By Pierre Cours-Salies
The anti-pension reform motion has sparked evaluation because it continues. It's a superb signal! This textual content started at a time when the media have been bent on denouncing "radicalization" and "reflux"; however, three days later, the Council of State questions the validity of the federal government's "pre-impact" examine. Suffice to say that we should be important of the usage of the idea of "failure" about it (1), even when it displays an understanding of its first section.
We shouldn’t be glad with the reference to different earlier actions: there are cycles of mobilization. An actual failure, overwhelming for the long run, would have been three small (or ‘nice’)" Days "of stress, adopted by false concessions, and the relay of political forces attempting to make" sensible "counterproposals with a purpose to play their function through the elections. That is the trail to failure, repeated for greater than twenty years, 1995, 2003, 2010 … Stunned for a lot of, this "technique" is defeated in a number of methods.
A shocking shock…
The purpose of affirmation of this mobilization, which rejects all present authorities coverage and on the identical time all that has been inherited since Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012), doesn’t come from an intersyndicale which might have ready it from the origin. It took the choice to name a strike by the RATP unions, and all of the others clung to it. Therefore the impression that the RATP strike, joined by the railway employees (SNCF), had the decisive function. We now measure that the RATP strikers can adapt their techniques over time, – "till withdrawal!" -; little question additionally the outline from the day earlier than yesterday (1995) concerning the "proxy strike", which was a journalistic picture reasonably than a concrete evaluation, needs to be deserted.
How one can clarify that it was needed to attend for the RATP day of December 5, 2019, adopted by such a increase in mobilization? Allow us to strive a speculation: a really massive a part of activists, pretty demoralized, thought that this Macron venture needs to be fought. Nevertheless, the political organizations didn’t say a lot and the union leaders confirmed their concern of a mobilization which might be one other failure; the query appeared to be posed by way of "the time it could take, patiently, to rebuild a capability for collective motion …". With, by itself path, mobilization in well being … Nevertheless, the mobilizations that have been getting into circles between robust dissatisfaction and concern that their struggles can be crushed prematurely, perceived the scope of such a motion in transport , as a assure of effectivity. If we should watch out for the concept thousands and thousands of men and women have been "weapons to the foot" to do battle with Macron and his world, we should nonetheless notice the power of this collective motion which has handed the vacation season even foiling the division makes an attempt hypocritically amplified by Laurent Berger (2), who nonetheless dared to "name a truce" for a strike to which he didn’t name. To put a benchmark, allow us to emphasize that the category consciousness of "common individuals" is political and we’ve a putting illustration of this. Within the present political and social doldrums, opinion polls have proven for years that a minimum of 60% of the inhabitants (in France and past) judges that capitalism is incapable of fixing present issues. And considerably as many additionally say that they have no idea what options can be potential. That is the results of an absence of political dialogue placing the continuation of struggles in perspective on the time of the Fall of the Wall, adopted by the collapse of the previous USSR. Was it a "bureaucratically degenerated employees state" that the employees disowned in favor of the rules of freedom and equality within the Western world? Or was it a bureaucratic dictatorship whose ruling strata have been within the state equipment of "Asian despotisms", in response to the Marxist evaluation of Georg Lukacs earlier than 1968 (three)? This relative "aphasia" of the political, socialist, communist or radical left forces doesn’t assist to have an open dialogue and the multiplication of small teams holding on to a particularity of concept performs a job of amplifying the political hunch.
This background weighs closely on the militant strata, regardless of their need to withstand the insurance policies of capitalism at the moment. We can’t ignore this actuality which makes the state of affairs unstable, between the rejection of the evils of neoliberalism and the silence of the political forces on important questions. The ecological state of the world is "barbarism", progressing earlier than our eyes. It is sufficient to see the pictures of Australia and the semi-continent of plastic waste on the Atlantic, the return of the dangers of nuclear struggle, tons of of thousands and thousands of individuals "in migration", refusals of the fitting of ladies to have entry to their our bodies: this method destroys and there’s no political voice that carries to say the equal of "socialism or barbarism", up to date after the 20th century.
