France

France

• Macron and the shockwaves

  

  There’s everything to fight for as Covid-19 redraws the lines of class war in modern France, observes John Mullen   

• France: Macron stokes up Islamophobia to deflect from the movement to defend pensions

  

  Strikes and elections are redrawing the political landscape, argues John Mullen

• Defining the battle lines: France in the era of Macron

  

  Three years on from Macron's election, Susan Ram looks back at the rise of the 'extreme centre' in France

• Fighting back in France

  

  Hundreds of thousands are taking to the streets to combat Macron’s war on the welfare state, writes Susan Ram

• After a bruising election... What next for the left? - Counterfire Freesheet January 2020

  

  Labour leadership contest, general strike in France, growing protest movement in India, why socialists oppose imperialism, a year of climate strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• What next for the French strikers?

  

  The mass movement in France is impressive and has made significant gains but the battle against Macron's Thatcherite reforms needs a second wind, reports John Mullen

• Macron makes more concessions to strikers but the battle continues

  

  The cracks in Macron's neoliberal government are beginning to show and the strikes are continuing to broaden, reports John Mullen

• Macron had a bad month, but what will it take to break his pensions bill?

  

  An update from Paris on the ongoing protests and strike action against Macron's pension reform bill by John Mullen

• All power to French workers - report from Paris

  

  An organised movement of French workers unheard of in decades could hold Macron's fractured neoliberal outfit to ransom, reports John Mullen

• France on strike: “We’re fighting Macron and his world!”

  

  Across France, hundreds of thousands strike work and take to the streets to denounce neoliberal pension ‘reforms’, writes Susan Ram

• Antisemitism, politics, and voting Tory - election briefing 6 December

  

  Let’s stop apologising for having done nothing wrong, insists Lindsey German

• France strikes against Macron's neoliberal war on pensions

  

  As mass strikes begin across France in response to Macron's attack on pensions, John Mullen looks at what's at stake

• At last a large-scale fightback against Islamophobia in France?

  

  John Mullen reports from Paris on a major breakthrough for Muslims fighting oppression in France

• The Storming of the Panthéon!

  

  Through their occupation of an iconic Paris monument, the Gilets Noirs have placed before the world the atrocious situation of France’s vast hidden ranks of undocumented workers, writes Susan Ram

• A Walk Through Paris - book review

  

  Éric Hazan’s A Walk Through Paris takes the reader on an engaging and evocative journey through the city’s radical and literary history, finds Katherine Connelly

• Ten things they don't tell you about D-Day

  

  As the commemorations of the 75 year anniversary of D-Day take place, Lindsey German reminds us of the truth about the end of the Second World War

• The Yellow Vests at three months: achievements and prospects

  

  Three months on from its birth, the Yellow Vest movement continues to build support and make gains, argues Susan Ram

• The Yellow Vests movement and its implications - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Tom Lock Griffiths talks to Susan Ram, an activist based in France, about the Gilet Jaunes movement in France, its different elements, key demands and the implications for the British left in this episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• Cameroon: neo-colonised before independence

  

  Explo Nani-Kofi gives a brief history of how British and French colonialism defined Cameroon's power structures and maintains its influence in a rigged political system

• Yellow Vests join unions to agitate for a general strike in France

  

  Repudiating Macron’s ‘great national debate’, Yellow Vests join hands with trade unions and the radical left to build for a general strike, reports Susan Ram

• The meaning of the Yellow Vests

  

  Out on the streets of France, hard-hit working people are furiously repudiating austerity, sham democracy, and the neoliberal programme of President Emmanuel Macron, reports Susan Ram

• There's no refugee crisis in Britain, only a hostile environment and racist scapegoating

  

  The current Tory-manufactured “refugee crisis” is part of the same hostile environment that this government has created for its own citizens, argues Cathy Augustine

• France 2019: Macron, Yellow Vests and class struggle

  

  Saturday saw the Gilets Jaunes revolt continue on a grand scale, as the President scrambles to repress the movement and cajole the public. John Mullen reports from Paris

• Europe in turmoil: what to expect in 2019

  

  Chris Bambery explores European political economy and what developments of the last twelve months can lead us to expect about the year ahead

• France's streets flooded with protest three days before Christmas

  

  The Yellow Vests outwitted Macron's repressive state forces to stage a surprise mobilisation in Paris and storm towns and roundabouts across France, reports Susan Ram

• Why the Yellow Vests revolt will haunt Macron's Christmas

  

  The movement has put poverty among workers at the centre of public debate and remains defiant amidst the slapdash handouts of an ailing neoliberal President, reports John Mullen

• Student protests in France and Albania: could Britain be next?

