France: how to win?

The planned day of action on 2 October, called by the inter-union committee of trade union confederation leaders, will probably be massive, as so many days of action have been over the last twenty years. During the mass movement against the raising of the retirement age to 64, from January to June 2023, fourteen days of action were organised, some of which mobilised more than 3 million demonstrators. Macron, however, did not budge an inch: the counter-reform was pushed through.

[Originally published in French at marxiste.org]

The role of the inter-union committee

Based on this experience, many young people and workers have realised that days of action alone are powerless. But the inter-union committee is sticking to its guns: in the aftermath of 18 September, it ‘threatened’ Lecornu with a new day of action if he did not quickly announce the abandonment of all the austerity measures in the ‘Bayrou plan’. It also demanded “the abandonment of the increase in the legal retirement age to 64” and the mobilisation of additional “budgetary resources” for public services.

Did Sophie Binet (General Confederation of Labour – CGT), Marylise Léon (French Democratic Confederation of Labour – CFDT), Frédéric Souillot (Workers’ Force – FO), and all the other leaders of the inter-union committee imagine for a moment that Macron and Lecornu would give in to this ‘ultimatum’? Of course not. Why, then, did they issue it? Because they do not want to raise the struggle to the level of force required. 

They fear that the movement will escape their control and threaten the entire established order. So, instead of stepping up a gear, building on the militancy that was expressed on 10 and 18 September, they wanted to calm things down and put a break on the momentum created by the ‘Bloquons tout’ (‘Block everything’) movement.

The actions of the inter-union committee are lamentable, but that's how it is. A growing number of young people and workers understand this. Many CGT activists, in particular, are strongly critical of the leaders of the confederation.

Unité CGT, a newspaper of the left wing of the CGT, describes the inter-union committee as the “headquarters of defeat”, calls for “rejecting the strategy of isolated days of action (...) whose sole objective is to bury the social movement”, and stresses the need to build an “unlimited strike movement” based on a programme that puts the movement on the offensive.

Unité CGT is right, and speaks clearly and well. But the question remains: how can an unlimited strike movement be built in a context where the inter-union committee – including the leadership of the CGT – is dragging its feet? Since 10 September, thousands of young people and workers have been asking themselves this question. Let's try to answer it.

Going on the offensive

Firstly, it should be remembered that the conservatism of the union leadership is only a relative – and not absolute – obstacle to the development of a broad movement of unlimited strikes. The general strikes of June 1936 and May 1968 developed against the will of the union leaders, who were presented with a fait accompli.

When the anger and exasperation of the exploited reaches a certain threshold, the vicissitudes of political and social life always provide the spark that provokes a social explosion, whatever the union leaders say or do. In 1936, the spark was the electoral victory of the Popular Front. In 1968, it was the brutal repression of students by General de Gaulle's regime. Many other examples could be drawn from the history of the international labour movement.

The central task of the most militant elements is to unite their forces in a systematic effort to raise the level of consciousness and organisation of the movement / Image: Unité CGT

Can such a movement develop in France in the coming weeks and months? Yes, it is possible, because the exasperation of the masses is reaching very high levels. And sooner or later, what is possible will become inevitable.

Of course, no one is suggesting that we sit idly by and wait for the masses to take the initiative. Conversely, it is not a question of trying to artificially trigger a global struggle through isolated initiatives. The central task of the most militant elements – CGT activists, France Insoumise activists, the ‘radical left’ in general – is to unite their forces in a systematic effort to raise the level of consciousness and organisation of the movement. 

The inter-union committee’s deliberate attempts to sabotage the movement must be countered with a clear, offensive battle plan. This must then be systematically promoted and defended in workplaces, universities, secondary schools, demonstrations, general assemblies, public meetings, and all the organisations of the labour movement.

What programme?

A serious battle plan starts with a good programme. The inter-union committee is putting forward a programme that is very limited, vague, and defensive. Its demands include the abandonment of the measures in the ‘Bayrou plan’, “the abandonment [of] retirement at 64”, “a high level of social protection”, “adequate budgetary resources for public services”, “the reindustrialisation of France”, and so on.

Such vague and moderate demands are an obstacle to the development of a powerful strike movement. Most workers cannot sacrifice one or more days' wages lightly: the strike must be worth their while, and the objectives of the struggle must be commensurate with the sacrifices made.

