The three-month extension of the State of emergency is proof that the
long march to people’s power has begun
November 16, 2005
The three-month extension of the State of emergency is proof that the long
march to people’s power has begun.
It is also proof that those who did not dare open their mouths prior to
the State of Emergency do not want a protracted people’s rebellion, a revolutionary
long march.
Three months more. That which was supposed to be temporary has become permanent.
That which was supposed to be an exceptional situation had become the norm.
The nightmare of the petit bourgeoisie has become reality. The capitalist
crisis has is at the point of no return, the point where the clash of class
against class begins.
The State, which was overwhelmed from the very start, takes on class the
class struggle in the same way that it always has in the past: with greater
and more militarized violence.
This in does not bother the French bourgeoisie in the least, for it has
been used to popular uprisings since the Paris Commune of 1871.
But for those parties which represent the interests of the petit bourgeoisie,
this represents a complete break down.
An initial proof of this break down was that these parties did not open
their mouths until the curfew was imposed.
From the Greens to the Trotskyist and anarchist paper revolutionaries [please
see translators note below], nobody dared to say a thing so long as the rebellion
looked like it was still growing.
This shows the class nature of this position – like Alain Krivine of the
LCR [translators note : Ligue Revolutionnaire Communiste - Revolutionary
Communist League – an important Trotskyist organization] who talks to the
social-chauvinist Marianne magazine; he does not talk about fighting the police
or the necessity of one day moving towards an insurrection, but rather how
he went on “rounds” with his neighbours to protect his building from the
violence in Saint-Denis.
For in any case, as he said, “no political organization can be seen amongst
these young people.”
The second proof of this break down is that these parties all threw themselves
into a big movement against the State of Emergency, trying to bring about
another holy union, just like for the “No” vote against the constitution.
Not only was nobody fooled into following their lead, but the State even
extended the State of Emergency, showing that what they represented socially
did not even exist.
All of the illusions of the petit bourgeoisie about reforming “neo-liberalism,”
about “another world,” etc. have all flown out the window.
At a time when the popular rebellion is at the point of confronting the
State :
- should we carry out more agitation and propaganda to overthrow capitalism,
or else should we criticize a State of Emergency that aims to “camouflage
the social blight caused by years of neo-liberal policies in the service of
the MEDEF” (LCR) [translator’s note: the MEDEF is an important French employers’
association]
- should we explain the nature of the state, its COMPLETE submission
to the bourgeoisie, or else should we organize “a big demonstration during
the coming days against the escalation of security and repression by Chirac/de
Villepin/Sarkozy.” (LCR)?
The truth is that the petit bourgeoisie sees its dreams of having some role
going up in smoke. From now on, in order to exist it will have to ally with
the bourgeoisie, tilting towards fascism. The rebellion has swept aside any
“conciliatory” or “reformist” option to deflate the class struggle.
They hoped to manipulate the masses by leading them into a “citizen’s” “republican”
initiative against the State of Emergency, all trade union demands.
This deception was met with indifference, showing the high level of mass
consciousness in regards to these miserable proposals that would betray the
people’s rebellion.
A people’s rebellion that has been welcomed by the most conscious elements
in all of the capitalist countries, from Athens to Montreal, and even in Africa,
Asia and Latin America.
A people’s rebellion that has made the European Union tremble, the head
of the commission José Manuel Barroso proposing that the EU immediately
donate “50 million Euros right away” to France, a sum which could eventually
be increased to as much as one billion Euros, to show how concerned it is.
A people’s rebellion that is set to last, because the quiet that is descending
is merely the calm before tomorrow’s storm.
The masses are doing a good job of applying the principal of people’s struggle:
“the enemy advances, we withdraw; the enemy stops, we harass him; he retreats,
we pursue him.”
The rebellion has drawn a clear line of demarcation.
There are those like Lutte Ouvrier [translators note: a Trotskyist organization]
who believe that “This explosion of violence is sterile. Setting fire to cars
that belong to your parents or neighbours, setting fire to buses which serve
the people’s neighbourhoods, looting schools, these just show that those
who are carry out these acts are lacking a social conscience and sense of
solidarity.” (Arlette Laguiller).
And there are those who believe that this is the long-awaited start of the
long march to destroy the State – for communism!
Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist Maoist) November 2005
Translator’s note: When the CP(MLM) refer to “Trotskyist
and anarchist paper revolutionaries,” the wording makes it unclear if they
mean “those Trotskyists and anarchists who are paper revolutionaries” or that
all anarchists and Trotskyists are “paper revolutionaries.” One can only
note, in this regard, that different anarchist organizations have held different
points of view, some more similar to those describes as petit bourgeois, and
some more similar to the very perspective put forward by the CP(MLM). To
give just one example: the Montreal demonstration in support of the rioters
alluded to later in this text was in fact organized by anarchists.
Please note that the above text about the past weeks’ riots in France comes
from the website of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist Maoist) in France and
translated by yours truly. I have a “fast and loose” translation philosophy,
meaning that when there is a choice between readability and the original phraseology
i tend to favour the former, provided that the meaning stays the same. The original document can be seen in French.
This originally came from my blog - Sketchy Thoughts
- and is one of a number of pieces i wrote or translated regarding the
riots that rocked France in October and November 2005. To see the a complete
list of such posts, i suggest you check out the 2005 Riots In France page on the Kersplebedeb
site.