France Sees Call for Class Struggle on May Day

Paris: These last days of Macronism in France are as slow as wearisome, violating each day the basic promises of a welfare State, which can be perceived as treason toward its working-class people.

Since last April, partisans of French President Emmanuel Macron’s party, which can hardly be defined as a political party and can be termed as a close circle of opportunist individuals serving the oligarchs and profiting from it, accompanied by the extreme Centrist and Far Right political parties, have joined hands to violate the rights that led to the declaration of the International Labour Day.

Their MPs, determined to seize the hard-won rights of the working class, tried to pass the May Day Bill, that aimed to abolish May Day as a paid holiday, allowing owners to keep retail businesses and shops open, the food industry and countless other sectors open, which would benefit big corporations and multinational firms, and harm millions of workers.

One can easily guess how this would have turned out for workers who refused to work on May Day, especially those in vulnerable jobs, immigrants, daily-wagers, waiting for their administrative status to be regularised. It was a ploy to create subalterns among subalterns, to intensify the exploitation of labour force in a post-colonial capitalist society.  

To force the passage of the May Day Bill, the government used Article 49.3 of the French Constitution. As a result, the Bill could be adopted without any debate in Parliament. After stealing two years of French people’s lives through the pension reform, which will raise the retirement age from 62 to 65, they wanted to steal May Day as well.  

The pact between Macronists, extreme Centre and Far Right have been brilliantly analysed by Johann Chapoutot, historian and author, especially of a recently published much appreciated book, The Irresponsible Ones: Who brought Hitler to power? The book exposes how a liberal-authoritarian consortium, woven from business solidarities, conservative, nationalist and liberal parties, reactionary media and traditional elites, contributed to bring an Adolf Hitler in power. 

Chapoutot’s words seem unfortunately relevant: “The extreme center almost always votes with the extreme right. (…) As soon as it comes to destroying social rights, harassing women, destroying the welfare state, restricting immigration, or making it impossible for foreigners to live in France, the extreme center votes for the extreme right and vice versa.”

In a country, where a Far Right fascist party and its not-so-discrete Rightist allies are warming up to seize State power, the government’s attempt to cancel t May Day as a paid holiday set fire to dry straws. As soon as this information came out, protests, rallies, meetings and petitions were held by the Left parties. La France Insoumise, the Communist Party, and trade unions reminded the people that “May Day is not an ordinary day. It is the only compulsory paid holiday in our country, a historical symbol of the workers’ struggle.”   

The huge rallies held across the country were a clear response to the authoritarian anti-people politics of the Macronists, the extreme Centrists and Far Right. 

“It’s like a slap in the face! The government and the capitalists have received a strong response today for trying to take May Day away from the French people! Huge crowds across France demanding shorter working hours and higher wages. Victory is imminent…,” Manon Aubry, one of the prominent leaders of France Insoumise, a member of the European Parliament said. He called for greater and stronger organisation across working sectors. 

“A year before the presidential election, this year’s May Day is showing the colours of success. No more indifference: workers want to get new rights, to defend the legitimacy that the Right wing has been eroding for years. France Insoumise will be there to make worker’s voices louder,” said Aurélien Taché, another leader of France Insoumise and member of French Parliament. 

Despite peaceful demonstrations across the country, in several cities like Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, police assaulted people with batons and tear gas without any form of provocation. The police reportedly pushed and verbally abused women. This has become a regular feature of the French police, especially under Macron’s regime.

Not a single word of consolation has ever been uttered by the government to any victim of the police violence. Remembering how fatal it was for the Yellow Vest activists, many of whom have become invalid, paralysed, have lost an eye or hand or arm.

It has become clear that the current ruling class of France has long lost their sense of obligation toward the people. They have been nominating millionaires and billionaires from their circles in key government posts, in State- affiliated financial, cultural, diplomatic organisations. Many of them are facing trials, are accused of fraud, perjury and embezzlement.

The ordinary people are suffering. Petrol costs 2.50 euros, purchasing power is at its lowest, but there is no right to protest, trade unions are criminalised, and struggles are forbidden on the streets.

“Now is the time for movement, for struggle, for mass mobilisation and for increasing power,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder-leader of France Insoumise, the main candidate in the next presidential election, said. He said: “1st May is the day when the working class and its trade unions unite under the banner of the workers' movement. The achievements of the workers' movement have allowed us to be educated and respected. The capitalist power cannot tolerate May Day. This date is the cry of the people's struggle for life, which has echoed throughout history since 1889.

The writer is a Kolkata-born French author and a citizen of France. Her works have been published by Gallimard. She is also a winner of the French academy award for literature. The views are personal.