  

  Dragan Plavšić looks at spreading student protest and where it could go next

• Macron must go: Yellow Vests Act V

  

  The movement brought anger to the streets again across France in defiance of state efforts to divide and disrupt it this week, reports Susan Ram

• French high school students rise against Macron in 'Black Tuesday' protests

  

  Opposing Macron's neoliberal education reforms and police repression, tens of thousands of students are out on strike, vowing to join up the struggles, reports Jack Hazeldine

• France: stay on the streets until Macron falls

  

  Danièle Obono, a deputy of La France Insoumise, speaks to Feyzi Ismail about the Yellow Vest movement, the police and the origins of Macron's crisis

• France: unsubmissive and on the streets

  

  Feyzi Ismail reports from Paris, where the Gilets Jaunes have been demonstrating for the fourth weekend consecutively, and with more protests planned

• Yellow Vests, Act Four: where is France going?

  

  Saturday's huge Gilets Jaunes mobilisation across France defied Macron's Project Fear, as high school students facing state repression join a movement that continues to rise. John Mullen reports from Paris

• La France Insoumise: tradition and change on the French Left

  

  As tensions rise in Paris, John Mullen gives a cool-headed tour of the French Left

• Revolt in France: could Macron be under threat?

  

  Yellow Vests mass protests enjoyed a third weekend of militant action across France, with trades unionists and other groups supporting. John Mullen reports from Paris

• Yellow Jackets: a high-vis uprising sweeps France

  

  At roadblocks, barricades and on the march, the Gilets Jaunes embody nationwide fury towards Project Macron, reports Susan Ram

• A state of disunion: Europe after Brexit

  

  Liberals lament Britain leaving the European Union, but the politics of the bloc is increasingly right wing and nasty, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Paris demonstration: 'Trump means war'

  

  The November 11 anti-Trump mobilisation in Paris is a real advance for the anti-war movement in France, reports Susan Ram

• France in 1968: myths, realities and unanswered questions

  

  50 years on from the 1968 crisis, John Mullen gives an overview of events in France, the debates historians are having and the lessons today's anticapitalists should take

• Project Macron in crisis

  

  From the Benalla affair to the Hulot resignation and plunging poll ratings, there's no end in sight for the troubles of the French President, writes Susan Ram

• Aftermath: Art in the wake of World War One - review

  

  Modern art was a way of actively willing war towards an end says Alistair Cartwright in his review of the Aftermath exhibition at the Tate

• Marx200: the Paris Commune and the Marx family

  

  The Paris Commune only lasted from 28 March to 28 May 1871 but it inspired Karl Marx and continues to inspire and inform socialists today argues Judy Cox

• May ‘68: France on the cusp of revolution

  

  Susan Ram looks back at the tumultuous events of May 1968, where students and workers united against the establishment, and asks what we can take from them today

• The first twelve months of Project Macron: a provisional audit

  

  One year on from Macron taking office, Susan Ram analyses what he stands for and what he's achieved

• After Windrush: this racist government must go - Counterfire Freesheet May 2018

  

  Windrush, May 68, Palestine, UCU strike, Marx and more - Counterfire freesheet edition 025, May 2018

• 50 years after 1968: Storms raging in Macron’s France

  

  Neither Macron and the bosses, nor France's working class have made a decisive breakthrough in recent weeks. But the movement is solid and imaginative, writes John Mullen in Paris

• Enough is enough: Paris takes to the streets

  

  Paris mobilises one year on from Macron's election, and fifty years on from May '68, reports John Mullen 

• Republic of Islamophobia - book review

  

  Republic of Islamophobiaeffectively analyses the nature and rise of the vindictive Islamophobia that has come to grip French politics and society, finds Susan Ram

• France Insoumise: What is it and where is it going?

  

  As a massive wave of strikes continues in France, what forces might propose a mass political alternative to Macron? John Mullen discusses the party being led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon

• Emmanuel Macron: Neoliberalism by the book

  

  Despite a fresh-faced exterior, Emmanuel Macron is offering nothing beyond more of the same political privilege for the wealthy, argues Josh Newman

• Is France heading for another May '68?

