[The following unsigned article appeared on the front page of the June 10, 1983, issue of Rouge, the weekly newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR), French section of the Fourth International. The translation is by Intercontinental Press.]
The right wing has just taken a new step in its strategy of wearing down the regime. Up to now the right had stepped up its war of words and announced that the left government would not make it to the end of its elected term. We saw the right use and even organize the demonstrations by certain social categories. It did not hesitate to make use of the services of fascist groups to create a climate of tension and confrontation.
This time, by sending several thousand frenzied, armed police into the streets, spewing their hatred of the "reds" and the "niggers," the right is attacking the legitimacy of the government that arose from [Mitterrand's election on] May 10 [1981].
This is a very serious danger signal. For several hours, a gang of badge-carrying delinquents was able to impose its law on the capital. And we saw the stunning and unnerving spectacle of the units that were supposed to maintain order joining with the rebels, fraternizing with them, and giving them the run of the streets. One would have to go back 25 years, to 1958, to find demonstrations that have caused such shockwaves.
If the right no longer seems to be placing any restraints on its arrogance, that is because it feels it has a clear field. The June 3 demonstrations, from this vantage point, are revealing. Since the spring of 1981, the government has doggedly tried to conciliate the right and the employers. It has continually adjusted its policies to their demands.
It refused to carry out the reforms in the state apparatus demanded by the democratic police and magistrates' organizations.
This tactic has just provided stunning proof of its bankruptcy. Those who were defeated May 10 are not as indulgent as their adversaries. And they are perfectly capable of exploiting the left's capitulations and weaknesses.
This orientation, transmitted through the left parties and union federations, demobilizes and disorients the workers. One has to be singularly shortsighted to congratulate oneself, as François Mitterrand did on television June 8, because "the working class has known how to restrain its own demands."
The reactionary forces are able to sharpen their actions, and can occupy the streets virtually on a daily basis, because they know that no one will stir on the other side.
Nothing could be more dangerous now than to allow this process of disintegration to continue just because the vacation period is approaching. The reactionary police unions have announced that they will mount a mass response against measures aimed against them. The offensive by the right and far right is not taking time off. Each stage prepares the next one.
The more the workers remain passive, the more threatening the adversary will become. To put the fascist gangs to flight, to counter the attacks by the bosses, who always demand more austerity and subsidies, the workers movement must retake the streets, must establish, despite the differences existing within it, a vast united front against the reactionaries, and must force the satisfaction of its most pressing demands.
Our efforts must be focused on this objective.