This is why ‘days of action,’ even when massive, are never real 24-hour general strikes: in the private sector, in particular, strike rates on days of action are always very low (except in companies that are already striking).

In an address to CGT activists on 22 September, CGT General Secretary Sophie Binet acknowledged this fact, but blamed it on grassroots activists and, in passing, took a dig at the left wing of the CGT: “Before talking about a renewable strike, we must first go on strike and get our colleagues to join us!” In reality, the problem is not the lack of willingness of CGT activists to fight: it is Sophie Binet's ultra-moderate programme.

We must defend and popularise an offensive programme: for the right to retire at 60 (at most), a general increase in wages and their indexation to inflation, a massive increase in the number of public-sector workers, the hiring of millions of unemployed people on the basis of major public works projects and a reduction in working hours, the repeal of all the counter-reforms of the last ten years, and the nationalisation (under workers' control) of all large companies that are laying off workers or are threatened with closure. 

Of course, we must also take up the slogan chanted by so many demonstrators on 10 and 18 September: ‘Macron, resign!’ Finally, we must defend the necessity of replacing the ‘government of the rich’ with a government of the workers. They create all the wealth in society, and know how to manage the economy for the benefit of the majority.

For a broad campaign of agitation

A good programme is essential, but it is not a magic wand with which you can instantly mobilise the masses. This programme must be carried to every corner of the country, company by company, district by district, as part of a vast campaign of agitation.

A major campaign of agitation would make it possible to determine which sections of the working class are ripe for action / Image: fair use

Such a campaign is also the best way to accurately gauge the militancy of different layers of the working class. In 1935, Leon Trotsky wrote about the situation in France: 

“Is a general strike possible in the near future? There is no a priori answer to such a question [...]. To get an answer, one must know how to ask the question. Who? The masses. How to ask them? Through agitation.

“Agitation is not only a means of communicating certain slogans to the masses, of calling the masses to action, etc. Agitation is also a means for the party to listen to the masses, to gauge their mood and thoughts and, depending on the results, to take certain practical decisions. [...] For Marxists, for Leninists, agitation is always a dialogue with the masses, [a dialogue that must make it possible to provide] the necessary details, particularly with regard to the rhythm of the movement and the dates for major actions.”

A major campaign of agitation would make it possible to determine which sections of the working class are ripe for action, and which sectors are still hesitant and need to be convinced. Without a systematic survey of the entire working class, it is not possible to draw up a solid battle plan.

Of course, this is a long and arduous task. It is easier, but much less conclusive, to throw out calls for a ‘general strike’ to the four winds. As Trotsky pointed out, again with regard to France: “A revolutionary victory is only possible after a long period of political agitation, a long period of education and organisation of the masses.”

For militant trade unions!

If the inter-union committee, instead of playing ping-pong with Macron and Lecornu, were to draw up a serious battle plan based on a fighting programme and a broad campaign of agitation, we have no doubt that the mass of young people and workers would respond enthusiastically. But as we have said, and as everyone knows: the current inter-union committee has no intention whatsoever of going down this path.

The most militant activists must not lose sight of the need to also fight resolutely the conservatism of the trade union leaders / Image: Unité CGT, Twitter

We must draw all the necessary conclusions from this. The most militant activists, who have the task of leading the struggle against the bourgeoisie and its government, must not lose sight of the need to also fight resolutely the conservatism of the trade union leaders. These two struggles complement each other; in fact, they are inseparable.

Conservative and careerist trade union leaders, who spend their time ‘negotiating’ attacks against workers and young people, must be replaced by leaders determined to organise a serious struggle. This is true at the confederal level, of course, but also at all other levels of the trade union movement.

Back in March 2023, the 53rd CGT congress was marked by a polarisation unprecedented in decades. The left wing was strong and on the offensive, even though the right wing managed to place one of its own, Sophie Binet, in the position of general secretary. This fight must continue at all costs, without fear of ‘dividing’ the CGT. Unity is a very good thing, but not when it means the participation of the CGT leadership in the ‘headquarters of defeat’, according to the excellent phrase coined by the comrades of Unité CGT.

The CGT will only be able to play its role fully if it is united around an offensive, radical, and revolutionary strategy and programme. When it was founded 130 years ago, the CGT set itself the goal of defending and improving the living and working conditions of the working class, but also of putting an end to capitalism and exploitation. It is high time to intensify and systematise the struggle within the CGT to reconnect with its revolutionary origins.