HASAfter the double shock of Sunday evening – that of the historic result of the far-right in the European elections (37% of the votes by combining the score of the National Rally and Reconquest) then the announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly by Emmanuel Macron – the time has come for action and mobilizations of progressive forces.
In a press release published Tuesday June 11, five national unions – the CGT, the CFDT, the Unsa, FSU and Solidaires – call for “manifest as widely as possible” this weekend June 15 and 16, “to support the need for progressive alternatives for the world of work”.
A mobilization encouraged by the CGT, even before the common call from all the unions. It offers employees·es to organize in all workplaces, by providing them with a kit against the extreme right “updated regularly” : a significant part of the RN electorate – a quarter of voters for the Bardella list – declares itself close to an employee union, including the CGT, the CFDT, the Unsa and – above all – Force Ouvrière. There is therefore a lot of work to be done among members and supporters. The confederations also invite the world of work “to join a union, to organize and to participate in all mobilization initiatives against the extreme right and against the policies of Emmanuel Macron”.
Actions everywhere in France
Rallies and demonstrations are also planned throughout France in the coming weeks: a General Assembly against the extreme right and the government in Brest, an anti-fascist Assembly in Rennes, a rally against the extreme right in Lyon and an aperitif “Youth for a Popular Front” in Lille on Wednesday June 12, an anti-fascist assembly in Nantes, an antifa AG in Bordeaux and a discussion organized by Fatima Ouassak, co-founder of the Mothers’ Front in popular neighborhoods, in Paris this June 13 to organize against the extreme right, an antifa leafleting and door-to-door workshop in Angers on June 14, demonstrations in Paris, Lille, Strasbourg, La Rochelle, Nantes, Bayonne, Niort and Marseille on Saturday June 15 and in Caen and Saint-Brieuc Sunday June 16…
All of the mobilizations can be found on the 2024 Local Resistance Map, a collaborative map to identify and disseminate events across France against the far right, “particularly in territories less invested by the new popular front than the big cities”.
These movements follow the agreement of communists, ecologists, socialists and Insoumis on Monday June 10 to ” popular Front “ and to present single candidates in each constituency in the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7. A movement joined the next day by the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA). “Victory against the far right and Macron is only possible on the condition of broad mobilization of the population, particularly in businesses, working-class neighborhoods and youth,” notes the latter.
A “democratic and social surge”
If the far right is gaining ground throughout Europe, France is the country in which it has the highest score, lament the unions, recalling that they have been warning for years about the social and democratic crisis sweeping through the country. At issue: a policy of undermining rights against workers, which turns its back on society and creates downgrading”. “The abandonment of industries and public services, the forceful passage of pension reform, and the absence of prospects for progress and the trivialization of racist theses constitute the breeding ground on which the far right thrives”insist the trade union organizations, which call for a “democratic and social surge”.
Highlighting the “heavy responsibility” what Emmanuel Macron is taking by deciding to dissolve the National Assembly and organize early legislative elections, the unions refer to the social deterioration at work in Italy or Argentina, particularly harmful to workers and the most precarious, in order to warn against a possible victory of the far right: austerity for salaries and public services, constitutional reforms calling into question the independence of justice and the role of unions, racist policies which pit workers against each other, reconsideration of cause of women’s rights and emancipation…
“These recent experiences show us that a democracy like ours can tip over and that fundamental rights can regress very quickly. Then all that remains is the xenophobic, retrograde and anti-ecological project of the extreme right. point to Friends of the Earth.
Strong social demands
In order to generate a real start, the trade union organizations list around ten strong social demands in their press release. The renunciation of unemployment insurance, first of all, which aims to toughen the conditions of compensation for the unemployed. Following the dissolution of the National Assembly, the latter could be adopted by decree. They also ask to return to pension reform. The president of the RN Jordan Bardella said he wanted to repeal this reform, which he described as “catastrophic” economically and “not saving money”. The RN ultimately no longer makes it a priority, remaining vague about its intentions.
The trade union organizations also want the establishment of equal pay and the implementation of tax justice measures, particularly the taxation of super-profits. Since 2017, the latter have benefited from particularly advantageous taxation, with the abolition of the solidarity tax on wealth in 2018 or the abolition of the housing tax last year, to name only these two measures. Finally, unions demand the creation of new rights for workers “in order to anticipate environmental transformations and secure their employment”.
The associations mobilized
The call for mobilization was relayed shortly after by the Inter-Syndicale of Higher Education and Research: “The far right never condemns the insufficient resources in universities, services and laboratories, nor does it speak of the deterioration of working conditions for all staff. Our organizations are calling staff and students now·are to mobilize massively to prevent the extreme right from coming to government. » Many local student unions, such as the Besançon Student Alternative or the Union Pirate de Rennes, are calling for more gatherings and to join “ in mass ” THE ” New Popular Front “.
Several associations have also joined this union of social forces. The Human Rights League thus demands “for all political forces to dialogue, to put all of their differences aside and to mobilize in order to propose a common front in the electoral field in the face of adversity”, and says he wants to work on this without delay with all the union and association forces who share this objective. Attac France is also responding to this “immense task”. “We need to roll up our sleeves and go on the offensive to install a progressive majority in the Assembly”insists the organization.
Many environmental and feminist organizations are also calling for people to go vote and join the demonstrations against the far right planned before the first round of the legislative elections: Greenpeace, Les Uprisings of the Earth, Front de Mères, etc.
“For women, racialized people, LGBTQIA+ people, children, marginalized groups, people who campaign for human rights and for the preservation of life, the accession to power by the extreme right on July 7 will not be will boil down more to issues of rights, but it is indeed one of survivalworries the Nous Tous collective. Our existence is taken over by these deadly political forces, our response is strong, in our flesh, in the streets”
