It’s been some time since citizen action actually led to pregress in France.
We had worker’s rights improvements thanks to strikes, occupations and violence against the factorie’s bosses at the start of 20th century, which in turned fueled a socialist movement that got a real left elected in 1936 - to which we owe,among other stuff, mandatory pto for everyone.
We had a great social security system built after ww2, because the resistance against nazis was mostly made of communists and all the major firms had collaborated so they did not have much of a say (some were nationalized when the war ended).
The latest thing I can think of is from the 90s, when the legal weekly work time was reduced to 35hrs (you can still work overtime but your employer has to pay you more).
But the nineties is also the point where the left started losing power, and lots of good thing started being undone (salaries stopped rising with inflation, taxbreaks for the rich and the big companies started multiplying…).
In the last two decades, most of our protests and strikes were not to gain new rights and make our lives better, but to try and stop rights being taken away (alas with little to no success): retirement, workers negotiation power, social security, unemployment…
All of it is under attack from the right (which is in power since then) in what looks like a continued effort to move towards the american ultraliberal way of doing things. Health, education, transportation and retirement for exemple are becoming increasingly privatised - it’s easy to do, cut the funding of the public services, watch them drown, accuse them of not being efficient enough, introduce new legislation to make space for the private sector.
I really wish we’d revolt again, and the “gilets jaunes” from 2018-2020 seemed like a step in the right direction (not perfect of course, and the far-right succeded a little in being included in the movement) but was stopped first with extreme police brutality then by the lockdown and it never got rolling again.
Recently, American worker’s unions look a lot more french than the french ones do, and I hope we’ll be able to get some inspiration from you !
As an American that strongly advocates for direct action, this depresses me (further). If taking to the streets still doesn’t get anything done, what hope is there? Any progress our government makes from within the system is so incrementally small that it’s not going to prevent our grandchildren surviving the world that capitalist-driven climate change is creating, and that’s even if all progress doesn’t get completely undone the instant the Republicans get the presidency again (the Democrats have not had two consecutive presidents since 1964, and that was due to JFK’s assassination. There hasn’t been two consecutive elected Democrats since
18-fucking-56).
As an American that strongly advocates for direct action, this depresses me (further). If taking to the streets still doesn’t get anything done, what hope is there?
Have hope, but be smarter about it, we need to strategize, out in the open (because keeping a secret from the state in 2024 is all but impossible), with the clear realization of what our oppressors are willing and able to do to stop us. People online seem to think that real change can only come from enough of us getting pissed simultaneously and taking to the streets, but what does sending a very strong signal to someone that doesn’t care really get us? …or violent full-on revolution but that strategy is impossible to grow and is likely to backfire big time. We need to consciously evolve our culture to not need a state.
–> The state cannot exist, any state is a target for the power hungry to take over and start the cycle over again.
That government that stops or slows our progress, it’s made out of people. I’m a bit older, I saw the “Tea Party” in the U.S. go from a few excited people giving a speech at Sizzler to causing problems for the whole world. Why can’t people that want to make things better do that?
We need to get more good people into office at any level possible, to demilitarize the police, prevent book bans, help prevent ordinances against protesting, guerilla gardening, etc.
We need more people to run to vote even if they can’t win to influence the Overton Window and call out the right wingers
We need people to form and join worker’s co-ops. Why isn’t there a local co-op pizza shop, bike shop?
We need people building community that is separate from capitalist interests. What does this look like?
Learn to garden, plan harvests and food sharing with neighbors to save money and be less dependent on the fragile system.
Garage bars, dinner parties, tiki parties, BBQs, block parties. Anything that gets neighbors talking and having fun and building shared interests.
Walking and riding around your neighborhood making friends, knowing faces
The problem is that the french workers going on strike has basically become a meme. Look at Canteloup’s Monsieur Regis character. SNCF go on strike for fun and no one really knows why.
The last major strikes were because of the retirement age raising to 62. The rest of the world looked on and thought “I’d love to retire at the age you are all complaining about”. Hell, I don’t even WANT to retire at 62! What will I do with myself?
I agree with the part about french workers on strike becoming a meme, but I wanna stress that it didn’t happen by itself.
It’s the result of voluntary and sound political strategies from our (economically) liberal governments.
Step 1: “let’s make a very offensive law proposition”
Step 2: workers go on strike.
Step 3: “okay let’s take back the worst point and still applythe rest”
Step 4: workers’ lives are worst despite the strike and the unions lose power and credibility
Sprinkle in the fact that most media were bought by billionaires who aren’t too fond of workers’ rights, a few corrupt union leaders and you get the current situation.
It’s interesting that you mention SNCF (state-owned - for now - french railway) because the always make the reason of their strikes clear and (spoiler) it’s never for fun. But when strikes occur, most of the media interview people who wanted to go to work/on holiday by train and can’t because of the strike, “economists” who rant about the hundreds of k€ losses for businesses because of the strike, some ass***e from the government who stated “we think the right of strike and protest is very important, but not when it bothers other people” and never the union’s heads or the sociologists who can explain how the previous laws have made life worse for the rail workers and how the current one is gonna be worst.
