The revolt of the French estates The revolt of the youth on the estates of cities right across France reflects a deep malaise within French society, especially among the most downtrodden layers. You cannot coop up unemployed immigrant youth in the dreary estates on the outskirts of France’s cities, leave them without hope, oppressed and discriminated against, and expect life to continue as normal. This eruption of violent protest is an indication of a wider movement that will affect every layer of French society in the coming period, particularly the working class and its organisations.
Mass demonstrations in France, strike action continues in Marseille and Corsica Over one million workers and youth participated in the mass demonstrations during the national day of action in France on October 4, in which some 100 000 marched in Paris. This new high point in the recent history of the workers’ movement is a further indication of the explosive social and political situation that exists in France. The day of action, which included public sector strikes, was supported by all the main trade union organisations.
Pierre, friend, revolutionary, Marxist As we announced a few weeks ago, on July 25, Pierre Broué passed away. We have published several articles remembering the role this remarkable man played in the development of the ideas of Marxism. Here we publish a piece by two Italian Marxists that gives an interesting insight into the life of Pierre Broué, based on several long conversations with him in the final years of his life, and on a thorough reading of his works.
A tribute to Pierre Broué Greg Oxley of the French Marxist journal, La Riposte, pays tribute to the outstanding revolutionary, Pierre Broué.
In Memory of Pierre Broué (1926-2005) Pierre Broué, French historian, Trotskyist militant, and editor of the Cahiers Leon Trotsky, passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning. His loss will be mourned by working class militants and revolutionaries everywhere.In Spanish: En memoria de Pierre Broué (1926-2005)
Pierre J'ai connu Pierre il y aura 4O ans dans quelques semaines. J'arrivais à Sciences Politiques Grenoble. Déjà étudiant en économie, venant ici pour tenter de comprendre ma propre histoire, ce professeur m'offrait, de mon point de vue, la meilleure introduction à ce que je venais chercher. Un professeur étonnant. Il n'arrivait pas pour nous lire ce qu'il avait écrit auparavant. Il prenait place devant nous pour un moment de création imtellectuelle. Pour moi, les cours de Broué c'était la pensée vivante en action.
The death of Pierre Broué, an irreparable loss to Marxism With profound sadness we learned of the death of comrade Pierre Broué, the outstanding Trotskyist historian and veteran revolutionary militant. After a long and painful battle against cancer, Pierre passed away at 03h04 on Wednesday July 27, at the age of 79. In Spanish: La muerte de Pierre Broué - Una perdida irreparable para el marxismo InGerman: Der Tod von Pierre Broué, ein unwiederbringlicher Verlust für den Marxismus
The referendum in France: Workers say "no" to capitalist Europe The referendum in France on the European Constitution has resulted in a decisive defeat for the ruling class. In spite of a particularly intense campaign by the media, the UMP government and the right-wing of the Socialist Party, 55% of voters have rejected the treaty.
Chirac and Raffarin suffer a crushing defeat in regional elections The right-wing parties suffered an absolutely crushing defeat in the local elections in France. Never, in the entire history of the country, have the capitalist parties been so completely eradicated from elected institutions at any level. As we predicted the victory of the right two years ago was merely preparing an even bigger swing to the left at a later stage. See the original in French: La déroute électorale plonge le gouvernement dans une crise majeure
Class struggle erupts again in France More than half a million public and private sector workers demonstrated on February 5 against proposals to scrap the 35-hour week, while 100,000 school students came on the streets to protest against education reform on February 10. The class struggle in France has suddenly spluttered back into life after more than eighteen months of relative slumber.
Pierre Broue and the Trotsky Project: "The youth must rediscover the writings of Trotsky" Pierre Broue is internationally renowned for his tireless work as a historian of the international revolutionary movement. His histories of the Bolshevik Party, the Communist International, the Spanish Revolution, and above all his recent Life of Trotsky have been widely admired. His latest book on the Left Opposition is yet another major contribution by this outstanding Trotskyist writer, who has dedicated his life to the fight for international socialism.
The recent strikes and mass demonstrations in France France has made the headlines in the recent period thanks to a wave of strikes mainly aimed at stopping the government's attacks on pensions. The militancy of the French workers however was not matched by their own trade union leaders, who played a key role in fragmenting and confusing the movement. The workers will draw their own conclusions over the coming period.
French workers move into action against Raffarin On Tuesday, May 13, two million workers in more than 120 different towns demonstrated against the right-wing government in France. The public sector workers were massively represented, but tens of thousands of private sector workers were also on the demonstrations. The demonstrations on May 13 were a magnificent show of the strength and determination of workers and youth throughout France.
Workers mobilise against the Raffarin government's privatisation plans Tuesday November 26 saw the biggest mobilisation of workers since the victory of the right-wing in presidential and parliamentary elections six months ago. The main demonstration that took place in Paris saw 70-80,000 public sector workers on the streets following a call by the 3 main federations, CGT, CFDT and FO. This march took place in parallel to a number of similar strikes and rallies up and down the country. The movement was principally called in response to the government's plans to privatise and downsize large swathes of the public sector.
