[Marxism] French elections: position of the left on racism and national oppression

[Greg Dunkel <gdunkel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Please note:  I do not think the Socialist Party and Ségolène Royal are 
on the left in any real sense, no matter how elastic you make the word.

====

One interesting feature of this election in France is the polemic in the 
Communist Party between Marie-George Buffet, the current secretary general, and 
Robert Hue, the secretary general who was forced to resign in 2002 after the 
PCF's disastrous showing in the election.  Hue is pushing for a "useful vote," 
one for Ségolène Royal and Buffet is saying strongly and sharply that workers 
and progressives in France should vote their convictions in the first round, 
which would mean voting for the PCF.

It was enlightening to see how this debate played out in Marxmail, especially 
if you translate "useful vote" as "voting for the lesser of two evils."

What makes this debate particularly sharp in the PCF is that Buffet was Hue's 
protégé in the 1990s and was one of the two Communist members of Lionel 
Jospin's cabinet when the PS was in power.  She was Minister of Sports and 
Culture, while Jean-Claude Gayssot was minister of transportation -- and very 
useful for Jospin during a major truckers' strike.

Bové's campaign and the LCR (Communist Revolutionary League whose candidate is 
Olivier Besancenot) have made similar points;  Lutte Ouvrière (Workers 
Struggle) shows more interest in making a statement than in attracting votes.

I generally wouldn't comment on the intricacies of another countries domestic 
politics, but I feel that France's left is the largest and most influential 
progressive movement in any developed, industrial economy, which for me means 
powerful imperialist state.  And its labor movement is the most combative.

Given the indications from polls and press reports about a large number of 
undecided or wavering voters, and uncertainty about the turnout in the 
oppressed communities in France,  the election is still in play and who will

Since I can't cover every facet of the French left and its election campaigns, 
I decided to pick out what they said about the struggle of the oppressed 
communities and racism at the Gare du Nord, which was extensively covered 
online with a lot of material appearing on the French version of YouTube.  The 
French press treated this incident as a major event in the campaign, showing 
that the tensions that led to the rebellions in 2005 were still alive, even 
though the banlieues, where the oppressed communities live, were showing huge 
increases in voter registration  -- up to 400%.

(The translations which follow are my own;  anybody who wants the original 
French or the source, should send me an e-mail off line.)

Here is the comment of LO:

"Some contradictory versions have been given on what happened March 27 at the 
Gare du Nord following the arrest of someone without a ticket.

"It is obvious that nothing excuses the violent actions of the rioters, the 
breaking of windows, various disruptions and attacks on railroad workers.

"But however the incidents started, it is evident that the intervention of  
strong police contingents in full riot gear, who were not at all concerned to 
make fine distinctions between "rioters" and simple travelers, threw oil on the 
fire.

"Finally traffic was interrupted for several hours [8 is the figure the police 
used: gmd], some travelers were bothered by the police and by the tear gas 
spread in a closed space, where tens of thousand of people pass through.

"Maintaining order" with a large, strong exhibition of clubs and harsh 
declarations especially has a tendency to lead to .. disorder."

The LO presents the incident in the Gare du Nord as a case of police 
overreaction, with no connection to the racism of the cops or their use in 
suppressing the national rights of oppressed minorities.

Here is the press release of the LCR:

"Sarkozy continues to incite the actions of the police. [Sarkozy was formerly 
justice minister in charge of the cops, GMD]  After the revolting brutality 
during the arrest of an undocumented man picking up his grandson from school 
... and the imprisonment of the principle, the police showed themselves in a 
bad light at the Gare du Nord.  The brutal arrest of a youth, short of a 
ticket, by the RER guards [who handle fare beaters, gmd] and police who did not 
hesitate to use tear gas in the middle of a crowd, in an enclosed station, 
caused numerous passengers, outraged by this open police brutality,  to become 
indignant and to protest.  The LCR is outraged by the police brutality in the 
Gare du Nord.  It solidarizes itself with the movement of protest and 
solidarity of the passengers.  These police provocations, which are multiplying 
under the pressure of the former minister of the interior and current 
presidential candidate, N. Sarkozy, are intolerable."

Most of the protesters at the Gare du Nord were Black and North Africans going 
home to the northern suburbs of  Paris, where the 2005 rebellion of the 
oppressed communities started.  While every French person who saw the TV 
coverage would have been aware of this fact, the LCR didn't see fit to mention 
it.

Here is the press release of the PCF, which carried the signature of 
Marie-Georges Buffet:

"The arrest of a passenger without a ticket lead to violent incidents at the 
Gare du Nord.  Some passengers on the Metro apparently revolted spontaneously 
opposed this arrest, before some youths profited from it to commit unacceptable 
violent acts.

"How to explain this incredible outburst of violence other than as a direct 
consequence of the tension created for several years by Nicolas Sarkozy?

"Light must be quickly shed on the nature of the arrest as well as on the 
violence which followed. Nicolas Sarkozy ... has sowed for some years the seeds 
of an explosive situation.  His governmental actions have provoked rejection 
and division. Once again, the conclusion is evident: the minister of the 
interior has failed.  If his results were so good, the situation would not have 
degraded to this point.  Finally, who benefits from this detestable climate 
which opposes a part of the people to the representatives of the state?"

This statement appears to me to confuse the nature of the racist, imperialist 
French state with the actions of one man, which are indeed detestable.  
Replacing him would not really change the system in France.

Here is what José Bové had to say:

Confrontation at the Gare du Nord:  Heritage of Sarkozy

"The confrontation between the people and the police at the Gare du Nord 
illustrates the gravity of the crisis in our society,  Nothing has been done 
since the revolt of Nov. 2005 to reduce the gulf between the youth and the 
police.  The insulting and provocative language of Nicolas Sarkozy and the 
obsession of the result culture he introduced in the police transform each 
arrest into a trial of force. The economic insecurity, which affects millions 
of people, often means that youth from poor neighborhoods find transportation 
often economically inaccessible and can't move about freely. It is not by 
waving the French flag and singing the French national anthem that we are going 
to resolve these social and citizen questions. [This was proposed as a solution 
by Ségolène Royal, gmd.]

"I am requesting a prompt, public inquiry on the circumstances of the 
confrontations at the Gare du Nord.  I am asking for free public 
transportation, for ending the BAC [test which allows those who pass to go on 
for further schooling, gmd] and for the re-establishment of neighborhood public 
services, in all domains, including the national police."

(The other left party in the race, the Workers Party [Parti des Travailleurs] 
did not issue a statement on the Gare du Nord.)

None of the candidates make it clear in their statements that the people 
protesting at the Gare du Nord in their vast majority were members of the 
nationally oppressed communities in France.  This lack of connection to the 
banlieues explains, in my opinion, why the youth there are so cynical and 
mistrustful of politics and all political parties, even though Bové has put his 
campaign headquarters in a banlieue.  It is going to be interesting to see how 
they vote this coming Sunday.


.


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