On Tuesday 13 May, two million French workers went on strike and took to the streets to protest against the government’s plan to increase the length of time French public sector workers have to work before retirement from 37.5 to 40 years (this is the length of time that private sector workers have to work).
Although the protestors were overwhelmingly from the public sector, there was widespread support the private sector workers, too. Above all, the day of strike action was supported by all the union federations – an unprecedented event in recent years. All in all, this amounted to a 24 hour mini-general strike.
As in November-December 1995, the vanguard of the struggle was composed of public transport workers, in particular the railways and the Paris metro. This is remarkable because, ostensibly, these sectors – which have “special regime” retirement plans, enabling them to retire at 55 years of age – were not explicitly targeted by the government’s current proposals.
However, they were not fooled by the Raffarin government’s plans – were the bulk of the public sector to be defeated today, the transport workers would be next in line.
The success of the movement was substantial, and in the Paris region metro workers kept the strike going for an extra two days. Inevitably, the union leaders saw the strike as being a way of pressuring government into making concessions on their plan, rather than the start of a mass mobilisation to throw out all Raffarin’s proposals and to bring the private sector into line with the public sector.
The day after the strike, the union leaders sat round the table with Francois Fillon, the minister charged with launching this massive attack against French workers’ living standards. Within a few hours, the union united front had broken, as the CFDT, which plausibly claimed to have been responsible for bringing out many of the private sector workers on 13 May, leapt into the government’s camp and signed up to this vicious attack.
François Chérèque, the leader of the CFDT, signed up to Raffarin’s anti-working class attacks, having gained some virtually non-existent changes to small pensions. He claimed that by so doing, the CFDT had saved the current pensions system! The government immediately stated that because the CFDT, together with a minute management union, the CGC, had accepted their proposal, the question was now settled.
The other unions, in particular the CGT and FO, which represent the vast majority of public sector workers, don’t see things that way. They have called for a 24 hour general strike of public sector workers on Monday 19 May, and for a massive demonstration in Paris on Sunday 25 May. Many unions – in particular in the transport sector – have called for rolling strikes to take place throughout next week, creating a de facto national general strike.
In particular, many CFDT local unions have denounced their leadership”s “betrayal” and are throwing themselves into the twin struggle against the government and against the union leadership. However, their past record of acceptance of the CFDT’s previous betrayals – in particular their scab role in 1995 – suggests that they will stop short of either splitting the union or getting rid of their pro-capitalist leaders.
At the same time, teachers are maintaining their mobilisation against creeping privatisation, participating in the 19 May strike, and threatening to refuse to mark exam papers at this crucial moment in the education calendar.
The key tasks of the moment in France are • Launch an all-out general strike against the Raffarin-Chirac government • Build action committees in all the localities, grouping public and private sector workers around a programme of action that can defend public services and working conditions for all workers • Fight to overthrow the union bureaucracies – both left and right – and unite the unions under a programme of workers’ democracy and workers’ action. • Build a new masss workers’ party, based on a revolutionary programme.
The French left, unfortunately, is unable and unwilling to fight for such a programme. Lutte Ouvriere, as always, refuses to state clearly what is necessary, hiding behind vague formulations calling for a movement that is sufficiently strong to frighten government and bosses into withdrawing their attacks. Never would the timid centrists of LO call clearly for the kind of programme and rank and file organisation that is such a burning necessity.
While their main competitors, the LCR, have to their credit called for an all-out general strike, they are hampered both morally and politically by bearing a massive responsibility for shackling the working class to Chirac’s plans. A year ago, the LCR called for a vote for Chirac in the second round of the elections against the fascist Jean-Marie Le Pen, claiming that the bosses would be weakened by a massive support for their candidate! The working class is paying the price for this cock-eyed opportunism. The LCR enthusiastically helped give Chirac the massive support that the presidential crook then relied upon to build both the right’s subsequent parliamentary victory, and today’s determined attacks.
And by failing to fight to build a cross-union rank and file movement for workers’ democracy and a determined fightback against both the union leaders – of all the confederations, not just the CFDT – and the government, the LCR is simply acting as the most left face of the reformist consciousness of the working class. Far from providing a revolutionary lead, they behave like LO and tail the current opinions of workers.
All those militants in both LO and the LCR who have argued with us that their organisations, no matter how flawed on this and that issue, represent a real working class alternative, would do well to measure the miserable performance of their organisations in the current crisis. If Chirac once again escapes from the wrath of the proletariat, the far left will have no small responsibility in the matter.