The Central Committee of the Ligue Commumiste met on the 4th, Sth, 6th, and 7th of September, Three main questions were on the agenda: 1) the analysis of the political situation omé the taske of revolutionaries this year; 2) a report of the SWF of the USA's congress and preparation Sr the Tenth World Congress of the Fourth Intern=tional; 3) how to put the decisions of the 2nd Conference of the LC on strengthening the organisation (on the press, finances, full-timers, security) into practice.
The importance this last item had in the debates, illustrates our present stage of growth : on of developing from an organisation of amature revolutionaries to an orgenisation of professional revolutionaries, as Lenin Baw it.
The ciscussion on the political situation resulted in 5 resolution that fixes the framework of our intervention this year. Because recent political events are so rich in lessons, revolutionaries mist make a thorough anlaysis of thom if they are to act effectively in the coming period, and therefore we have decided to print the entire text of the resolution despite its length.
(The first part of the resolution carries on analysis of the international situation. is this hss been covered by the IMG in the editorial of the latest issue of International(no.6), we have only printed the sections dualing with France.
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1f The international crisis of capitalism will be reflected in various differeht ways in France. The French bourgeoisie will either alter its ambitions and make co with the left-overs of the big powers, or it will make new attempts at lifting itself up on the highest rungs, This would mean tougher attacks on small and medium industry, an attack on small business, a sacrificing of less competitive sectors, accelerated concentration in the most preductive sectors, squeezing profit out of public services, And this will inevitably lead to the development of unemployment and attempts to block wages; however, prices are still rising - take the recent increases in transportation, electricity, gas and tabacco = despite all the promises from the Minitries. Such measures will only increase social tension at a time when the re of 68 that was ba t_ back in place is obvicu soen as bankrupt. scandal has always been a characteristic of the bourgeoisie; but a sure sign of a sick bourgeoisie is when is advertises its scandals. Scandals have been exploding into the open, from Villeto to the land Guarantce case, for Pompidou's regime, which iteelf was born in the very troubled waters of the Markevitch affair. Frotest movemant within the police ferce reveal what dangers faces the system , whose titular protector only helf-belicves in it. The Constitutional Council is blocking the Marcellin-type law on associations. Lastly on “dgar Faure and Giscard d'Estaing's side there arre attempts to look for a new majority— the present majority's days are numbered,
2/ On top of this, this weakened power will not have its hand free to untie the noose cf economic and monetary problems around its neck. The working class which was first deceived by the electoral shipwreck of June '65 has from mid-November 1969 had ite demands--after the devaluation--blocked by police intervention against the DCF strikers, by the reluctance of the union leaderships as much as
much acs the trunchcons on demonstrators in suppoirt.of the revolutionary struggle of the Vietnamese.
Encouraged by the power of the demonstrationa against the Burgos trinls, there is new upsurge of workers struggles, first marked at the end of 1970. And curing the first term of 1971 the workers have fought for bigger and bigger goals, going from take-overs ta the Renault and SNCF (railway) strikes, and the 44-day strike at Batignolles.
The working class combattivity, heightened by ettacks on the workers! living conditions, by the ruling class' loss of crédibility, by a perspective of united trade union action, has beaten demoralisation caused by the betrayal of the Renault and ENCF struggles, where the trade union burequcracy preferre’ capituation te a test of force that would have risked getting out of their control, when it was faced with the ruling class and the bosses' stubborness.
3/ For a short perio, because the workers still have electoral illusions, a political answer (the lack of which, according to the CGT's balance sheet of the Renault strike, explainecthe dead-end the struggle came to) could express this combattivity.
with the creation of the mew PS ( Socialist Party) the CPF (Communist Party of France) has found itself an electoral partner, even if for the immediate future they are separately mustering their forces to be able to negociete in better condition. This is why the CPF is carrying out an anti-government campaign - by denouncingthe scondals - while it is simultaneously carrying out a campaign in favour of immediate re-opening of talks with ea view to a unity of the left. Ly keeping up activity throughout the summer months (demonstrations on Vietnam, Sudan, transportation, sending delegations to petition the resignation of RivesHenri), it has fully substantiated Fajon's statement syaing they will only have unity at ¢ price.
On his sice of things, ond drawing lessons from the Servan-Schreiber affair, is not trying to ekirt around the CPF, unlike the supporters of the Third force. Neither is he looking for a unity deal on equal footings; he will gain votes by being the candidate acceptable to a section of the bourgesisic. This explains why, althouch the CPF has already placed its bets on the 1973 parliamentary elections Mitterand, whe takes ellusions to the Chilian experience with equivocal silence, has fixed the presidential elections in 1976 as his horizon instead. If it is to win in this direction the PS must base itself on sa social force and regroup some of the other organised forces sround, In order to do this, and be seen as more than just an electoral spong, it will not hesitate to surparce the CPF to the left, verbally at least, on questions of living conditions (housing, public transport) and repression. Finally, this plan to become the party of the new midcle classes, can be made quite credible by the affiliation of former CFDT leaders such as Jeanson and Descamp, useful statements by £,Maire, and the obvious relief of FRY leaders wht have been politically short circuitet for too long.
