The primary spherical of the French legislative elections will happen tomorrow, seven weeks after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron. However the electoral coaching “Collectively!” Macron’s New Union Well-liked, Ecological and Social (NUPES) led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which completed third within the French presidential elections with 22 p.c of the vote.
A sequence of polls launched Thursday present the NUPES candidates main in absolute vote depend with 28 p.c, forward of “Collectively!” with 27 p.c. The neo-fascist Nationwide Rally (RN) is at 19.5 p.c of voting intentions and Les Républicains (LR) at 11 p.c.
Uncertainty hangs over the result of the elections. With the NUPES vote concentrated in working-class city areas, Macron would win probably the most seats, taking many small rural constituencies. Of the 577 seats within the Meeting, “Collectively!” would have 260 to 300, NUPES 175 to 215, LR 35 to 55 and RN 20 to 60. and changing into Prime Minister appears problematic.
The rise of the Mélenchon vote—spurred on by his guarantees to retire at 60, freeze gas costs and lift pensions and the minimal wage—displays an try by employees and youth to push politics left. This smashes the rationale supplied by the company media for his or her promotion of neo-fascist events for twenty years: specifically, that French employees would relentlessly transfer to the appropriate.
In actual fact, employees are going left and wish to cease the gas and meals value inflation that’s exploding within the world capitalist financial system. The neo-fascists have misplaced four p.c of the vote because the presidential election, towards the backdrop of a global rise within the class battle. Throughout the legislative marketing campaign, healthcare and airport employees throughout France and Europe went on strike towards low pay, austerity and the dealing with of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the similar time, nevertheless, the Socialist Equality Get together (PES), French part of the Worldwide Committee of the Fourth Worldwide (ICFI), stresses that the employees can’t belief Mélenchon, who will inevitably disappoint their hopes. Mélenchon is pushing employees right into a parliamentary impasse by backing a Mélenchon-Macron coalition authorities, geared toward defusing the rising radicalization of the working class and averting an eruption of sophistication battle.
Yesterday, Mélenchon made a ultimate enchantment, saying: “It is a fantastic second forward. Sunday, if we wish, if we’re going to vote … if we vote New Well-liked Ecological and Social Union, we are able to change the historical past of our nation and above all, the lifetime of each one in every of us. With sufficient votes, he mentioned, “there might be a majority of deputies within the Nationwide Meeting, and from there, there might be a authorities of which I would be the prime minister. Now could be the time to make a easy effort… it takes just a few moments and it might change every thing.”
However no, it’s not true that the election of Mélenchon to function Prime Minister beneath Macron “will change every thing”. Macron is hated because the “president of the wealthy”, for suppressing all protests and strikes towards austerity and military-police repression. There may be nothing to barter with Macron. The one solution to struggle him is thru class battle, by mobilizing the working class to deliver down his regime.
With Macron answerable for overseas coverage as president, France joins NATO’s warfare towards Russia in Ukraine. Macron has mentioned he is able to ship French ships to the Black Sea to confront the Russian navy – allegedly in an effort to take away the mines that Ukraine has positioned in its ports to guard them from the Russians, then escort Ukrainian grain exports to markets world. Macron sends heavy artillery and missiles to the Ukrainian armies, risking beginning a world warfare.
Macron is constant the bailout plans for European banks value trillions of euros that are fueling inflation and is sustaining his coverage of huge Covid an infection. He additionally maintains his normal deafening silence on far-right officers who final yr threatened to launch a coup in France, shortly after Donald Trump’s coup try in Washington geared toward halting the election of Joe Biden.
Regardless of Macron’s ultra-reactionary agenda, Mélenchon alerts that he’ll search an settlement with him in any respect prices, ostensibly within the nationwide curiosity.
He defended Macron’s reckless coverage in Ukraine towards criticism from Ukrainian officers who demand that Macron go to their nation. Supporting Europe’s arming of neo-Nazi forces just like the Ukrainian Azov battalion, Mélenchon mentioned: “I feel the Ukrainians should not speak to us like that, as a result of France is arming, France is current, France is supporting the Ukrainian individuals.”
On France Inter, Mélenchon promised that with Macron, “we’ll get alongside as a result of it’s within the curiosity of our nation”. He additionally watered down his need to construct a Sixth Republic to switch the present Fifth, based in 1958 by Normal Charles de Gaulle throughout the Algerian warfare, after a coup d’etat. officers hostile to the independence of Algeria.
Having affirmed that he “fights the structure of the Fifth Republic”, Mélenchon rapidly added that “so long as it’s that, it’s the rule that might be utilized”. When requested why he was out of the blue providing to help a structure he has so typically denounced, he bluntly acknowledged, “I’m not in favor of staging a political riot on this nation.”
It is a cynical and reactionary balancing act – pledging to massively enhance dwelling requirements, whereas doing ‘president of the wealthy’ politics and claiming to talk on behalf of left-wing sentiment and opposition to capitalism. , whereas opposing the revolution. However there is no such thing as a solution to reconcile the irreconcilable.
This dedication to work with Macron little question displays a eager consciousness that, if NUPES succeeds within the elections, its deputies might be referred to as upon by the power of parliamentary arithmetic to take part within the implementation of Macron’s program.
The working class in Europe and past has had bitter experiences with pseudo-left events like NUPES, which promise to “change every thing” however oppose revolution. Mélenchon’s ally in Greece, Syriza (the ‘Coalition of the Radical Left’) turned synonymous with betrayal after coming to energy in 2015 pledging to finish EU austerity insurance policies. She then imposed billions of euros in social cuts and constructed an enormous community of jail camps for refugees on the Greek islands.
In Spain, Mélenchon’s ally, the now-ruling Podemos get together, despatched regulation enforcement to assault putting steelworkers and truckers, impose austerity and ship anti-tank missiles to the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion in Ukraine.
However the maneuvers of the pseudo-left will neither cease the rising radicalization of the working class nor the rise of the category battle. Whereas Europe is getting ready to warfare and rising costs are ruining employees the world over, capitalism is affected by deadly inner contradictions and, in France, a conflict is brewing between Macron and the working class. . The query for employees is just not to decide on Macron’s prime minister however to arrange for the struggles to return.
The PES is the Trotskyist various to the pseudo-left forces across the NUPES that accommodate Macron. It calls on employees to free their struggles from the management of the corrupt union apparatuses linked to NUPES, and to prepare their unbiased rank-and-file committees. Constructing the Worldwide Employees’ Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, armed with the Trotskyist perspective, can allow employees to settle accounts with Macron and European capitalism and construct the United Socialist States of Europe.
