KKE on French elections: Only the workers-popular movement can stop the rise of the far-right

Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party led the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, taking it closer to the gates of power than ever before.

After an unusually high turnout, the RN bloc clinched 33.15% of the vote, while the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition came second with 27.99% and President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble alliance slumped to a dismal third with 20.76%, according to final results published by the Interior Ministry on Monday. 

"Popular Front" in France: An old, bankrupt story

Article published in "Rizospastis" daily (here in Greek), Organ of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), on 20 June 2024:

"Popular Front" in France: An old, bankrupt story

"The multi-party cooperation established in France under the title “Popular Front” (Front Populaire) in order- as they say- to put obstacles to the election of a far-right Prime Minister, is presented as an example to follow in our country as well.

PCRF: Macron, Le Pen and the role of the revolutionary Communist Party

Same cause, same effects: capitalism and its bourgeois state, are the culprits!

On the evening of June 9, 2024, a verdict fell, with the results of the European ballot: electoral bankruptcy of the Macron/Attal government, with less than 15% of votes cast for the Macronist list (less than 8% of registered voters, taking into account the still strong abstention); new surge of the Rassemblement national, to over 31% (also to be put into perspective, with 16% of registered voters). You can find a fuller analysis on our website.

Justified popular anger, illusions to be dismantled

Communist Youth of Greece condemns the murder of 17-year-old Nahel by police in France

In a statement the International Relations Committee of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), the youth wing of the KKE, refers to the murder of 17-year-old Nahel M. in Nanterre, France and the subsequent mass demonstrations throughout the country. The statement reads:

“The Communist Youth of  Greece condemns the murder of Nahel, a 17-year old boy of Algerian origin, on Tuesday 27 June 2023 in Nanterre, Paris, who was shot at point-blank range by a police officer because he... “refused to comply” during a traffic control. 

PAME: Long Live the Struggle of the Workers of France

PAME, expresses its solidarity with the working class of France and the new General Strike on March 23 and the big daily mobilisations of the workers.

The working class, the youth and the people of France, with the militant trade unions in the front line, flood the streets of all French cities every day and carry out massive, militant strikes and multiform actions to prevent the imposition of the anti-workers pension reform of the Macron government. They clearly state that they do not accept to work til death.

France vs Macron: The struggle against the pension reform from a communist perspective

On March 7, millions of people took to the streets throughout France participating in a nationwide strike against the anti-popular pension reform by Emmanuel Macrons' government that plans to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 years old. 

 

That was the sixth strike against the reform this year, following large mobilizations in January and February. Over 260 demonstrations were reported in the country, with the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) talking about 700,000 protesters in Paris. 

France: Workers protest against government's pension reform in the largest mobilizations of the last 20 years

Huge crowds marched across France on Tuesday to say "non" to President Emmanuel Macron's plan to make people work longer before retirement. 

According to the estimations of Trade Unions, yesterday's mobilization in Paris is the largest since 2000. 

The French Interior ministry said that a total of 1.272 million people took part in the protests nationwide, up slightly from the first nationwide demonstration on Jan 19. In Paris, a total of 87,000 people marched, compared to 80,000 on Jan. 19, it added.

KKE on French election: Popular discontent for Macron — Mélenchon and Le Pen are capital's reserves

“The actual, pro-people way out, in France, in Greece and in every country, is the intensification of the struggle against capitalist barbarism and its- every time- governmental administrator”, underlines a comment by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) on the results of the French legislative elections.

More specifically, the statement (here in Greek) issued by the Press Office of the CC of the KKE reads:

KKE: Comment on Macron's re-election in France

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes.

Emmanuel Macron has won France's presidential election, fending off a historic challenge from far-right candidate Marine Le Pen during Sunday's runoff vote.

Macron took 58.5% of Sunday's vote, making him the first French leader to be reelected in 20 years. He and Le Pen advanced to the runoff after finishing in first and second place, respectively, among 12 candidates who ran in the first round on April 10.

Commenting on the outcome of the election and the victory of Emmanuel Macron, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out (here in Greek):

Is the French communist movement dead?

By Nikos Mottas

Macron vs Le Pen and Le Pen vs Macron. Once again the French people are called to choose between “Scylla” and “Charybdis”, being entrapped in the notion of the “less evil”. 

We've seen this play in the past: In 2017, when Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen were again the two contestants in the second round of the presidential elections, as well as in 2002 when Jacques Chirac faced Jean-Marie Le Pen who came second leaving behind social democrat Lionel Jospin. 

KKE: Statement on the French elections' result

Commenting on the result of the first round of the French presidential elections, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) stresses out (read here in Greek):

“The result of the French elections, with the once again high percentage of far-right Le Pen, is the tragic consequence on the one hand of the timeless anti-people policy implemented by all governments in the name of “democracy” and “progress” and, on the other, of the compromise and degeneration that has prevailed in the labor and communist movement in France. 