4/ Dat this situation is completely different from that of the pre1965 elections or the barren period of censure motions in 1967. May 68 cannot be ipnored - workers remember it ond this experience of penernlised strugezle is concrately expressed today by the existance of revolutionary organisations like the Ligue Comministe, which partinlly arose foom that struggle, and who must now be taken into account by the ruling class and the bureaucracy.
With 1st May events, the CPF hes clready failed in its attempt.te leunch an "anti-leftist" campaign whichwas less Ptrm-cecly_raceivad by the werkers onyway.
énd es for the ruling class, the more threatened it feels the harder it tries to remove revolutionaries from the scene, Repression of the prese ( the triale of Rouge anc other revolutionary papers) is only the first step in this direction.
The reason why these two lines of attack have been Difficult te achieve is only because revolutionaries have learnt to differantiate themselves from lcftism in the last three years and to develop real links with the masavs. Toke, for example this last term alone : various events have marked n» change in the relationship of forees. During the Guict affair, end despite the CPF's systematic attempts to demobilise the whole campaign, several tens of thousands of school students, along with these revolutionary organisations, wete able to bend the ruling class. Under the initiative of the Ligue Communiste several thousand demonstrators took up the struggle against mewly regrouped fascist forces, by combatting the police whos were protecting a meeting held by Ordre Nouveau st the Palais des Sports. fgain on Ist May, the CGT's exclusion of revolutionnrics was used by the CFDT as an excuse ta withdraw from the march; there were then two mass demonstrations. 30.000 demonstratore came from all over gurope to celebrate the pastennry of the Commune at the call of the Fourth Internationsl, while the CFDT and the PS only managed to organise tiny marches of 5000 people.
Finally, there are hardly any workers’ of trade union struggles in which the presence of revolutionaries is not felt : by organising support for the Hatignolles end SNCF strikes and leading the defence of Bertin, who was expelled from the teaching profession,
i new period of struggles is opening, with real living forces st work.
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The working class will get new chances to make gains. They iust not be wasted; if the perspective of an alectoral victory has encouraged struggles, it mst not now be used to deviate this combattivity. That is why workers must decide on their own cims now.
EMPLOYERS DaFEND THEIR PROFITS, WORKERS MUST DEFEND THEIR CLASS INTERESTS !
if The last few months, and the SNCF strike in particular have shown that the bourgeolele is quite prepared to remein deaf to any demand that put productivity deals in questions, The employers' stubborness is only possible beoause the leadership of the working class has capitulated to it. The workers certsinly do not accept having their hands tied in this way, nor are they content with the crumbs they get through the ceals. If demancs are yoing to be won, it will not be through deals, but through strugele!
2/ To overcome the employers strategy of dividing the working class, and in order to achieve working class unity, workers will fight for the slogan of eauet wage increases for all, which enables them to resist declines in buying power, and also increases the buying power of the lowest wage-earners, and this will fuse the working class around the most combattitive layers,
Because employers always try to withdraw with one hand what they have given with the other, because they keep increasing prices to maintain profits, workers will impose a sliding scale of wages based on the statisties of workers organisations,
that heve Giscusseo them and which are the only guarantee of a meintance of ehoir buying power!
B® put a stop to wage lewols that have reduced » segtion of the working class starving Slaves of capitalism, Woeverg ~ ag they did in May 69 in Renault - will struggle so thet there are no wages below 1200 Frances!
Against the divisions that omployers are trying to introa@ce among the working class, workura will demand equel wapes for equal work fr» immigrant workers, women workers and young workers,
3/ Workers do not have to pay the cost of capitalist competition. Jgainst sackings and the closing down of factories, caused by comcentration and marimizetion of enpitalist profits : no_snacki 6 without finding new jobs at the same _w |
igainst the racist campsivn encouroged by the ruling class nt a time when immigrent wirkers risk being the first to be hit by unemployment , solidarity =mong French ond immigrant workers. Equal political md trade union rights for all!
The wvils suffered by the working class are the result of capitoalist anarchy. It will not be enough, therefore, for the working clases simply to defend itself :-
WORKERS WILL PUT CAPITALIST M..NGEMENT ANu ITS AGENTS ON TRIAL |
5/ When the employers use economic excuses to close down factories, increase their prices, ask the State for subsidies, workers must reply that they don't believe a word of it. They met demand workers! control of production.
This must begin with an opening of the books. This does not mean checking capitalist accountancy, but protesting agninst it : only workers cen control the pile ef stocks, the buying of new machines, and other items, which allow commerce to cheat the account books.
