"Hot, hot, hot - the spring is going to be hot!", is the defiant slogan being chanted by tens of thousands of protesting school students throughout France. The strength of the upsurge has left the Pompidou regime stunned; its organisational efficiency has shattered the complacency of the trade union bureaucrats; its discipline and self-defence preparations have sent not a few fascists to hospital. France is experiencing yet another upheaval, at present in its infancy, but given the social crisis and the electoral defeat of the Union of the Left, likely very soon to develop into a new social explosion. "Hot, hot, hot - the spring is going to be hot!", the movement. Mass assemblies have elected is the defiant slogan being chanted by tens of thousands of protesting school students throughout France. The strength of the upsurge has left the Pompidou regime stunned; its organisational efficiency has shattered the complacency of the trade union bureaucrats; its discipline and self-defence preparations have sent not a few fascists to hospital. France is experiencing yet another upheaval, at present in its infancy, but given the social crisis and the electoral defeat of the Union of the Left, likely very soon to develop into a new social explosion.
PREPARATIONS The movement was not sparked off spontaneously. A sparking plug, well-known in the French Left as teh Communist League (French section of the Fourth International), had been extremely active on the question of the Debre Law for several weeks prior to the upsurge. On 10-11 February the high school Red Circles of the Communist League held a national convention and assessed the experience of the struggles school leaders. Present at the meeting was the in Belgium against conscription and the role of the Revolutionary Workers League (Beigian From JOAN STOTT in Paris Section of the F.l.). The convention proposed the setting up of Committees Against the Debre Law - CSADL.
As we go to press demonstrations are still taking place, but it is essential to draw an initial balance sheet. The schools movement which has erupted is larger than the student movement of May "68: the demonstration of 3 April brought 250,000 students out on the streets, while in May '68 the biggest demonstration never exceded 80,000, Throughout France over half a million students have been involved in demonstrations with apprentices playing a very important role, 15,000 of them marching on the big demonstration. A striking feature has been the exemplary self-organisation and democracy in committees which can be recalled at any time. as well as 1,500 marshalls to undertake security precautions and self-defence.
The most important general assemblies have taken place in the Paris red belt", a stronghold of the CP. The initial tactic of the CP was to forestall the call made by the CSDAL, by calling a separate demonstration on 21 March. It drew only 5000 people. The CSDAL demonstration on the next day brought out 100,000 people. CP students giving out leaflets on the latter demonstration accusing the ultra-left' of splitting action must have felt both foolish and angry as the CP Political Bureau did a hasty volte-face when it saw the Communist League in the leadership of this massive mobiLisation.
ENTER THE CGT That day the CP-dominated trade union federation, the CGT, got in touch with the Communist League to arrange a meeting with its high CGT President, Seguy, and it resulted in the CGT calling on its militants to take to the streets. The CP had been effectively out flanked, and nationally it was denounced for its previous splitting role. By organising a mass movement based on a strong political intervention the Communist League together with the mass of school students forced the CP to make a 180 degrees about turn.
While there has been a real feeling of unity, the Lutte Ouvriere (Workers Struggle) group intervened in the apprentices" movement to divide them from the 'petty bourgeois School students, refusing to join in the mass assemblies and attempting to manipulate the apprentices sing of the movement. This apolitical and workerist approach has already begun to rebound on them, but unfortunately it tends to discredit the revolutionary left as a whole.
TWO TASKS The Communist League has two clear cut aims. First, to establish links with the working clas both from "below - using its own base and influence in the working class vanguard - and from 'above' - by united action with the CGT. At present there is a strike in Renault and the Peugeot factory is occupied. A continuation of the strikes and the strengthening of the links which have already been established would make for an explosive situation.
Secondly, the League has projected movements inside the Army to defend soldiers punished for supporting the movement. This defence of the democratic rights of the soldiers is a vital part of the movement, not understood by either the CP or Lutte Ouvriere.
The Pompidou regime and the bourgeoisie were not expecting trouble so soon after the elections. On 1 May there will be a joint student-worker demonstration supported by the major trade unions. The CGI bureaucrats may not realise it, but they are playing with fire....