
“To date more than 50 mosques and Maghreb associations have been the object of attacks. At the same time, an outrageous political-media campaign has been unleashed to demand that all ‘Muslims’ issue a personal statement on these attacks. This is not directed at them as citizens, but as ‘Muslims,’ thus identifying a sector of the population with a religion and that religion, in turn, with terrorists. . . .
“In France, there are millions of people from Northern Africa, the majority of them French citizens. They are among the most exploited and oppressed layers of the population. This campaign, under the pretext of the fight against terrorism, is directly targeting this sector.
“Moreover, the same people who are waging this campaign against the people of North African origin are the ones who placed the representatives of Qatar and Saudi Arabia at the head of the January 11 demonstration in Paris. These are two countries that finance the groups that the press calls ‘Islamists’ and that impose a reign of terror against their own people in the name of Sharia law!”
Also very significant is the section in the statement adopted January 15 by the Paris Departmental Union of the CGT trade union federation, which declares:
“For the CGT Departmental Union of Paris, unity and the desire to live together in a fraternal society cannot be transformed into a ‘Sacred Union’ aimed at having us forget the social misery produced by the economic policies implemented in recent decades that are the breeding ground for the emergence of such criminal acts.
“Nothing will obstruct the CGT Departmental Union of Paris from fighting back against the austerity policies of these leaders!
“We call for strengthening solidarity among working people, and promoting unity in the fight against discrimination, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all the plans of austerity implemented in France and around the world by French imperialism.
“The best answer today for the defense of democratic rights and freedoms is to combat the ‘Responsibility Pact,’ the ‘territorial reform’ and the Macron draft law -- a Draconian piece of legislation fostering social regression.”
The Departmental Union brings together all the CGT unions in the city of Paris. The CGT trade union federation, it should also be recalled, was controlled with a tight grip during many decades by the French Communist Party. But, as the statement above attests, this is no longer the case.
Events in France are at the center of the world political situation today. These are very challenging and difficult times for the comrades in the POI. It would be wrong to underestimate the pressures and hardships they will have to face given the stance they have taken and the role that they play in the class struggle.
But this is also a time laden with big opportunities for these POI comrades. Not only has the French working class not been defeated, it is rising up anew and reclaiming its best class-struggle traditions.
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