Dave Stockton
On October 22, 2010 President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered in the riot police to break the blockade of France’s 12 major oil refineries as thousands of petrol stations across the country began running dry.
At 3.00am they attacked pickets at the Grandpuits refinery east of Paris, blockaded for 10days. Two pickets were injured in the assault. The refinery workers have been “requisitioned” – i.e. ordered on penalty of prosecution to resume work. The CGT’s Charles Foulard stated; “It’s a grave moment for our democracy. Never, never have striking workers been requisitioned.”
It is true that the measure is only supposed to be used when there is “a grave threat to public order”, but doubtlessly no judge will rally to the workers defence.
Sarkozy has also decided to bulldoze the bill through its final stages in the Senate and the Assembly, thus, short-circuiting debate over hundreds of amendments tabled by the parliamentary opposition.
Olivier Besancenot, spokesperson of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA) immediately issued the following statement:
“Strikers at the Grandpuits refinery have just been requisitioned in the name of national defense. The mobile police have charged the citizens’ picket injuring several people. To protect employees on strike, the right to strike, I propose to all the leaders of political parties, associations, trade unions respond together against this unconscionable assault against the workers’ movement and its rights.”
Besancenot is right to call for union and workers’ party leaders to act. But he should have gone further or rather been more precise. He should have said that it is clear that Sarkozy will not back down, but will use the full force of the state to break the most effective parts of the strikes – those that effect fuel and power supplies – because these will bring the economy to a halt.
The key sectors – strongholds of the CGT – the ports, the railways and other public transport, aviation and energy (oil refineries, power stations) – have born the brunt of the struggle so far. They have indeed put the screws on Sarkozy. They know that if he wins they will be first in the firing line. Sarkozy will do all in his power break effective trade unionism in these sectors.
But it is not enough to totally rely on blockades of the militant union vanguard – as the CGT has done so far. The state was bound to act or admit defeat.
If Sarkozy were to cave in on this reform, he knows he would be finished. Finished in terms of the huge austerity programme the pension reform is just the spearhead of: finished too, as a lame duck president, in the next presidential election.
It is not wise to build one’s strategy on one’s enemy losing his nerve. Sheer desperation will drive him to use the full force of the state. And when this is deployed the actions of a vanguard of militant highly skilled workers will prove insufficient. This was shown in the Great Miners’ Strike against Thatcher in Britain in 1984-5.
The big battalions of the organised (and unorganised) workers have to be brought into action over the few next days or the magnificent movement will start to role backwards.
An all out, indefinite general strike must be called – by all the union federations if possible or by the CGT and SUD alone if the CFDT and FO back out. Only this can checkmate Sarkozy and the state in present conditions. And conditions for this are very favourable where, at the moment, 70 percent of the population opposes his “reforms.” If he tries to use the CRS against millions on the streets he will provoke a revolution.
To achieve and sustain a general strike then more than the assemblés générales of the railworkers, and power supply workers, teachers and lycéens, daily renewing their strikes, is needed.
We urgently need councils of delegates from every workplace, elected from the AGs – coordinations.
They are needed not just to unite all the sections already on strike, but to win over those sections not yet striking, to keep public support steady, to prevent sabotage by any of the union leaderships and to defy them if they order a return to work.
Given the attacks on the blockades, the unions, the students, the youth of the lycées, the universities and the banlieues, must form mass services d’ordres – squads of defence stewards to protect against the police and prevent provocations.
The task of revolutionaries is certainly to be the best trade unionists, encouraging, spreading, supporting the actions agreed by the unions or the youth; but that is not enough.
Our task is to make clear the tactics and overall strategy necessary to make victory, total victory, certain. The withdrawal of all the plans for austerity , the kicking out of not only Fillon and Woerth, but of the UMP and Sarkozy himself.
Will that mean arguing with the best militants who still believe the CGT’s tactics are sufficient? Does this mean breaking the time hallowed etiquette of the Chartre d’Amiens barring political “interference” in what is regarded as the business of the unions?
Will this mean criticising and challenging Thibault and Chereque openly and without diplomacy? Yes.Yes.Yes.
Whoever fails to do this is not doing their revolutionary duty. That is what a vanguard is for – to indicate the way forward when others dare not do so.
The NPA needs to issue a clear plan of action and organise its militants to fight for it in the AG in workplaces schools and universities, to take the initiative in forming coordinations, mass pickets, and organising defence squads.
If it does so then it will live up to its revolutionary promises and win or lose in this struggle will grow as the organised revolutionary vanguard preparing fro struggles ahead.