During 13-15 November Paris and the surrounding towns of Bobigny, Ivry-sur-seine and St Denis, were hosts to 50,000 activists from around Europe as they debated and networked at the second European Social Forum.
In those few days 625 plenaries, seminars and workshops took place to which 900 or so speakers were invited; a march against war and social injustice was held on Saturday afternoon at which 100,000 took part. The next day an assembly of the social movements met and deliberated on action for the coming year.
The ESF this year was roughly comparable in size to last year’s event in Florence and as in Italy the event was overwhelmingly youthful – at least in terms of those who attended the sessions. Of course, the platform speakers and those taking the decisions behind the scenes were much older male and mainly bureaucrats, academics and NGO workers rather than activists.
As in Florence the speakers at the sessions were more left wing and radical than those on the platform. This year’s forum was more right-wing than last year since it reflected the fact that Attac took the leading role in organising the vents, determining the main plenaries and speakers and setting the ideological tone.
Bernard Cassen, the founder of the World Social Forum and outgoing leader of Attac made it clear in a number of sessions that the anti-war movement of this year had radicalised the anti-globalisation movement too much and that a step back from the streets was needed. This 21st century Fabian argued that the movement needed to renounce the struggle for power and seek to persuade the good men and women who hold power in the west to adopt some of the more reasonable and sensible policies of Attac.
So there could no question of the movement embracing the cause of the Iraqi resistance to the US and British occupation since this would alienate those in power that Cassen sought to convince of the need for a miniscule tax on short-term speculative capital flows that Attac believes could transform capitalism.
Needless to say the vast majority at the ESF thought differently- recognising the justice of fighting imperialism and capitalism by direct action.
It was left to the Assembly of the Social Movements on Sunday to decide on any action – the ESF itself being devoted to an exchange of views. At the preparatory meeting for the Assembly on the Saturday night a draft statement to be put to the Assembly drawn p mainly by Attac excluded both an explicit call for the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and an explicit call for a day of action against social cuts and privatisations.
Eventually weak and evasive formulations were included.
"We are fighting for “the withdrawal of the occupations forces from Iraq and for the immediate restitution of sovereignty to the Iraqi people". We are fighting for the withdrawal form the territories occupied by Israel and for the cessation of the construction of the wall and its destruction. We support the movements, Israeli and Palestinian that are struggling for just and durable peace. For this reason we will join in the international appeal, launched in the USA by the antiwar movement and will call for a day of action on 20 March 2004.
(….)
"We engage ourselves to take part in all the actions organised by the social movements, in particular to build for a common day of action supported by the social movements, notably by the European trade union movements.” We call all the social movements to make this dynamic of mobilisations culminate in a day of action for another Europe, of the rights of citizens and peoples, on 9 May, the date envisaged for the ratification of the European Constitution.”
Yet there are reports from several sources however that substantial sectors of the unions (German, Italian) want a day of action and will make a call for a date and take it to the ETUC.
The whole assembly was dominated by French speakers concentrating on the 9 May and overall the Assembly proved a victory for the right, this time. But there will be antiwar day on March 20th and the “social 15th of February” may happen too if the unions agree. Certainly when anyone mentioned the need for common action against the neoliberal attacks on pensions, the public sector etc. there was much greater enthusiasm. On 9 May there will be an international demonstration in Rome.