"Vive le culture Francais, Fight The Cuts" The Anarchives Volume 2 Issue 21 The Anarchives Published By The Anarchives The Anarchy Organization The Anarchives tao@lglobal.com Send your e-mail address to get on the list Spread The Word Pass This On... --/\-- / / \ \ France Fights Back ---|--/----\--|--- \/ \/ excerpts from A-Infos /\______/\ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ revolution is alive and well in france but news of the events are few and far between as the broadcasting media skate on the surface of one of the more defining protests of the decade. word from france is making it's way across the globe via the a-infos project, and the european counter network in france. more from: http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/A-Infos95/france.html all over the industrial world, governments are cutting back but only in france are the people fighting back with such passion... -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ -~ from: counter@francenet.fr translated by: neil@lds.co.uk UNI INFO NETWORK ------------------- THEIR RESERVES AREN'T BIG ENOUGH... FOR THE DEPTHS OF OUR DESIRE Throughout France students are mobilising... All around us: 3.5 million unemployed, a growing mass of workers whose jobs are on the line across the planet, the growing impoverishment of whole continents whilst the wealth of the world never ceases to grow... Here, even in Perpignan (TN: SW France) there are loads of us who live in shit, unemployment, on a minimum income, grabbing a free ride on the transport and tax system often not knowing where to sleep and what to eat. Are our actions apolitical? Ridiculous question! It's unbelievable... as if the wish to jeopardise the whole of society wasn't a political decision aiming to provide a compliant and obediant workforce on demand. We are opposing this set-up however naive we may be! We haven't understood at all! Paying people as little as possible is the only way to be competitive within a neo-liberal framework and to oppose restraints is to oppose the logic of the market... In other words our action is as political as that which would take the taxpayers money to Mururoa instead of investing it in education... All around us despite the false pretences of the media the flood of repression and exclusion is growing... Our future is being pawned, the present brings its own impoverishments. There is the right to be layed off, the right to despair or anger, there is the humiliation of immigrant workers, there are the expulsions and the extraditions, there is the return to moral, sexist and religious order, there is selection in our universities and the employment exchanges, there is the teachers crisis, there is the restructuring of the social security system. There is nothing but the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Then there's the police and wage slavery which beckons. There's the take-over of education by the bosses and Pasqua's schemes paid for out of public funds and there is racism. 20% of the population own 68% of its wealth whilst 60% make do with 12%. We face the end of education for pleasure, we face Chernobyl and the hole in the ozone, we face work which crushes us and unemployment which kills, we face a growth in public begging - now forbidden as it was in Perpignan this summmer, we face the fall of the APL, we face the right which attacks and the left which lies, the unions in a state of crisis, we face a miserable income and an income of misery, overcrowded prisons, housing crises, boredom, a dead end future. We have had enough! - Students on strike. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIOTS - JUSSIEU 30/11/95 * Demonstration of about 20,000 people better than the previous one (30,000 but that was before the transport strike) * Students, school attenders but also the unemployed showed more determination. * During the demo there were confrontations with the riot police but it is hard to tell if this was the work of agents provocateurs or demonstrators * The demonstrators moved on to Jussieu (as part of a national co-ordination) and perhaps a thousand were there throughout the night. * Attempts were made to form barricades (cars were overturned) but with little success up until now. Only the ordinary police were called out. * There were many arrests ----------------------------------------------------------------------- UNI INFO NETWORK A NIGHT OF DEMONSTRATING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF JUSSIEU SETS THE STUDENT DELEGATES RUNNING On the devastated forecourt of Jussieu, where a few fires are burninng, the lights from the campus university pierces the night at the foot of tower 43 Broken open by metal bars a little after 10 pm, the bookshop is witness to a continuous procession of 'customers' who leave, loaded down with plastic bags on which you can read 'Les Librairies du SAVOIR' (TN publicity slogan) Inside books are strewn over the floor. 