Source: The Militant, Vol. 12 No. 41, 11 October 1948, p. 2.
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The following is a digest of an article by E. Germain on the French situation written on Sept. 28.
During the past week, the de Gaullist campaign which aims at an immediate conquest of power along the cold road has suffered some checks The project to hold provincial elections in October was defeated by a few votes in the Assembly. De Gaulle hoped to obtain close to an absolute majority of votes in this proposed election. The Stalinists joined in the de Gaullist demand at the last minute.
Much graver for the de Gaullist movement than this parliamentary defeat, which a handful of votes can change at any time, is the sudden increase of violent incidents between de Gaullists and Communist workers.
These incidents began at Grenoble, when the guard service of the General, composed largely of toughs recruited from the gutters of Marseille, drove their jeeps into a Communist counter-demonstration, shooting into the crowd, killing an old Communist partisan and wounding some dozens of people.
The answer of the workers was stunning. They promptly stopped all the jeeps and burned them in the public square.
Other incidents occurring the last few days in the provinces as well as in the environs of Paris, have disturbed the capitalists with the question, “Can de Gaulle hold his men?” They are ready to support the would-be Bonaparte only on the basis that his seizure of power avoids civil war.
De Gaulle seems to understand that incidents such as those at Grenoble can hurt his immediate chances, and he has ostentatiously dissolved his “guard service.” But it is evident that in face of the more and more determined attitude of an important layer of vanguard Communist workers, the logic of his politics will soon oblige him to push the secret arming of his bands.
The majority of the capitalists, however, continue to openly declare their confidence in de Gaulle. The suddenly aggravated international situation strengthens de Gaulle’s hand.
The great unknown of the situation is the working class and its capacity for spontaneous resistance. Here the Stalinist chieftains continue to behave like the most cynical procurers for the de Gaullist dictatorship, systematically demoralizing the workers through their so-called “whirling strikes.”
The three trade union bodies, the CGT, the reformist unions and the Chirstian unions, proclaimed a two-hour nation-wide general strike Wednesday, Sept. 24 in order to obtain a wage increase. On the very eve of the strike the government capitulated and granted a 15% general increase. Yet the strike went right ahead.
From the numerical stand point, it was an enormous success. More than five million workers quit work in the largest demonstration France has known since the “liberation.” But this aimless movement was considered by the great majority of strikers themselves as an absolutely useless demonstration of force.
The Trotskyists denounced the “parade” character which the Stalinist and reformist chiefs intentionally gave the strike and called on the workers to prepare a real general strike. More than 10,000 copies of their appeal were distributed and thousands of special editions of factory papers under their editorship met with remarkable success.
The criminal policy of the Stalinists, who are ready to capitulate to de Gaulle without a fight, may increase the demoralization of the workers. But hundreds and thousands of the best Communist militants are aware of the criminal character of this policy. Never has the program of the International Communist Party (Trotskyists) ‘taken’ to well among the Communist workers as at present.
During the Renault strike some 15 days ago, a meeting of 3,000 workers voted almost unanimously for a Trotskyist resolution calling for a complete general strike. Two days later, at the final strike meeting, the Stalinists surrounded our comrades with a strong-arm squad of especially selected “hard boiled” Stalinist members to prevent the Trotskyists from taking the floor. When the Stalinist leader announced the end of the strike in face of general indignation, the sentiments of the strong-arm squad changed abruptly and they pushed our comrades to the rostrum. These “hard-boiled” Stalinists had appointed the Trotskyists as their spokesmen!
At the Renault meeting of Sept. 24, which was attended by only the most hardened members of the Communist Party, our comrades distributed their factory paper, La Verité-Renault, (The Renault Truth). Not a single copy was torn or thrown away.
In the Marrane factory, at a trade union assembly composed exclusively of Communist Party members, one Trotskyist proposed the course to follow and with the exception of the Stalinist leader, all the speakers supported him.
At the local union of Gennevilliers, the Stalinist leaders joined in a public discussion with our comrades on the “traitorous” character of the policy of their national leaders.
At Puteaux, a working class suburb of Paris where our movement won a heroic tradition during the occupation, the distributors of Trotskyist literature together with the distributors of L’Humanité, the Stalinist newspaper, joined in running out de Gaullists. An agreement was then reached to continue this joint struggle on a bigger scale the following week. The Stalinist leaders invited our comrades to join them in forming a workers guard.
Of course, these are still isolated incidents, but they are symptomatic. Today only the Trotskyist program succeeds in capturing the ear of the advanced Communist militants They repeat our declaration that it is not yet too late to stop de Gaulle. Ten thousand Communist militants turning to action can set off the masses and reverse the whole situation. The struggle to convince these militants of the absolute necessity for immediate action – that is the task of the Trotskyists. Despite their insufficient means, they have been doing this to perfection up to now.
Last updated on: 29 March 2023