The questioning of the rules of social equality, on which we believed our continuity and our area of relative safety, has been manifested for years. It can’t be mentioned that "consciousness" was essential to reject the venture, even when slyly the world of Macron had deliberate to attract argument from the inequalities and injustices of the actually current pensions.
Even earlier than December 5, the day of demonstration had penalties introduced, a large assist of 70 to 80% of the inhabitants, distrustful, having no optimistic concept of the tasks of "reform". It took just a few days for the local weather to vary; an extra clue identifies a concrete evaluation: the militant weak spot allowed the referendum in opposition to the privatization of ADP (Paris Airports) to advance at a really sluggish tempo. And these are the identical militant forces that enter into mass motion! Sooner or later, "all collectively" did two issues: confirm that the dissatisfaction expressed on inter-individual alternate networks was actually seen. After the defeats of current years and with the instance of the Yellow Vests, it was needed that crystallize within the militant ranks an impression of having the ability to win, to pressure the federal government to provide ensures or withdraw its venture. The demoralization was robust, and right here it tends to vanish. Macron was significantly mistaken on this level, believing that class consciousness was progressively lowered: listening an excessive amount of to counselors consumed the ideas of the suppose tank Terra Nova (for these on the left!) Or advisers from the good Davos, Financial institution-Insurance coverage… He ended up projecting his success from an analytical error.
Observe how significantly the federal government's selections for public dialogue should not addressed to those that oppose it, as if the forceful passage in opposition to the Labor Code of the regulation "work and shut up" (also referred to as Pénicaud regulation , Minister of Labor, promulgated in September 2017), then the reform of the SNCF, have been in a forgotten and digested previous. There are flaws, as we all know, within the coaching of enarques … Such an oversight, on their half, by the 75 to 80% who supported the demonstrations of 2016 and 2017; a slender judgment on the weak politicization of the Yellow Vests… After two years of soothing conferences with an agent of the fitting (four), Minister of Chirac then of Raffarin, who appeared as reassuring as an insurance coverage agent, and that no one had unmasked as serving "funding funds", a French time period for "pension funds" with out seeming to, the federal government was reassured and assured (sic!) …
Such a blunder of energy provides approach to a query: did the federal government understand that the category consciousness of precarious individuals like wage earners. Was it by no means on the stage of the depressing outcomes that the left political organizations had obtained within the Europeans (at most 13% of the voters with six lists together with that of Jadot (5))? That anger was mobilizable. And, to higher perceive, we see, the leaders of the political forces of the left additionally didn’t perceive that they needed to begin an actual public debate on the way forward for pensions with a purpose to protect by correcting a system strong however with massive defects.
Nevertheless, the battle of the Yellow Vests had marked the spirits among the many workers of the RATP, and gave the concept it was potential to not look ahead to "the institutional deadlines" to battle it and make the federal government again down. By means of their battle, through the months of 2018-2019, the tenacity of the Yellow Vests had demonstrated that there was a approach to be heard by collective motion. Following of their footsteps was beginning to transcend the query of solidarity in precept. Then, the pitiful revelation of the hyperlinks between the Commissioner Jean-Paul Delevoye and the executives of the Insurance coverage got here to show that "the discussions" had taken place for 2 years underneath the management of the enemies of Social Safety. On the time that the issues within the venture ensures fueled public dialogue, this "revelation" – what known as battle of curiosity to not say steady relations of corruption – highlighted what energy ought to serve this venture. Allow us to recall, soberly, that Emmanuel Macron, in his Revolution (6), expressed the chance supplied to everybody to turn into an entrepreneur, to free themselves from constraints, by talking out in opposition to regulated professions and middleman our bodies.