In the same way, with banking speculation, workers, starting with those in the benks, must reply by : b: and business secrets, control over oil transections: aginst inflation, for workers Sones of one rice and tax! ae couteol of or anisation at = ree = amd 7 duction sampli i
6/ Jgainst the all-powerful trusts and monoglies, workera will impose neationalisttion without incemnity or rek and uncer workers! control, of the huge acronautics1, chemical and car “Incustrice and the trade nnd transportanion networks.
igainst Imd speculation, they will 2 of all construction site, they will deocuaPlea, most important of all, traneposrtation and health services, erential rate eiven to private firme!
7/ ._8top the transfer of sectors of the public service to the private enterprises and all the results of capitalist "rationalisation" (unemployment, jobe without long term cuarantees)} Stop the dismantling of National Education by employers controling whole sectors (professional education in particular)! Representatives of capitclist interests must be teken off examinating bodies, and
public services, andr ' through endind of pref-
classrooms! Degrees from competeing universitics-m: | Stop al¥ subsidies to vate education and temand absolute guarantees that education will compl— ately financed by the State! Stop all attempts to install a moral rule in all sectors of the University anc cantrol puplis, stucenta and teachers by repression!
8/ Capitalist concentration eleiminates hencicrafts, small tracers an‘ small peasants. The capitalist State speeds this up by using crushing taxes on these categorics. Give indemnities to anyone forced to give up their jobs, by taxing bis firms!
9/ In the same way,revolutionaries must combat the fate that reduces working clase youth to unemployment when there are no jobs suitec to their qualifications, or to jobs below their qualifications, or over-exploitation without a wage guarantee; which causes "anti-youth racism" that :ttacks them in all aspects of daily life and keeps them in indecent material conditions:
“in the family (sexual repression) * culturally * politically: police repression hits youth in particuslor; the laws in operation force young workers to live tinder parental control, to pay tax without even having the right to vote at 18 and to submit themselves to marshalling that is called 'National Service',
10/ These big workers’ strugeles will increase in effectiveness when they are taken up by themajority of the working class. Workers' control of product= ion anc nationslisntion under workers! control delegated. Only delegetes thet are elected by the workers and instantly rev-keable can use this power, Through each etrugele workers must be educated in workers' democracy by elect strike committees that are representative of all the workers in struggle - unionised or not,
Dut neither will the workers stop at putting c-pitalist mansgement on trial, They know very well that their successes will be fragile ss long ns the bourgeoisie remain in control of their State.
WORKERS {RE C/NDIDATES TO POWER RIGHT NOW !
11/ Mitterand is advancing his pawns and manocuvering within the 1953 framework. He wants a personel kind of presidential power. The GPF has accepted this framework by withdrawing it demand for the abrogation of the 1958 constitution from its programme,
The workers want a workers' paverment which will throw out the Gaullist constitution and all its measures, from the laws afeinst Social Security to anti-demonstrator laws. They want o workers' government, based on their mage organisations and their elected committees which are controllec by them, which will Give them all their cemands, without deals ar delay, the have put forward in their programme of action!
12/ Using armed intervention against the working class is an old bourgeois tradition, Thiers after the Commune, Clemenceau's repression cf strikes at the beginning of the century, dules Moch's policy agrinst the miners, have all taught the workers that no law, unless it is the law of their own organised force, will guarantee their victory. More recently the intervention at Peugeot, Flins 1966 in Vailourec, Caterpillar, the bulldozer attack at EGF, the scab trade union eageression like the CGT at Citroen and Simca, show that workers must organise their self-defence, by strike pickets, right now. The international experience of Bolivia, where workers have bean defeated because of arming themselves to late, illustrates this again.
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Tee of schooling, to be canals out
43/ It ia now more than ever necesssry to develop support for the Incochinese revolution, for the revolutionary strugeles of th oppressed peoples above all those who ere in the remaining countries of the French Union (Chad, Martinique, Guaflaloup, Djibouti, Reution).
These ore the present tasks facing the proletariat. The Ligue Communiste proposes this programme of action to other revlutionary organisations, Its militants will c¢efend it and submit it to discussion in workers' organisations ond the mass movements in which they inte cvene,
we declare that ta carry out all these tasks it will require the building of a revolutionary party in France and on a world scale : this is what the Ligue Communist and the Fourth International, which the Iigue is the French section of, is trying to build.
To strengthen the Ligue Communiste today means to bring about the construction of this party - which is easential for the final victory of the working Class end the building of socinlisem - even quicker,
We appeal to everyone who can see that revolutionary hope is growing, to rea work alongside us and link their forces,
che r Redes “tri here antes ‘ ; without barracking at work and living elatee.
Paris, 6th September, 1971.