It’s been some time since citizen action actually led to pregress in France.
We had worker’s rights improvements thanks to strikes, occupations and violence against the factorie’s bosses at the start of 20th century, which in turned fueled a socialist movement that got a real left elected in 1936 - to which we owe,among other stuff, mandatory pto for everyone.
We had a great social security system built after ww2, because the resistance against nazis was mostly made of communists and all the major firms had collaborated so they did not have much of a say (some were nationalized when the war ended).
The latest thing I can think of is from the 90s, when the legal weekly work time was reduced to 35hrs (you can still work overtime but your employer has to pay you more).
But the nineties is also the point where the left started losing power, and lots of good thing started being undone (salaries stopped rising with inflation, taxbreaks for the rich and the big companies started multiplying…).
In the last two decades, most of our protests and strikes were not to gain new rights and make our lives better, but to try and stop rights being taken away (alas with little to no success): retirement, workers negotiation power, social security, unemployment…
All of it is under attack from the right (which is in power since then) in what looks like a continued effort to move towards the american ultraliberal way of doing things. Health, education, transportation and retirement for exemple are becoming increasingly privatised - it’s easy to do, cut the funding of the public services, watch them drown, accuse them of not being efficient enough, introduce new legislation to make space for the private sector.
I really wish we’d revolt again, and the “gilets jaunes” from 2018-2020 seemed like a step in the right direction (not perfect of course, and the far-right succeded a little in being included in the movement) but was stopped first with extreme police brutality then by the lockdown and it never got rolling again.
Recently, American worker’s unions look a lot more french than the french ones do, and I hope we’ll be able to get some inspiration from you !
As an American that strongly advocates for direct action, this depresses me (further). If taking to the streets still doesn’t get anything done, what hope is there? Any progress our government makes from within the system is so incrementally small that it’s not going to prevent our grandchildren surviving the world that capitalist-driven climate change is creating, and that’s even if all progress doesn’t get completely undone the instant the Republicans get the presidency again (the Democrats have not had two consecutive presidents since 1964, and that was due to JFK’s assassination. There hasn’t been two consecutive elected Democrats since 18-fucking-56).
Have hope, but be smarter about it, we need to strategize, out in the open (because keeping a secret from the state in 2024 is all but impossible), with the clear realization of what our oppressors are willing and able to do to stop us. People online seem to think that real change can only come from enough of us getting pissed simultaneously and taking to the streets, but what does sending a very strong signal to someone that doesn’t care really get us? …or violent full-on revolution but that strategy is impossible to grow and is likely to backfire big time. We need to consciously evolve our culture to not need a state.
–> The state cannot exist, any state is a target for the power hungry to take over and start the cycle over again.
That government that stops or slows our progress, it’s made out of people. I’m a bit older, I saw the “Tea Party” in the U.S. go from a few excited people giving a speech at Sizzler to causing problems for the whole world. Why can’t people that want to make things better do that?
We need to get more good people into office at any level possible, to demilitarize the police, prevent book bans, help prevent ordinances against protesting, guerilla gardening, etc.
We need more people to run to vote even if they can’t win to influence the Overton Window and call out the right wingers
We need people to form and join worker’s co-ops. Why isn’t there a local co-op pizza shop, bike shop?
We need people building community that is separate from capitalist interests. What does this look like?
Learn to garden, plan harvests and food sharing with neighbors to save money and be less dependent on the fragile system.
Garage bars, dinner parties, tiki parties, BBQs, block parties. Anything that gets neighbors talking and having fun and building shared interests.
Walking and riding around your neighborhood making friends, knowing faces
pre 1940s I’d say this isn’t really an issue. there were a lot of dixiecrat shitbags, but thanks to the southern strategy things kinda reversed.
The problem is that the french workers going on strike has basically become a meme. Look at Canteloup’s Monsieur Regis character. SNCF go on strike for fun and no one really knows why.
The last major strikes were because of the retirement age raising to 62. The rest of the world looked on and thought “I’d love to retire at the age you are all complaining about”. Hell, I don’t even WANT to retire at 62! What will I do with myself?
I agree with the part about french workers on strike becoming a meme, but I wanna stress that it didn’t happen by itself.
It’s the result of voluntary and sound political strategies from our (economically) liberal governments.
Step 1: “let’s make a very offensive law proposition”
Step 2: workers go on strike.
Step 3: “okay let’s take back the worst point and still applythe rest”
Step 4: workers’ lives are worst despite the strike and the unions lose power and credibility
Sprinkle in the fact that most media were bought by billionaires who aren’t too fond of workers’ rights, a few corrupt union leaders and you get the current situation.
It’s interesting that you mention SNCF (state-owned - for now - french railway) because the always make the reason of their strikes clear and (spoiler) it’s never for fun. But when strikes occur, most of the media interview people who wanted to go to work/on holiday by train and can’t because of the strike, “economists” who rant about the hundreds of k€ losses for businesses because of the strike, some ass***e from the government who stated “we think the right of strike and protest is very important, but not when it bothers other people” and never the union’s heads or the sociologists who can explain how the previous laws have made life worse for the rail workers and how the current one is gonna be worst.