Roots turn into seen
One of many axes of the “Macronian” venture is definitely to rigorously reshape the contours of the courses. Considered one of his zealous supporters additionally harassed this subject (7). If there may be nonetheless equality, "she modified signal: from social and protecting, she turned liberal and emancipatory"(P. 53). Illustration of the tribute paid by these managers of "governance", he invitations the CFDT to push its growth additional, "that it lastly turns into the animation of the administration of the range of particular person expectations". It ought to "recompose social relations round the one personal particular person (…): it's time to maneuver from social equality to liberal equality".
One other widespread thread
These hypocritical speeches, which had aroused the trend of the Yellow Vests, give a really political logic to the cycle of struggles which ended up manifesting, and partly explains the present motion in opposition to pension reform.
We thus discover, thus, mobilizations since these with union base of 2016 and 2017, severely repressed with the strategies flourished in opposition to the Yellow Vests; they’d been extensively supported however despised, or uncared for, by the political apparatuses anxious to show the militant forces in the direction of their marketing campaign (s) for the electoral time period of the presidential election (April-Might 2017).
After the political failures, the Yellow Vests motion performed a job in breaking the chain of domination with which President Macron wished to legitimize himself: he needed to give in a little bit, open the "Nice Debate", however did a lot repression that its legitimacy is used up. A number of months of motion had this impact, because the individuals continued to specific their sympathy for the favored calls for regardless of police violence and injustices by the judiciary. Justice and respect, equality and democracy: the good political referents have been not on Macron's aspect and his world lengthy earlier than the event of the motion for the fitting to retirement. We should subsequently settle for to see that this motion just isn’t being performed out, for the second, in rapidity, however by way of contradictions and an extension of the fields within the battle. A backside line is fashioned and might have the forces and the technique which overwhelm the Elyos calculations. As an alternative of hurried, repetitive slogans from the techniques of "avant-garde" teams calling instantly for a nationwide demonstration in Paris, actions, partial successes reminiscent of that of the firefighters, the questioning of deputies, all the pieces that makes the masks “fall” contributes to consolidating the motion and rising the isolation of Energy.
There may be thus a uncommon truth in social struggles: a consolidation of actions to "resist", say no, is accompanied by progress in understanding the problems. Thus, as a substitute of suggesting a easy assault on the buying energy and the rights of the poorest individuals, the actual goals seem and it’s the destruction of social rights making it potential to withstand the globalized world order. Paperwork started to flow into, which specified the political venture to withstand and destroy. Alain Supiot does this with the highlighting of a textual content from the World Financial institution (eight), which since 1994 has proposed a pension system mannequin, a recipe that appears to be relevant to each growing international locations and 'to industrialized international locations. The institution of three-element pension techniques relies on a primary, which has a minimal redistributive perform and helps the retirement pensions of the poorest individuals, financed by social contributions or by tax. Then comes a second flooring, obligatory, particular person or skilled, financed in actual fact by particular person capitalizations (the venture by "factors" acquired by every is an illustration of this). It’s managed in response to actuarial standards; it forces all people to save lots of to pay for his or her future retirement, however doesn’t redistribute and makes the worth of the "level" rely on the acceptable time, relying on the worldwide context, on the state of "enterprise". Based on the World Financial institution, this second obligatory pillar should be sufficiently restricted to permit the enlargement of a 3rd, personal and non-compulsory, based mostly on voluntary financial savings, benefiting from tax benefits and which ought to permit people to decide on the place and easy methods to make investments. their revenue all through their lives. Listed here are the "first ropes" (greeted by Macron) with the means to put their revenue all through their lives, different ranges of therapy in corporations (private and non-private), with tax benefits …
The pension reform goals to take a decisive step within the pyramid reclassification of sophistication fractions among the many strata who stay by the sale of their labor energy, acknowledged and paid, variously assured … This illustrates the "philosophy" of the President: "Now’s the time to maneuver from social equality to liberal equality".
