“We Need Action Committees Everywhere”: Building the General Strike in France

Workers across France are organizing action committees to build a general strike to take down the Macron government and the Fifth Republic.

Battle of the Pensions: Toward a Pre-Revolutionary Moment in France

President Macron's use of article 49.3 to push through an unpopular pension reform bill has opened up an enormous political crisis that has changed the character of the mobilizations against the French government. We are entering a "pre-revolutionary moment" that can change the balance of power between the classes in France.

It is Possible to Win: The Pension Reform Crisis in France

A French socialist reflects on the way forward after Macron invites Article 49.3 to pass pension reform.

France: Macron Bets On His Presidency as Millions Rise Up

A historic two weeks of mobilizations against Macron’s pension reform, with several sectors going into open-ended strikes, and including a spectacular show of solidarity on International Women’s Day. Yet despite the massive turnout, the government pushed through the reform Thursday night, using an antidemocratic maneuver to bypass the National Assembly. Which direction will the movement take? Will it fizzle out in a failed top-down union strategy, or will it generalize the struggle to all sectors from the bottom up?

French Socialists on the Potential and Strategy of Working-Class Struggle

Juan Chingo and Romaric Godin discuss the working-class struggle in France, its potential, and its weaknesses, as well as the strategic problems that it faces.

Workers in France Escalate Fight against Macron’s Pension Reforms

Protests continue in France against President Macron’s pension reforms. To win, the working class will need to develop its own organizational bodies to coordinate further actions across workplaces, as well as on the street and in communities.

Occupation in Rennes, France: The Socialist Party Calls the Police  to Repress Mobilized Youth

On February 8, students in Rennes, France, occupied their City Hall to protest President Macron’s neoliberal pension reforms. The next day, the occupation was forcibly evacuated by the police, who were called in by representatives of the Socialist Party. The NUPES alliance “condemned the occupation” in a statement without mentioning the repression.

Historic Protests in France: Where to for the French Working Class?

After two of the largest days of protest in over a decade, with unprecedented union support and student turnout, the workers and youth of France must push unions to take up a militant strategy to defeat not only this latest pension reform but also Macron and his government.

‘Robin Hood’ Strikes in France: Workers Provide Free Energy for Hospitals, Schools, and Low-Income Homes

Last week, energy workers in France provided free energy for hospitals, schools, low-income households, and libraries. They show that the working class holds the keys to the economy, and can put these resources in the service of society.