The first of an occasional series of articles on the lives of figures of the French left.
For more than a decade, from 1936 to 1947, Laurent Schwartz (1915-2002), the famous mathematician, was a Trotskyist in France, though that was only one . . .
Place: France
Laurent Schwartz: The Vicissitudes of an Internationalist
Alain Krivine: French Revolutionary Socialist – 1941-2022
Alain Krivine, a French revolutionary socialist, died today March 12 at the age of eighty.
SUD-Rail and Solidaires demand free transport for refugees from Ukraine!
It is therefore necessary to implement rapid, concrete and massive assistance to facilitate the transport of these people throughout Europe, to their reception centers or their families; it is an imperative of dignity and solidarity.
The Two Souls of Aplutsoc
John Barzman responds to Aplutsoc’s criticisms of his interview with New Politics about social resistance to the French health pass.
Social Resistance to the Health Pass
Continuing debate about the health pass and social resistance in France: The editorial board of Aplutsoc responds to New Politics’ coverage.
France’s Union: Between Dead Ends and Renewal
The national day of strikes and demonstrations organized in France on 5 October was not a failure, but the mobilization was average in terms of demonstrations and weak in terms of strikes.
French Anti-Pass Demonstrations on the Eve of the Presidential Election
The fragmentation of the left has led to an almost certain second-round dual between Macron and Le Pen in 2022, with grave implications for the future of an explicitly left mass movement.
What’s Happening in France?
The French collective Aplusoc (Arguments for the Social Struggle) argues that recent protests in France do not represent a reactionary wave.
Marx’s Commune
An Appreciation and a Critique
For the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, an analysis of Marx’s views on the Commune and its historical possibilities.
Understanding the Paris Commune On its 150th Anniversary
What is the significance of the Paris Commune for us today? A model for socialists? A heroic failure? Negation of the state? Or the first workers’ government?
France’s Confusing Political Demonstrations on July 24 – Another Planned for July 31
An interview with longtime French left activist Patrick Silberstein on the current demonstrations in France
American Progressives and France’s Surge to the Right
Macron’s newest orders banning demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine reveal even more clearly the real nature of France’s anti-Muslim campaign, one that the U.S. and French Left have with few exceptions mostly ignored.
The Legacy of the Paris Commune: 1871-2021
In March 1871, in the aftermath of France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, ordinary Parisians rose up and took control of their city for themselves. Join a panel of authors on June 3 to discuss the enduring legacy of the great Paris Commune and its lessons for today.
After the tragedy of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine: anger, solidarity, and rejecting Islamophobia in France
In the wake of the horrific murder of a French high school teacher, President Emmanuel Macron is playing the Islamophobia card in hopes of distracting the country from his catastrophic failure to stem the tide of newly resurgent Covid-19.
From Passionate Uprising to Sustained Rebellion
The passionate uprising that began in Minneapolis after police murdered George Floyd quickly spread across the country and around the world, is now the biggest upheaval since 1968.
Where to Begin? Growing Seeds of Liberation in a World Torn Asunder
What faces us in the post-COVID-19 world as we struggle to uproot capitalism and its malignant racism, sexism, heterosexism, and environmental destruction, both in theory and in practice?
France at a Crossroads
The nationwide general strike in France, now in its record seventh week, seems to be approaching its crisis point. Despite savage police repression, about a million people are in the streets protesting President Macron’s proposed neoliberal “reform” of France’s retirement . . .
Neo-Colonial Economics in Central Africa: A Very Short History
Word War Two as the death-knell for colonial empires is a well-trodden and essentially erroneous narrative. Empires’ relationships with their colonies were uprooted, modified and given the gloss of ‘independence’ but retained injustice and exploitation at their core. In Central . . .
Millions in France Strike Against Austerity
On December 10, the mass mobilization against pension cuts that has brought the French economy to a halt entered its sixth day, with over 500,000 taking to the streets in demonstrations across the country. Strikers shut down bus, subway, and . . .
French Unions, Yellow Vests Converge, Launch General Strike Today
(Montpellier, France) On the eve of an “unlimited” (open-ended) General Strike called for Dec. 5, more and more unions and protest groups are pledging join in.
Two things are unusual about this strike. The first is that it is open-ended, rather . . .
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Our Winter 2023 issue has now been published!