Towards this venture, allow us to do what is important in order that the calls for of a RIC (Referendum of residents' initiative) should not "forgotten" on the pretext that this motion was too weak to be heard. A Citizen Initiative Referendum course of can lead to the preparation of a referendum: an exercise self-organized regionally by Yellow Vests, unions, associations, all activists and political organizations who need to know what they’re saying " no ”and to what they are going to say“ sure ”. Even throughout native mobilization actions … On these circumstances, as a substitute of being a plebiscite within the palms of the ruling class, a referendum might be an actual expression that brings collectively the overwhelming majority of the common particular person.
In the direction of joint motion, educating pensions
On the youth aspect, the political assaults are on a comparable scale. To make younger individuals extra depending on these mercantile calculations underneath the guise of "modernity", the need of Blanquer (9) (with Macron) is to attain what Sarkozy had introduced: to complete with the standing of lecturers of Nationwide Training, reconcile them to personal contracts. Of their eyes, the fitting to free research, which has turn into one of many traits of younger individuals, should be lowered as a lot as potential. From the "steady bac" the objective is to insure sufficient college students and households for a bigger a part of younger individuals to show to pre-hiring tasks with bosses, who may take cost, for some, extra specialised coaching. Dependence for the long run, which these gents of "Governance" name "flexibility".
For universities – whereas the SNESUP (Nationwide Union for Larger Training), the bulk union, is asking 6,000 jobs for ten years to make up for good coaching and analysis circumstances – the federal government has ready a Programming Regulation which gives that among the lecturers will likely be in a "standing of excellence" with "contracts" renewable by "requires tenders", exempting them from pupil supervision duties … A program to scale back the fitting to check besides "brief" and pre-hires. Extra plasticity with "improvements" they are saying, and actually makes analysis intently topic to the needs of the administration of public or personal corporations (10).
Clearly, this will appear removed from the questions of retirement! However younger persons are already afraid of not being entitled to an actual retirement. And having to make your self completely obtainable. We should additionally observe this regression dictated by pension funds and governments at a time when technical developments might make it potential to work infinitely much less time (11), with the fitting to coach and resume research throughout working life…
To simplify, it’s potential to say: neoliberalism, at the moment, pushes governments to suppress or diminish the freedoms which fashioned a framework of safety of life. These resulted from the section throughout which the category struggles and the concessions to which they introduced the bourgeoisie had optimistic results …
All in all, the fitting to free schooling and the fitting to stay a wholesome retirement are each attacked. And so it isn’t solely a query right here of a fascinating "convergence of struggles": it’s a query of taking the means to place a political venture in examine.
Think about that every one employees and younger individuals, having understood that the pension regulation should be refused in the case of the vote of the Meeting, within the spring, might permit a mobilization on the peak of the political disaster To impress. For instance, in entrance of the prefectures and the seats of deputies of the assorted rights, huge rallies, by division, are held on the eve of this vote and paralyze the nation whereas the Parliament claims to resolve. This may be achieved if there are native locations of debate for the motion, in reference to the good days of motion and the animation of the strike funds. “Withdrawal of the regulation, referendum, and we’re there to acquire it…!” Which MP can go and see his voters once more? Let's purpose excessive. Dissolution, dispersal of Macron’s Celebration, resignations… The political disaster will be attributable to collective motion.
Manage discussions between workers, maintain conferences of 1 or two hours in corporations, sit-ins, or dialogue initiatives in markets, in cinemas in medium-sized cities … Torchbearers retreats to conferences you for a buffet collectively, the hyperlinks and the reflections which multiply permit to plan a participation for subsequent huge dates: votes on the Meeting, and so on. The institutional calendar extends till March or June. And a really massive variety of individuals, with out organizational membership in the intervening time, can rework themselves into activists of "resistance" defining themselves their responses, their "widespread targets".
