This is a being considered a partial victory on the French left because its widely recognised as an admission of weakness on the part of the government.
Also, if there hadn't been demonstrations, blockages, and riots then the right-wing Republicans would have voted with Macron's En Marche/Renaissance to pass it in the Assemblé nationale (the parliament), but they didn't because they shit themselves over how overwhelmingly unpopular it is, and they don't want to lose in future local elections.
The French are pissed.
The demonstrations went up to the Assemblée today and got heavily gassed and beaten. French police have also been savagely beating and gassing activists helping unions to block spots like garbage truck stations, and the French government is trying to hire poorly paid, precarious workers to move the garbage instead (above all to clean it up in bougie areas, ofc), which also then got blocked, to which the police applied a dose of beating and gassings.
The more worrying aspect is that, like in Weimar Germany, this sets a precendent to using the dictatorial powers of the executive in the constitution to pass regressive and unpopular legislation without the consent of the legislature, let alone the working class. This will also increase the unpopularity of the government, driving fascism forward. On the other hand, Le Pen's fascist RN have been pretty all over the place on this.
Overall the left came out looking good from this, and the government weak, corrupt, and undemocratic. It's definitely radicalized a bunch of people, especially young'uns, who haven't had an opportunity to get involved in this level of political activity since the Floyd protests spread here, and before that, the Yellow Vest riots. There has also been more organization and actual political consciousness and radicalization than during the Yellow Vests, which were unorganized and all over the place. There also seems to be increasing convergence of political struggles, class-based, anti-racist, feminist and pro-LGBT.
It's important that the hard left uses this to help people realised that these struggles are intrinsically interconnected. They need to weaponize the anger and energy for radicalization and organization.
Sure, but I'm afraid that it will just help the right-wing. At least in the US, the left wouldn't be allowed to say much in mainstream media, so the only people attacking stuff like this would be dishonest conservatives. If France is similar, things will only get worse.
Do you mean that Macron’s use of 49.3 will only help the right?
I don’t think so. The centre right have been pretty shattered, the Republicans and the PS are very diminished as political forces, and it’s true that the right is radicalizing, but then again the far right has always moved somewhat in lockstep with a radicalizing and
organizing left because they are also a reaction to the failures of liberal capitalism.
M’y impression is that what is going on now in France is radicalizing a lot of people towards the left, over issues that have been building for a while. There have also been recent reactionary laws on work and unemployment, as well as profoundly racist immigration laws brought by rapist minister of the interior Darmanin.
The French right are trying to gain from it to embellish their populist credentials but I don’t think it’s touching young people as much as they’d like. That being said, the French far right RN had distinguished itself in recent history by actually having a far higher proportion of young people as members and activists compared to other far right movements.
There is also the French equivalent of Fox News, CNews, which is as vile as u can imagine. Like imagine great replacement theorist fascists but they’re either decrepit old nonces and aristocrats or they’re 99 cent store, hunting, bougie versions of Andrew Tate.
That being said, the success of the fash has mainly been amongst the bougie, petit boug and more rural precarized white workers. The precarized middle classes and most virulently reactionary elements of the bourgeoisie have been their base of support. In the cities and amongst most young people the left is definitely stronger. The situation is better than in most of Italy. Amongst students notably, although there are also bastions of academic and student reaction.
It should be remembered that France is kinda unique in the west because more so than other countries it managed to preserve something like and organized left and unions during the neoliberal onslaught, despite waves of reformism, opportunism and sectarianism following the left’s post-war peak.
The left, including it’s more organized and radical elements, is far more present and vocal on media in France than in, say, the US or the UK, even though the corporate media is equally corrupt and beholden to capitalist interests.
TLDR: everything under Heaven is chaos. The situation is excellent. :mao-aggro-shining:
This is a being considered a partial victory on the French left because its widely recognised as an admission of weakness on the part of the government.
Also, if there hadn't been demonstrations, blockages, and riots then the right-wing Republicans would have voted with Macron's En Marche/Renaissance to pass it in the Assemblé nationale (the parliament), but they didn't because they shit themselves over how overwhelmingly unpopular it is, and they don't want to lose in future local elections.
The French are pissed.
The demonstrations went up to the Assemblée today and got heavily gassed and beaten. French police have also been savagely beating and gassing activists helping unions to block spots like garbage truck stations, and the French government is trying to hire poorly paid, precarious workers to move the garbage instead (above all to clean it up in bougie areas, ofc), which also then got blocked, to which the police applied a dose of beating and gassings.
The more worrying aspect is that, like in Weimar Germany, this sets a precendent to using the dictatorial powers of the executive in the constitution to pass regressive and unpopular legislation without the consent of the legislature, let alone the working class. This will also increase the unpopularity of the government, driving fascism forward. On the other hand, Le Pen's fascist RN have been pretty all over the place on this.
Overall the left came out looking good from this, and the government weak, corrupt, and undemocratic. It's definitely radicalized a bunch of people, especially young'uns, who haven't had an opportunity to get involved in this level of political activity since the Floyd protests spread here, and before that, the Yellow Vest riots. There has also been more organization and actual political consciousness and radicalization than during the Yellow Vests, which were unorganized and all over the place. There also seems to be increasing convergence of political struggles, class-based, anti-racist, feminist and pro-LGBT.
It's important that the hard left uses this to help people realised that these struggles are intrinsically interconnected. They need to weaponize the anger and energy for radicalization and organization.
Sure, but I'm afraid that it will just help the right-wing. At least in the US, the left wouldn't be allowed to say much in mainstream media, so the only people attacking stuff like this would be dishonest conservatives. If France is similar, things will only get worse.
Do you mean that Macron’s use of 49.3 will only help the right?
I don’t think so. The centre right have been pretty shattered, the Republicans and the PS are very diminished as political forces, and it’s true that the right is radicalizing, but then again the far right has always moved somewhat in lockstep with a radicalizing and organizing left because they are also a reaction to the failures of liberal capitalism. M’y impression is that what is going on now in France is radicalizing a lot of people towards the left, over issues that have been building for a while. There have also been recent reactionary laws on work and unemployment, as well as profoundly racist immigration laws brought by rapist minister of the interior Darmanin.
The French right are trying to gain from it to embellish their populist credentials but I don’t think it’s touching young people as much as they’d like. That being said, the French far right RN had distinguished itself in recent history by actually having a far higher proportion of young people as members and activists compared to other far right movements.
There is also the French equivalent of Fox News, CNews, which is as vile as u can imagine. Like imagine great replacement theorist fascists but they’re either decrepit old nonces and aristocrats or they’re 99 cent store, hunting, bougie versions of Andrew Tate.
That being said, the success of the fash has mainly been amongst the bougie, petit boug and more rural precarized white workers. The precarized middle classes and most virulently reactionary elements of the bourgeoisie have been their base of support. In the cities and amongst most young people the left is definitely stronger. The situation is better than in most of Italy. Amongst students notably, although there are also bastions of academic and student reaction.
It should be remembered that France is kinda unique in the west because more so than other countries it managed to preserve something like and organized left and unions during the neoliberal onslaught, despite waves of reformism, opportunism and sectarianism following the left’s post-war peak.
The left, including it’s more organized and radical elements, is far more present and vocal on media in France than in, say, the US or the UK, even though the corporate media is equally corrupt and beholden to capitalist interests.
TLDR: everything under Heaven is chaos. The situation is excellent. :mao-aggro-shining: