
Issue No 35		15 October 1999

Guest Report

John Passant on the Class Struggle in France

After the consolidation of the extreme right in Austria, pressure is mounting in France for left-wing solutions to the problems of society

France. To most people it's the country of love, a land of fine cuisine and great red wine.

Yet there has always been another side to the fourth largest economy in the world. At a time when most Western theorists and politicians are proclaiming class is dead, France shows once again that the old mole of struggle can surface unexpectedly.

The country which in 1968 gave the world the biggest mass strike in history and saw the rule of capital shaken is now experiencing a number of industrial and political battles.

The Government is what Lionel Jospin, the Socialist Party Prime Minister, calls "a plural left" coalition. Apart from the Socialist Party it includes the Communists and Greens. There have been major struggles to force it to the Left.

Last year massive student demonstrations against cuts forced the left-wing Government to promise an increase in education funding. But it has not delivered.

One high school student was quoted in the major French newspaper Le Monde as saying: "After last year's demonstrations they promised something would change by this year. But we've seen nothing. We still don't have enough teachers."

So last week 150,000 students took to the streets demanding changes. The students have threatened more demonstrations if the Government does not provide a better education system.

But it is not only students who are protesting. Lorry drivers recently blockaded refineries in parts of the country. Thousands of workers at the Michelin tyre company demonstrated against threatened job cuts.

Grape pickers in some areas went on strike for a cut in their working hours to create more jobs. They won.

The US has been trying to force France to accept genetically modified beef. In retaliation a radical farmers' organisation wrecked a McDonalds in Millau in the south of the country. When the leader was jailed, trade unions and the left joined protests in his defence.

The National Assembly met last Monday to debate the 35 hour week without loss of pay. Outside there were rival demonstrations of workers and employers.

Although the level of industrial struggle is much higher in France than in Australia, it does not mean the left-wing Government is in trouble. In fact Lionel Jospin's Government is popular. The economy is growing at a faster rate than in recent years and unemployment has fallen.

The Government is also helped by the fact that the conservatives are deeply split and bickering among themselves.

The main reason for Jospin's popularity is that he has so far been able to balance the demands of employers and workers.

In the successful 1997 election campaign Jospin and employment minister Martine Aubry promised to cut the working week from 39 hours to 35 without loss of pay. They argued this would give workers a better quality of life and help cut unemployment by creating more jobs. The pledge is incredibly popular among working people.

The 35 hour week is central to the high standing of the Government among workers and typifies the swing to the left in French politics in recent years. That swing dates from December 1995 when massive public sector strikes paralysed the nation. As a consequence of the strikes the Socialist Party moved to the left and the Greens and Communist Party won increasing support.

The leftward shift in the whole of French society saw the plural left coalition win Government in 1997.

However, Jospin and company remain committed to capitalism. This comes out clearly in a consideration of the 35 hour week.

The new 35 hour law builds on an earlier law passed a year ago.

A number of 35 hour agreements have been signed under that earlier law. However, the agreements have given the employers "flexibility" in implementing the 35 hour week. What this means is that employers have been able to average the number of hours worked over the year rather than being forced to provide 35 hours work each week.

With such flexibility, the standard day and paid overtime are under threat. So Jospin gives and takes at the same time.

The balancing act between labour and capital that the Prime Minister finds himself undertaking is highlighted by the Michelin affair. The tyre company announced recently that they were going to sack thousands of employees.

At first Jospin shrugged his shoulders and said the Government could not prevent the company from laying off people. Workers across France became angry at the inadequacy of the Government response.

The Communist Party, part of the government, called for a major protest over unemployment on 16 October. Others in the government flirted with backing the march.

Jospin reversed his previous do-nothing position and announced a number of initiatives to prevent profitable companies like Michelin from sacking workers.

He suggested that the Government would cut off all public funding to profitable companies if they laid off workers. And he said it should be illegal for a company to sack workers before it had tried to avoid job losses by cutting working hours.

These promises did not come out of the air. Pressure from ordinary workers is forcing Jospin to develop left-wing proposals. Such pressure will also be necessary to make him deliver on these promises.

At least in France the class struggle is not dead. And workers can benefit as a result.

John Passant is a Canberra-based writer.

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Issue 35 contents

Interview: Strategic Responses
NSW Police Association president Mark Burgess has worked in the coal mines and the waterfront - now he�s the public face of NSW police

Republic: Negative Campaigning
If the Republic fails, one of the main complaints which should be leveled against the ARM is its refusal to play dirty.

Unions: Interpreter smooths the way for Kosovar Refugees
�The people really appreciate what Australia has done for them but they still want to go home," said Ariana Biba, a HREA member who has been worked recently as an interpreter assisting newly arrived refugees from Kosovo.

Education: Count Yorga's Evil Plot
NTEU president Carolyn Allport looks at Kemp's brazen attack on univestities and warns the battle is not won yet.

Safety: Death in the Snowy
Beyond the engineering achievements of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, there is the tragic story of those workers killed or seriously injured in the construction of the project.

International: Why Is the WTO So Anti-Labour?
Driving the cost of labour down appears to be the main priority of the World Trade Organisation

History: The Importance of Tradition
Historical documents bring us into closer contact with the past and its concerns as this 1945 extract from the NSW Nurses Association journal, The Lamp, shows.

Review: McLibel - The Mice That Roared
This documentary is the classic tale of the little guys against the system, a battle for the right to dissent.

Satire: Government Privatises Numbers
Prime Minister John Howard released a new policy on numerals yesterday, to bring them in in line with the Liberal Party's plan to privatise �Pretty much everything before we lose office.�

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