And the political events, on this evaluation? In constructing the mobilization, in the event that they need to emerge from their decline, allow them to take part within the animation of native assemblies like these desired by the Yellow Vests with the RIC! This won’t be finished with out the mandatory inner transformations … And for alliances that they might make, open to all those that are within the motion, they must specific themselves clearly on really elementary commitments, clearly summarized .
Due to the Mitterrand administration of 1981 and its aftermath: political measures of justice and reparation to eradicate postcolonial stays are important. Legal guidelines requiring that girls's wages be equal to these of males. The cancellation of all reactionary measures, all of the injustices legalized because the final three presidents: in opposition to the unemployed, in opposition to the fitting to work and the Labor Code, in opposition to public companies, in opposition to democratic freedoms … And the implementation of claims. We can’t let it go as if the dangerous issues of the previous have been legalized: therefore the seek for allies who’re dedicated to combating neoliberal insurance policies.
Reorganization of establishments … Within the present disaster of confidence, an evaluation of the state equipment and of the coaching of "ruling elites" should be mentioned and acknowledged. As "the entire group of the Republic tends (…) to deprive the lots of the means able to making them purchase data of enterprise and the observe of freedom", a "democratic revolution" is important (Ferrat, 1945: 225- 255) (12). All of the preparation of legal guidelines, with the knowledge mentioned, ought to they avoid the widest discussions? Can we belief the state when, by being content material with the present parliamentary guidelines, deputies are extra typically hostage to biased questions? Why not impose, for realism with a purpose to keep away from being trapped within the meshes of lobbies, that everlasting technical advisory councils elected from specialists and provisional technical advisory committees, with attracts linked to assemblies and native actions , be appointed to check a query? And to have a coverage that provides time for democracy, earlier than any election, dialogue and suppression of a part of the powers of the President for the advantage of a majority within the Meeting controlling Prime Minister, authorities and state companies …
Opening the talk on altering establishments … Might this motion go that far? I used to be advised it might be optimistic. However why accept what the members of this authorities might "negotiate"? Why not see that the cry "Macron resignation" has a robust that means: it means allow us to drive out the ruling class and set up democratic guidelines. (Article despatched by the writer; it seems within the journal Worlds of Work, dated February 6, 2020, on-line and in paper format https://lesmondesdutravail.net/)
Pierre Cours-Salies, sociologist, was a professor on the College of Paris eight Saint-Denis.
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(1) Dominique Seux “ Retreats, reflux step by step ", The echoes, Jan 16
(2) Laurent Berger is Common Secretary of the CFDT.
(three) Lukacs, Georg, (1969), Interviews with Georg Lukacs, with Wolfgang Abendroth, Hans Holz, Leo Kofler, Théo Pinkus, Paris, Ed. François Maspero.
(four) Delevoye, Jean-Paul, was born on January 22, 1947 in Bapaume, in Pas-de-Calais. He research on the Jesuit highschool La Windfall (en), in Amiens. Common Councilor RPR of Pas-de-Calais, elected within the canton of Bapaume (1980-2001) Mayor of Bapaume (1982-2002 and 2004-2014) Member of the Pas-de-Calais (1986-1988). President of the Affiliation of Mayors of France (1992-2002); Minister of Public Service, State Reform and Regional Planning (2002-2004).
(5) Member of the European Parliament and chief of the EELV celebration
(6) Macron, Emmanuel (2017), Revolution, Paris, XO
(7) Maillard, Denis (2019), A French Anger, Paris, ed. The Observatory.
(eight) Mediapart, December 30, 2019.
(9) J-M Blanquer is Minister of Nationwide Training.
(10) https://www.snesup.fr/rubrique/loi-de-programmation-pluriannuelle-de-la-recherche
(11) The CGT, Solidaires and the FSU have the identical calls for for the fitting to wages, work and coaching; in addition to the discount of working time with out lack of wages and with hires, 32h to 30h.
(12) Such reflections already appeared in a e-book by a former PCF chief, André Ferrat, concerning the foure Republic (1945), The Republic to rebuild, Paris, Gallimard
