The socialist government of French President François Hollande has decided to play hardball with both the student and trade union movements, setting up a showdown with a very uncertain outcome. The government threatens to completely outlaw protests against the recently passed labor reform bill that would dismantle the social safety net currently enjoyed by French workers. Massive protests and strikes have rippled across the country since March, targeting the reform bill which was rammed through the legislature via a little known and infrequently used constitutional provision on May 10th. Oil refineries and nuclear power plants were also shut down in protest strikes and demonstrations.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/06/french-president-threatens-to-out...

The labor “reform” is classic neoliberal policy which would strip workers of job protections, health and pension benefits, and vacation time. It would also lengthen the work week and allow more outsourcing of jobs to lower paying countries. This is all being done under the pretext of jump starting the economy and providing jobs to lower the roughly 10% unemployment rate, a level that is even higher among the youth of the country. The law is vigorously opposed by the trade union movement led by the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail), organization close to the French Communist Party, as well as, by numerous other unions and student organizations.

Threats to suppress opposition has not lessened the protests one iota, and in fact last Tuesday saw the largest demonstration yet, when over a hundred thousand protesters marched and fought police in Paris. Even larger and more violent demonstrations are expected next week in a metaphorical fight to the death, since Hollande has staked his political future on implementation of the law. French workers on the other hand are fighting for their very livelihoods. As the progressive think tank the CEPR (Center for Economic and Policy Research) sums up the situation in France:

The idea that labor protections are the cause of European unemployment is part of an overall myth that Europeans would benefit from a more American-style economy. The U.S. economy is said to be more competitive, yet we are running a record trade deficit of more than 6 percent of GDP, and the European Union is running a trade surplus. The U.S. economy is supposedly more dynamic, but French productivity is actually higher than ours. Their public pensions, free tuition at universities, longer vacations (4-5 weeks as compared with 2 weeks here), state-sponsored day care, and other benefits are said to be unaffordable in a “global economy.” But since these were affordable in years past, there is no economic logic that would make them less so today, with productivity having grown – no matter what happens in India or China.

French students and workers seem to have a better understanding of these economic issues than their political leaders. Hopefully, the wisdom of the crowd will prevail.

http://cepr.net/publications/op-eds-columns/french-labor-law-reform-not-...

The French are fighting the hollowing out of their economy à l’américain, but are being attacked every bit as vigorously as the middle class in the US has been. They are the target of a faux neoliberal doctrine disguised as the policy of an ally, i.e. a “socialist” president, government, and legislative body. This situation is possibly even more of a betrayal than the parallel relationship between American progressives and the candidate, DNC, and Democratic Party.

We’ve talked quite a bit recently about what the revolution might look like here. One manifestation could be the upcoming Democratic convention in July, where the DNC and the Philadelphia Police are planning to shut down legitimate protest, and things are likely to get ugly. Yet at some point we have to speak truth to power and the rest of the world will be watching, even if the american MSM decides to ignore the real story.

The French police have been a military-like force similar to the Americans for decades, and are acting under a state of emergency, ostensibly to fight terrorism. But if the students and workers in Paris can insist on protecting their rights against them, it is to be expected that those headed to Philly will too. Hopefully they realize the effort and risk it will take to begin to take our country back, because the oligarchs will not give up without a fight.