by Yorgos Mitralias

In France, the popular mobilisation of 7 March did not disappoint expectations and was indeed of historic proportions. That is why, moreover, it immediately provoked a new and even greater escalation of the conflict between President Macron and the trade unions but also between him and the vast majority of French citizens ! This is because, even by the estimates of the French police, the demonstrations of March 7 were unprecedented and were the largest ever in the country, breaking every previous record of massiveness, at least in the last 40 years ! So according to the official estimate of the authorities, 1.28 million demonstrators took part, but according to the trade unions the participation “exceeded 3 million” and in Paris it reached 700,000! And of course, new polls show that popular opposition to the (anti)reform bill remains stable (over 70%), and in some cases is even growing, while it is always the majority of French people (50%) who support the blockade of the country by the strikers, even though it will cause them important inconvenience!(1)

Alongside the demonstrations, the strike action may not have completely paralysed the country, but it did bring most means of transport throughout the country to a standstill (metro, suburban, buses, trains, planes…), and was particularly felt in the public sector (energy, education, public services) and – this is something new and crucial – in the private sector, especially in very large companies. The general assemblies of strikers held in the afternoon and evening of 7 March decided – unanimously or by huge majorities – to continue the strikes and the blockade of workplaces. And so, the following day, March 8, found all the refineries in France blocked and paralysed, most of the power stations, the ports (by the dockers), while strikes in the means of transport continued, a long strike by garbage collection workers began, and striking truck drivers have begun to block many roads and entrances to cities in the province. There have even been a few cases of off-duty police officers blocking entrances of police stations…

Moreover, on the evening of March 7, immediately after the end of the demonstrations, the Inter-union of the (always united) workers’ confederations met and decided the following: to support, by integrating into the struggle against the government’s pension (anti-)reform, the women’s mobilisations on Wednesday March 8, the youth mobilisations on Thursday March 9 and those, mainly youth mobilisations, against the climate catastrophe on Friday March 10. And also decided on new major nationwide mobilisations (demonstrations + strikes) on 11 and 15 March.

In other words, the workers’ mobilisation is well underway, taking on more and more of a nationwide dimension, which happens very rarely in any century. Why? Because it is no longer just about a pension (anti-)reform, however important it is for the lives of millions of people. It is about a conflict with power, which Macron himself shows – every day and in every way – that he wants it to be “to the end”, and in particular until the trade unions, and by extension the whole of French society, suffer a crushing defeat so that they remain paralyzed and subjugated for at least 2-3 decades…

It is therefore no coincidence that even the traditionally moderate trade union leaders of the CFDT or the Socialist Party MPs now admit that we are no longer dealing with one of the social crises and political confrontations of the recent past, albeit a major one, but with something much bigger and qualitatively different: A conflict that, because of the determination and chaos that separates the two rival factions, promises to get harder and harder as it has at stake democracy itself, the model of society to which citizens aspire, and the future of the country!

As should be expected, Macron’s now clear intention to imitate Thatcher’s example by breaking the backbone of the French workers’ movement is causing at least scepticism in important circles of the ruling establishment, precisely because the present conditions are not those of the Thatcherite era and triumphant neoliberalism. And that is why there are many on the French right, in the media or even in big business who are very worried that Macron’s unbridled ambitions might backfire and lead to results that are completely opposite to those expected…

Thus, it is not surprising that even within the presidential ruling party there are (a few) MPs who declare either that they are reluctant to vote for the (anti-)reform bill, or that they intend to abstain or even vote against it. And it is precisely for this reason that the leadership of this party is quick to warn that anyone who dares to do so will be immediately expelled from the party. And all this while this presidential party needs the votes of the MPs of the once strong party of the traditional right (LR-Republicans) to pass the bill, at a time when several of these MPs are declaring that they will not vote for it.

Such a volatile situation, however, not only increases the tension in Parliament, which is increasingly resembling a football stadium, but also the frustration within the ranks of the ruling party. Emblematic of this situation is the unbelievable incident that took place on the evening of 7 March in the French Parliament, with the Justice Minister Dupont-Moretti as the protagonist, who “commented” on the speech of the parliamentary representative of the – so crucial for the passage of the (anti)reform bill – Republican (LR) party, while the latter was coming down from the podium and passing in front of him,… giving him the finger!The chaos that ensued was followed by an even bigger one when the minister, who was called to apologize by the deputy speaker of the House, clarified that he made not one but …two such gestures! Needless to say, everyone is now wondering what the (double) obscene gesture of his -known for his bullying- justice minister might cost Macron and the French right…

In fact, a few hours later, at 3 am in the French Senate, took place another even more serious incident indicative of the atmosphere that has been created, when the two right-wing parties have deleted from the agenda the debate and vote on 1000 amendments of the left-wing opposition, in order to “shorten” and to make the vote on a crucial article of the (anti-)reform bill. In the pandemonium that ensued, all the left-wing MPs walked out, one of them accusing Macron’s ruling party of making the vulgar gesture made a few hours earlier in Parliament by the Justice Minister, this time aimed at the French people.

After all this, the conclusion is that the few, extremely critical, days that separate us from the -probable- day of the (anti-)reform bill’s passage on March 17, probably with hardly any democratic procedures, will be marked by ever greater tensions and clashes both in Parliament and in the streets and workplaces of hundreds of French cities. So watch out in France, since it is always true that when France catch a cold, all of Europe sneezes!…

1. See our previous article: France: Towards a social explosion of historic proporations