PRCF on French elections: Neither Macron, nor Le Pen in the second round

Following the result of the first round of the French Presidential Election on Sunday, the Pole for Communist Revival in France (Pôle de Renaissance Communiste en France, PRCF) and its youth wing, JRCF (Jeunes pour la Renaissance Communiste en France), call for a mass turnout on the second round of what they consider as an “electoral masquarade which has been locked up for months by the oligarchy”.

In a statement (here in French), the  PRCF calls the working class to abstain from voting on April 24th in order to de-legitimize the political power of the future president as much as possible. 

KKE: Statement on Greece-France defense agreement

The Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued the following statement on the strategic partnership between Greece and France as well as Mitsotakis and Macron’s statements:

“The people need to understand the essence behind the government’s celebrations, namely the fierce geopolitical competition and negotiations in which Greece is dangerously involved. An integral part of the above is the excessive —and never-ending— expenditure on armament programmes, which mainly serve other objectives and not the country’s defence, while the Greek people are called upon to pay for them with heavy sacrifices.

France: Thousands of healthcare workers in the streets said "applause is not enough"!

“Applause is not enough” said yesterday hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers throughout France, demonstrating for their jobs, their rights and the country’s public healthcare system. 

At least 250,000 protesters in Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Lille and other French cities participated in protests against Macron government’s neoliberal policies which lead to more cuts in public healthcare sector. To date, the government hasn’t responded to the major urgent demands of healthcare and hospital workers who ask for increased wages, for an end to bed and hospital closures and for an increase of healthcare workers in public hospitals with sufficient medical equipment. 

European Communist Initiative: Solidarity with the workers' strikes in France

The Secretariat of the European Communist Initiative expresses its internationalist solidarity with the workers' strikes in France and calls on the workers to express their support for the new strikes organized on 22 and 24 January in defense of labor, social insurance and pension rights, that are being trampled by the policy of the Macron government.

Workers in France, with strikes and diverse mobilizations, clash with the antilabor measures of the Macron government, of business groups and the EU, that raise pensionable ages, convert pensions into allowances and hand social security contributions and insurance fund reserves to gambling and to the business groups.

France General Strike: KKE and PAME on the side of French workers

Photo: 902.gr

Members and supporters of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and its youth wing KNE, who live and work in France, participated in the large strike rallies of December 5^th.

As 902 portal reported, holding banners with the slogan "Popular alliance against the blow on pensions by the government and the EU", KKE members and supporters stood on the side of French workers, demonstrating in Paris, Marseille, Grenoble and other big cities.

General Strike in France - Grève Générale en France: Solidarity from WFTU and PAME

Today, December 5th, thousands of workers across France participate in a nationwide general strike against the anti-people, anti-worker reforms announced by Emmanuel Macron's government. The government's reforms include several blows to the pension system, including rise in retirement age limits and reduce of financial recompensation. 

In a statement, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) expresses solidarity with the general strike of December 5th. The statement reads:

KKE: Comment on Mitsotakis-Macron meeting

On the occasion of Thursday's meeting between the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, the Press Office of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) issued a statement.

The statement is the following:

"The declarations of K. Mitsotakis from Paris can be translated into new sacrifices for the Greek people in the altar of the profitability of the domestic and French capital. The reduction of taxes for the businesses and the pro-investment environment which is needed to attract french investments preoccupies a new attack on the workers-people's income, because someone has to "pay the bill". 

KKE expresses solidarity with the French people, condemns police repression

In a statement issued today regarding the massive mobilizations in France and the brutal repression from the side of Emmanuel Macron's government, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) points out the following:

"The KKE expresses its solidarity with the mass mobilizations of workers, students, and other popular forces over the last weeks in France, against the policy of expensive fuels and their heavy taxation.

Gilets jaunes: French communist parties reflect on "yellow vests" movement

Through written statements, the marxist-leninist Communist Parties in France have expressed their support towards the progressive demands of the "yellow vests" movement, pointing out that the anti-governmental demonstrations must take an anti-capitalist, anti-monopolies shape, against the big capital and the participation of the country in the imperialist alliances of EU and NATO. 

In a statement titled "All together against the policy of Macron, the man of financial capital", the Communist Revolutionary Party of France (PCRF) calls Emmanuel Macron as "the president of the rich" and reaffirms its solidarity with the "yellow vests" movement while calling for vigilance against attempts by fascist groups to take advantage of the protests. The PCRF points out that the best protection against the far-right is the mass participation of the workers, of the labor movement in the ongoing demonstrtaiuons.