'Help yourself!' shouts a big type, who is destroying the computer data behind the counter. Amidst the sound of broken glass, and the frantic activities of the demonstrators, students are doing their shopping. Two worlds meet without recognising each other. Dressed in a pullover and a duffle coat one young man asks his neighbour, who is filling a bag with stationary, where the chemistry papers are. From the mouth of a student of Art History the wordds pour out, 'It's crazy what they are doing, you can't approve but at the same time it's too late, best take advantage of the situation. I can never buy myself any books, the feeling of power at being able to help yourself without paying... it's unbelievably exciting'. This was the scene on November 21st - the end of a demonstration marked by incidents (...) threatening to start again throughout the night with ten times the violence. Shortly before 7 pm, Thursday, there were incidents around the university of Jussieu. Three cars were overturned by groups of young people. A fistful of molotov cocktails were thrown at the riot police at place Jussieu. Behind the university gates was set up a type of barricade with tables, chairs, rubbish bins... 'If the riot cops come into the uni there will be big trouble', a small well-organised group w earing sweatshirts with white hoods, began to sack the campus. Smashed up with sledgehammers, the concrete of the forecourt was transformed into projectiles which came raining down on the roofs of the cars parked outside. 'We are hungry', shouted voices from the cafeteria at the entrance to the university. 'Can't we get the keys?' asked one studdent. At about 7.45 the cafeterias windows were smashed in with metal bars. A crowd of demonstrators and students piled inside. Drink and food vending machines were quickly destroyed and theircontents consumed. 'There's enough for everyone'. The hungry got behind the fast food counter and set up an improvised restaurant service. Meanwhile in amphitheatre 44, the national co-ordinating body was having a meeting. Militants from UNF and UNEF-ID were in attendance but also many grassroots delegates who had come in from outside the city elected by general assemblies. At the entrance to the amphitheatre a roll call was made of the various towns one by one. Sandwiches are eaten annd folk warm up to the idea of the '4 billion franc reserve fund' of the university presidents Some expressed their concerns quickly blaming the anarchists alone for the disorder some meters away. Members of the CNT (National Confereration of Labour), dressed in black leather, with scarves and flags under their arms deny it. GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEFERRED The tension was mounting with constant attempts to gain entry from the very excited young people. Well organised they fell back and came on again and again. Whenn finally most of the delegates from Paris and other cities had got in those on the doors gave up unnder the pressure. It was chaotic. The group which could have formed the coordinating committee made off to the Arab World Institute. The General Assembly was finally ajourned until 8.30 the following morning to take place at Censier. In amphitheatre 45 a wild General Assembly took place infiltrated by some of the go-to-the-limits militants of Paris 8 Saint Denis along with a postal worker calling for a general strike and some railway workers. Drinks and food from dispensers, half consumed, were strewn everywhere. Standing on a table someone was waving a huge black flag with a red star. One young person was clutching bags from the bookshop whilst being pushed by one of his friends, 'Drop it you'll get done as you go out... the riot cops are everywhere' Bags fall to the ground. 'We've got to have a discussion' shouted someone who nobody was listening to. A vote was taken in complete disorder on a motion from Saint Denis saying, 'no to the false negotiators'. Free public transport, reduction in working hours, an end to the nuclear programme, a general and unlimited strike - all was demanded... in chaotic scenes. Suddenly the lights were turned off - by whom wasn't clear. The 'votes' unable to be taken by a show of hands took place on sound volume but darkness soon discouraged these last combattants. Beatrice Gurrey (Le Monde 3rd December 1995) Note - Despite some journalistic glosses this article seems to come the nearest to what actually happened according to comrades who were present at Jussieu. _______________________________________________________ R=C9SEAU-INFOS-FACS --------------------------------------------------------------- Nantes le 6/12/95 On Tuesday 5th December several hundred people (500 to 800) confronted the forces of law and order. The confrontations began with some stone throwing (successful!) smashing the windows of the police station. This was followed by some molotov cocktails thrown against the walls. The events started at around 4.00pm whilst the trade union demo had ended at around 1.00pm. The confrontations lasted until 11.00pm The police used strong tear gas from the beginning along with disbursal grenades. An enormous and teryfying police deployment plunged the town