  

  From student dissent to militant strikes and a radical alternative, the ingredients are there for mass rebellion, writes John Mullen

• France also: a cynical attempt to divide anti-racism in the service of the government right

  

  Unite the left and anti-racist movements in a fight back against cynical right-wing disruption, argues Kevin Ovenden

• France, March 22nd: the mobilisation of the public sector begins

  

  Across France, hundreds of thousands of people, spearheaded by combative rail workers, mobilise against Macron’s neoliberal assault on the public sector  

• Paris and London: A Tale of Two Radical Cities

  

  Chris Bambery on the history of two great capital cities, and the architecture of power.

• 'Making France great again': Macron to bring back compulsory military service

  

  Macron is at one with Trump in his quest for a return to national ‘greatness’ with his call for compulsory military service argues Susan Ram

• The EU has derailed left governments at least three times - don’t let Corbyn be next.

  

  The Labour right is now focusing on the European Union to attack Corbyn - Chris Nineham shows why this is a dangerous moment

• Macron: Europe's new Blair

  

  Things have got so bad - with Brexit and the Tories - that the establishment long for the reincarnation of another unblemished Blair argues Brian Heron

• Extreme Podiatry: the situation for refugees in Calais and Dunkirk

  

  The Jungle camp may have been demolished a year ago but refugees are still arriving in Calais and Dunkirk and suffering in intolerable conditions reports David Bailey

• ​Crisis in France: the view from the left

  

  As her organisation mobilised a huge anti-government demonstration, deputy Danièle Obono spoke to Chris Nineham about Macron's meltdown, the far right's problems, and the movement

• France: a combative start to the anti-Macron fight-back

  

  Half a million ‘layabouts, cynics and extremists’ take to the streets to protest Macron’s assault on the labour laws

• Can Macron the Thatcherite be beaten?

  

  The French president is hoping to push through a series of Thatcherite reforms, but the workers are not going to lie down and take it, writes John Mullen

• France: All out on September 12!

  

  Workers and political activists prepare to battle Macron’s ‘XXL’ assault on French labour laws, reports Susan Ram

• The impending crisis for Macron

  

  With his ratings in freefall, the neoliberal standard-bearer unveils his labour law ‘reforms’ against a swelling tide of anger 

• Striking while the iron is hot is the only way to win back some of what’s been taken from working people - weekly briefing

  

  As wages continue to fall and workers rights are attacked further, McDonald's and other workers have begun to strike. Lindsey German explains why they are so important.

• Macron and Netanyahu: the shadow of Zionism

  

  Macron’s readiness to equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism and endow it with the full force of French state power shows his true colours, argues Susan Ram

• Trump and Macron: tangoing in Paris

  

  Macron’s lovefest with Trump rests on a raft of converging policies, writes Susan Ram

• First Diane Abbott, now Danièle Obono: the media lynching of black women on the radical Left

  

  Like Diane Abbott, French left-wing politician Danièle Obono feels the sexism and racism of the right-wing establishment, writes Susan Ram

• In France, the election boycott intensifies: Macron’s ‘landslide victory’ reveals its feet of clay

  

  The majority of the French electorate did not vote in the second round of France's legislative elections. Susan Ram analyses the implications

• The election of the French parliament: a huge shake-up, but polarisation continues

  

  The victory of "the centre" is only temporary, argues John Mullen

• Meanwhile in France, voters stayed away: A tale of two elections

  

  Is this really a surge in support for centrist politics?

• Armed force on the streets: the French experience

  

  France’s state of emergency has suspended civil liberties while failing to stop the menace of terrorism

• Mélenchon's campaign should inspire us here in Britain

  

  Jean-Luc Mélenchon's dynamic presidential campaign is proof that the Left can make serious gains

• France: the crisis continues - part 2

  

  The meteoric rise of Jean-Luc Mélenchon is all the more dramatic given the historical context of the French Left, explains Susan Ram

• France: the crisis continues - part 1

  

  While seeking to style himself as outside traditional politics, Emmanuel Macron in fact constitutes its newest incarnation, writes Susan Ram

• Vote Labour and prepare to fight - Counterfire freesheet May 2017

  

  The general election, French politics and more - Counterfire freesheet edition 018, May 2017

• Compare and contrast: what the French elections can tell us about Britain

  

  The rise of Corbyn and Mélenchon have similar roots, but the Labour leader has to contend with problems that the French left does not have

• France at the crossroads: how to take down Le Pen

  

  Stathis Kouvelakis, a member of the Greek Popular Unity party and a supporter of La France Insoumise, speaks to Feyzi Ismail on Macron’s victory, the crisis in French society and the possibilities for the left

• French election tells of a divided France

  

  Macron beat Le Pen to the presidency, but there is a parliamentary election still to come

• Has Macron turned the tide against fascism?

