Strikes and protests against the Macron government have been going on for months in France. The protest began in January against a pension “reform” that aims to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, but soon went far beyond this simple demand: today the mobilization of the masses objectively aims at the fall of Macron and of the government.
By PdAC, Italy
Since January there have been eight days of national strike, of which the most popular was the one on March 23, which took place the day after Macron’s authoritarian act, who, making use of art. 49.3 of the Constitution, managed to get the reform approved by going over the National Assembly.
The reaction of the French masses was historic: on March 23, millions of workers and students took to the streets of all the cities of France (900,000 in Paris alone), organizing barricades and self-defense against police repression (which in many cases was forced to back off). In Paris, the Charles de Gaulle airport and the Gare de Lyon train station were blocked for hours. In some cities, town halls and municipalities were assaulted (in Bordeaux, the Municipal Palace was set on fire). March 28 was also an intense day of fighting, with heavy fighting, particularly in Paris.
Above all, many sectors of workers and many factories have autonomously decided to organize prolonged strikes (attributable stoppages o due): This happened in the transport sector (railway workers are one of the most combative sectors: unfortunately a Sud Rail railway worker lost an eye due to the repression), in refineries, in companies in the energy sector and in public cleaning. Paris and other cities are invaded by garbage due to the indefinite strike of the waste collectors. Hundreds of schools and universities are also busy.
The great days of national strike are proclaimed jointly by all the French unions, the so-called “inter-union”, which bring together the confederal and base unions (Solidaires and others). If, compared to the Italian union leaderships, the French are setting a positive example –here the CGIL invites Meloni to speak at its Congress and the grassroots unions often refuse to proclaim unitary strikes with the confederates–, at the same time they demonstrate strong limits, which risk weakening the protest and leading it to a dead end. The “inter-union”, including the national leadership of the CGT, instead of actively supporting the prolonged strike actions decided by sectors of its own base, proclaiming, as would be necessary, a prolonged general strike, limits itself to calling individual and isolated ” days of action”, with strikes and demonstrations at variable intervals. After the day of March 23, the conditions were ripe for a prolonged, disruptive and successful action, capable of breaking Macron, the government and the bosses. Instead, they once again opted for simple strike days (March 28 and April 6): this mode of action isolates and stifles courageous actions of prolonged strikes.
The militants of the LIT-Fourth International in France are active in the struggle to favor the organization of struggle committees that can bypass the bureaucratic leadership and build a great prolonged strike action until the overthrow of Macron and the government! And, at the same time, build that revolutionary political leadership without which it is impossible to lead the fight to victory.
Translation: Natalia Estrada.