centre into a de facto curfew: shops and bars closed, empty roads with police checkpoints. All public transport was stopped. According to the press there were 21 police injured but none of the demonstrators were hurt. There were four arests for confrontations and 7 for looting. These figures do not seem credible given the fleet of ambulances going from the hospital to the university. Moreover plain clothes police gave chase by car. Members of the National Front and Student Renewal could be found behind the riot police lines and at the beginning of the confrontation were making propaganda among the demonstrators. Many people who tried to intervene during the strongarm arrests were insulted and even charged with obstruction by the police. Bits and Pieces The riot police were seen to be relieving passersby (young people...) of their scarves, hats and jackets before ordering them to disburse. Those who stayed behind were carted off. Young girls and other evening strollers were truncheoned along the security perimeter set up by the police. A creche that was in the vecinity was filled with tear gas, the parents who protested were threatened and insulted. There were numerous provocations andd manipulations by civilian police trying to push the demonstrators into going 'too far'. THE THINNER THE CARROT THE BIGGER THE STICK __________________________ RESEAU INFOS FAC -------------------------- Take care, a train on strike may be hiding another... The essence of a social movement is to continually question the facts of a situation and to transform yesterdays certainties into todays doubts and to supply tomorrows questions. As the relations of power evolve, problems present themselves with more clarity. Those questions which are being raised by the current strike action may be decisive for what is to come. Today the strike has a grip on almost the totality of the public sector. At the same time - at least in Paris - student agitation seems to be having difficulty in transforming itself into a veritable movement. A minority is engrossed in an assemblyist activism which cannot go beyond the corporatist framework which is under the control of the unions. The real relationship between delegates, students and coordinating groups is hidden by clashes between splinter groups at the heart of the coordinating committees and which are, little by little, losing all credibility and are only coordinating manipulative projects. The activism of this minority has only survived thanks to the breath of life given to it by the workers strike. Despite the energy of some to get accepted certain political proposals, despite the radicalisation of a section of the student body, this 'movement' has been unable, up until now, to go beyond its corporatism, or to invent or liberate creative subversion. In the striking public sector, certain aspects are appearing in a new light The movement has been launched from the grassroots and has been carried along by a profound feeling of discontent which has been with our society for a long time. However, the vast majority of the strikers seem to have become the consumers of their own actions; active participation is left to the syndicalist militants. In some cases only collective engagement has been preserved. Whatever may be the case, the depth of the movement has already brought into being a dynamic which has gone beyond the initial objectives Faced with the brutal choices of power - just as much determined by the strikers themselves - one might wonder what are the forces within the movement and what are its perspectives. Globally the strike remains under the control of the unions, even if the clout of the delegates seems to be the determining factor.. The unions are the only ones in a position to negotiate the 'big deal' which is being projected as a 'reasonable' way out of the conflict. The explosion into daylight of the class struggle, is necessary for the capitalists to take a realistic assessment of the situation and to define the framework of a new 'general interest'. Such a confrontation may not displease them in so far as the outcome may be reached quite amicably. On their sidee, the unions also need to struggle to reinvigorate them from a low starting point. The form taken by this conflict is an indirect consequence of the crisis of French syndicalism and its urgent need to recover minimum representation. This weakness of the unions is also the strength of the movement. One new factor in particular, the strikers show themselves to be receptive and also concerned by what is happening elsewhere in society. They have proved themselves capable of extending their stuggle by means of their own strength, coming out of their places of exploitation in order to meet up with other workers and persuade them to join the struggle. Many of them have come over to support the students in their struggle. The lack of creation of forms of organisation which are able to express the determination and the new aspirations of struggle is the main weakness of this movement. It explains the passive attitude