  

  Is a Macron presidency the beginning of the end for fascism and Le Pen? Brian Heron investigates

• Macron’s victory, and why the earthquake will continue

  

  Although most people are relieved by the election result, we are going to have to fight the new president’s policies

• High school students across France mobilise to reject the pseudo-choice between Macron and Le Pen

  

  Just before the final round of France’s presidential election, lycéens (high school students) are continuing to provide the sharpest and most combative opposition to the two contenders

• A political earthquake in France and the fight against Le Pen

  

  With less than a week to go until the second round of the French presidential elections, John Mullen takes a look at where we are now

• May Day in Gascony: ‘All for one and one for all’ in the fight against fascism

  

  Hundreds take to the streets on May Day against fascism and Le Pen, Susan Ram reports from south-west France.

• Bring it on! - Counterfire freesheet April 2017

  

  General election, Trump and the politics of music - Counterfire freesheet edition 017, April 2017

• Anti-capitalists, Melenchon and 7.7 million voters of the left

  

  The emboldened French left must seize the moment, writes Kevin Ovenden

• The French presidential elections: fascism and how to fight it

  

  John Mullen on why the Left must move forward on building a broadly-based, permanent, national, mass campaigning organization against fascism

• French elections: Le Pen, Macron and the radical left

  

  The first round results for the French presidential election confirm the deep political crisis in the country, which will no doubt deepen at the legislative elections in June

• It’s the Left that can beat Le Pen and fascism, not Macron

  

  With the fascist Le Pen winning a place in the the second round of the French election, Cameron Panting takes a look at how the Left should respond

• French elections: the banker, the fascist...or the streets?

  

  After the anti-capitalist left's unprecedented achievement in the first round, attention will now focus on Mélenchon’s engagement with the movement, writes Susan Ram

• The left surge in France: a breakthrough in the making?

  

  On the eve of the presidential election in France, Feyzi Ismail talks to Danièle Obono, a leading figure in the campaign of left-wing hopeful Jean-Luc Mélenchon

• Excitement in the French elections: the meaning of Jean-Luc Mélenchon

  

  The leftwinger's inspiring campaign raises crucial questions about the potential and limits of state action in favour of the working class, writes John Mullen

• French elections: enter Jean-Luc Mélenchon

  

  The spin of the two-horse race conceals the anti-capitalist hopeful, notes Susan Ram   

• Marine Le Pen: the reality of the French fascist threat

  

  Mainstream alarmism cannot distract us from the actual dangers of the Nazi Front National, writes John Mullen

• Towards a politics of radical deglobalisation

  

  The soft left’s kowtowing to phony internationalism has to stop now, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• French Elections 2017: Islamophobia, austerity and the left

  

  A thorough analysis by John Mullen of the role of austerity and Islamophobia in the upcoming French elections and what the prospects for a radical left alternative are.

• BBC: Providing a platform for fascism

  

  On Remembrance Sunday, Andrew Marr and the BBC decided to air an interview with Marine Le Pen reports Shabbir Lakha

• Fire, turmoil, and abandonment in Calais

  

  French authorities and the British Home Office have washed their hands of remaining refugees in Calais, explains Shabbir Lakha

• Burkini ban: the Islamophobia that lies beneath the beach secularism

  

  Is France's left doing enough to challenge the new wave of state Islamophobia, asks John Mullen 

• Burkini ban: taking the anger back to the French state

  

  Friday night’s central London emergency protest shows how Islamophobia must be countered, reports Katherine Connelly 

• Burkini ban: we must oppose this blatant Islamophobia

  

  As France imposes this draconian ban, Lindsey German states why we must say no - clearly and unequivocally

• Class struggle in France: a temporary stalemate

  

  The government has been stunned by the strength of the strikes and protests, but what now for the movement? John Mullen investigates

• A History of the Barricade

  

  The barricade is the iconic tactic of historic class struggles, and its history is engagingly explored in Hazan’s history, finds William Booth

• France and the fight against neoliberalism - podcast

  

  Danielle Obono speaks about the social movements in France and the current wave of protests and strikes around the country

• A beacon of hope in dark times

  

  Shabbir Lakha reports on the Convoy to Calais, which the French police shamefully turned back at the border

• Upsurge in France: a revolt against the European economic order

  

  France's working class is taking a sledgehammer to Hollande's neoliberal reforms - an echo of the European economic machine, writes Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• France: savage labour law vs strikes and blockades

  

  Class struggle is back in France, with some surprising new initiatives, reports Paris-based activist John Mullen

• France in the streets: against the government and the EU

  

  If you want to understand what the EU is, then look at its intervention today – teargas on the streets of French cities, argues Kevin Ovenden

• France: protest is changing the rules

  

  France has been convulsed by massive protests opposing the government's plan to scrap the 35-hour week. We reproduce here a speech by economist Frédéric Lordon at the Paris rally on 31 March

• Le Pen's defeat offers only cold comfort

  

  Defeat without having to face a decent opposition may be more useful than success for the continued growth of Le Pen's Front National, argues Alistair Stephens

• Marine Le Pen: the demon child of war and austerity

  

  Not since the 1930s has a far right, indeed a fascist party done so well in an election in Western Europe, writes Alastair Stephens

• Paris attacks: fight the racist backlash

  

  In the wake of the atrocities in the French capital, building an anti-war movement is more necessary than ever, writes Kevin Ovenden

• Who is Charlie?

  

  Emmanuel Todd’s Who is Charlie? reveals connections between Islamophobia and moves to the right in France, finds Lindsey German

• Liberté, Égalité, Vélocité

  

  Mark Perryman makes the case for a two-wheeled revolution

• A People’s History of the French Revolution

  

  Eric Hazan’s A People’s History of the French Revolution is an attempt to provide a new narrative, but fails to show the importance of the revolution, argues William Alderson

• Letter to Le Monde: We say no to the 'Sacred Union'

  

  A call by public figures in France to reject pressures for 'unity' with world leaders guilty of violence and repression

• Charlie Hebdo: 5 problems with the Media picture

  

  Everyone agrees the Muslim community must make amends for Charlie Hebdo, right? Well, no, not really. Here’s five facts the media tends to overlook.

• Danièle Obono: the French left after the Charlie Hebdo attacks

  

  Danièle Obono, a leading member of the French Left, speaks about the impact of the recent attacks and the dangers of Islamophobia

• The Government is blaming Muslims and attacking civil liberties

  

  Opposition to war, Islamophobia and attacks on civil liberties are all connected, says Lindsey German, and we have to campaign against all three

• Je suis Cantona

  

  Next Saturday is the 20th anniversary of Eric’s Selhurst Park Kung Fu kick assault on a supporter. Philosophy Football'sMark Perryman celebrates a night when football took sides

• 15 recommended articles on the aftermath of the Paris attacks

  

  Alex Snowdon compiles a selection of commentary and analysis about the contentious issues arising from the recent attacks in Paris

• 'Charlie Hebdo, not racist? If you say so…' Former employee lambasts magazine's racist trajectory

  

  Written by Olivier Cyran and originally published in December 2013 as 'Charlie Hebdo, not racist? If you say so…' this article attacks the magazine's 'crude racism'. Translated by Daphne Lawless

• Charlie Hebdo murders: what's missing from the media narrative?

  

  If you read the western media reporting on the Paris attack, says Lindsey German, it is as if the wars waged by the western powers in Muslim countries aren't happening

• The limits of liberalism

  

  Liberal responses to the Paris killings are fuelling a cycle from which both the right and the terrorists will gain, argues John Rees

• Twelve illuminating contributions to debate in wake of Paris killings

  

  Twelve articles to read if you want thoughtful reflection, context and a refreshing alternative to banal or racist responses to the killings in Paris this week

• Charlie Hebdo tragedy: putting free speech in context

  

  This wasn’t an attack on humour or the Western concept of freedom but an outrage designed to produce a reaction of division and hatred - an outcome that we should do everything we can to resist

• Paris massacre: backlash and blowback

  

  The latest attack will lead to a greater backlash and greater levels of Islamophobia. But it is not Muslims who are the problem but the foreign policies that have helped create terrorism

• An Impatient Life: A Memoir

  

  Daniel Bensaïd’s memoir of a life as a socialist in France provides an engaging account of a revolutionary life during the 1960s and after, finds William Booth

• A Marxist History of the World part 99: 1968 - the long sleep ends

  The long sleep of the post-war period was brought to an end in 1968, as revolts erupted across the developed world, writes Neil Faulkner

• Tariq Ramadan: what makes the French left's approach to Islam different?

  

  Tariq Ramadan and John Rees discuss the attitude of the French left to islam