of a section of the proletariat. This absense is as remarkable as the fact that the isolated struggles of recent times have given rise to numerous autonomous organisations. Today any generalisation about the strike serves the union interest, reinforcing in a like manner their ability to negotiate Henceforth the weakness of the autonomous movement faced with the machinery of the unions is synonomous with its defeat. If the movement is incapable of going further and creating independant organisations which can bring together both the unionised and non-unionised, it will be as incapable of forming links with workers in the private sector who at the moment are the hostages of the boss class. When the moment comes it will no longer be a case of fighting the take over of the movement by the unions. It will be too late. The union bosses and those in power will share out the fruit of our energy and our generosity. Those who struggle today will pay the bill tomorrow. Henceforth only by going beyond the union framework will we give a new burst of life to the strike, to young people who are instruggle in the universities and the schools. Th opening up of the strikers to other groups is one of the strengths of the movement TRANSFER APPARENTLY INTERUPTED HOW TO PLEASE THE PEOPLE A million took to the streets in France on Thursday. Even the French state has admitted that is might not be able to hold out if the figure doubles and was making much of the fact that in Paris only (sic) 50,000 turned out. In fact this figure represents the success of the actions taken so far which largely started and still continue in the transport sector preventing not only the economy from functioning but also, to a degree, stopping people from getting to the demonstrations. There is still no rail service in France and in Paris there is no public transport system. Bus and Metro services are also at a standstill in Bordeaux, Greenoble and Limoges and are severly disrupted in most other provincial cities. The airports are also severly affected operating at about half capacity in the capital where also any attempt to move on the roads will be prevented by up to nine mile trafic jams... and still a million were on the streets. The response of the French State has been predictable. One of the worst outbreaks of violence occured in the East of France yesterday (8th December) when striking coal miners were forced to defend themselves against the riot police. Several were injured in events where the police used batons and tear gas against miners who had little more than sticks with which to defend themselves. The other attack comes from a more overt political direction. The media in France has successfully narrowed down the scope for debate to the argument over whether there should be 'debate' (the state wins) or 'negotiation' (the unions win) whereas the reality would seem to be that the stakes are far higher with the winners of losers to be either labour or capital. Capital has tied its flag firmly to the European Union and the lure of the single currency the mechanics of which mean 'another round' of cuts and austerity programmes. Five years ago the 'Union' represented a market of 600,000,000 in five years time it will be 6,000,000,000 and if united in any way by a single currency will represent the exploiters dream. The interests of the people of Europe are other but will depend largely within this context as to how far they can socialise the question and move away from a simple economic framework in order to start building a society worthy of that name. Identifying too closely with the unions will be their downfall. The State has now announced the appointment of a 'mediator' (NB not dialogue _or_ negotiation) in a clear move to divide the strikers. The State has identified the railway workers as the key figures and wishes to lure them back to work in order to break the people's resolve. The union leaders think they have the bit between their teeth with the leader of the Socialist Force Ouvriere, Marc Blondel, predicting bigger marches next week strating with a day of action on Tuesday. 'The Government', says M. Blondel, 'has to find a way of pleasing everyone'. M. Blondel surely understands the nature of government better than to believe his own rhetoric. The only way the government will succeed in finding a way of pleasing the people would be for it to disappear up its own arse. -------------------------------------------------- --/\-- A-Infos A-Infos / / \ \ A-Infos A-Infos ---|--/----\--|--- A-Infos A-Infos \/ \/ /\______/\ http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/ainfos.html To Subscribe to a-infos Send a message to majordomo@lglobal.com With the message in the body: subscribe a-infos -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- To receive the Anarchives via email send a note to Majordomo@lglobal.com with the message in the body: subscribe anarchives To get off the list, send to the same address but write: unsubscribe anarchives Also check out: http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/