The working people of France are once again in motion, after being dormant for many years. Of course the press is reporting that this ”rioting” is the worst in fifty years. It is not a riot, it is a revolution, and that is one thing the press, and the French government, refuse to accept.
It recently started in November, in Paris, with protests against proposed increases in fuel taxes. This is referred to as a yellow vest movement. From there, the protests spread across the country, and the movement very quickly grew dramatically in strength. Journalists are reporting a deep discontent, such as they have never seen before. The working people are aware now that there is just ”them and us”, in that the super rich, the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, compose the ”them”, while the vast majority of poor people, the working people, the proletariat, compose the ”us”. The middle class, the petty bourgeois, as well as the peasants, have been almost wiped out. Those same working people are now well aware that the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, the people who have more money than they can ever hope to spend, are not satisfied. They want more, and are determined to squeeze it out of the working people.
Now the workers of France are struggling to make ends meet. As the wages are low and taxes are high, unemployment is rampant and hard working people are being forced to accept hand outs. This is degrading and the people of France are a proud people, wanting only to have the opportunity to earn an honest living. They want no part of charity.
Much to the surprise of Macron, the president of France, the revolutionary motion, the resistance, has grown considerably in a very short time. The ambulance attendants have joined the protests. As well, the farmers unions are taking part in the protests and the truckers unions are planning to take part soon. Even the high school students are raising their voices, which is an indication of the strength of the movement.
In response, Macron has cancelled the proposed fuel tax increase, in an attempt to quell the revolutionary motion. The response is precisely the opposite of that which he intended. The French people are now emboldened by their success, and the revolutionary movement is stronger than ever. It has even spread to other countries, as workers around the world rise up in support.
The protesters are facing the police in riot gear, and are being subjected to tear gas and water cannons, in an attempt to crush the rebellion. It is likely a matter of time, and probably a short time, before the people of France get the idea of turning on the water hydrants in the cities. The only thing required is a large wrench, and with enough hydrants turned on, the water pressure is far reduced. That should take care of the water cannons.
The journalists have also spoken to the police and were quite surprised to find that the police sympathize with the protesters. It is safe to say that while the police are trying to quell the demonstrations, their hearts are not into it. In fact, in one case, which is on video, the police removed their helmets, while facing the protesters. This is most significant, a step forward, an indication that the police will soon discard their uniforms and join the revolution.
As yet, Macron has resisted the temptation to send in the French army, probably out of fear that those same troops will also join the rebellion. His fears are well grounded.
For the moment, the movement remains spontaneous. As can best be gathered, from the scattered news reports, the French working class, the proletariat, is still not aware of itself as a class. It is certainly moving in that direction, but such an awareness can only come from an outside source, which is to say, middle class intellectuals. That being said, it is also true that the French people can learn that class awareness by reading such classic revolutionary writings as The Communist Manifesto, by Marx and Engels, State and Revolution, and Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, as well as What Is To Be Done?, all by Lenin. That should give workers a fine grounding in Marxist-Leninist theory.
As for those who scoff at the idea of theory, I can only point out that without a proper revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary motion. Without a proper theory, the best workers can hope to achieve is a few paltry reforms, which the capitalists will claw back, at the earliest opportunity. All workers have to face the fact that we live under capitalism, and the only alternative is socialism. The capitalists, the bourgeoisie, are currently in charge, and we live under the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. The one and only alternative is to follow the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. Then we can establish a socialist society, and work for the benefit of all people, not just the chosen few. But that requires us to establish a different state apparatus, with the goal of crushing the desperate and determined resistance of the bourgeoisie, the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. But that is where the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin come into service.
From that which I can gather on the internet, there are various political parties in France, just as there are in North America. In much the same way, some of these parties claim to be Marxist-Leninist, communist, socialist, or just plain left leaning. If any of them advocate the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, it is a well kept secret. And yet, it is the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat which is the foundation of Marxist-Leninist theory. Those who repudiate the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat are not at all socialists, merely social reformers. As Lenin phrased it in State and Revolution, ” A Marxist is one who extends the acceptance of the class struggle to the acceptance of the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat”. As there are possibly no political parties in France which accept the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, then it is safe to say there are no Marxist-Leninist political parties in France. This is another way of saying that there is no political party in France which represent the working class, as only the Marxist-Leninist political parties truly represent the working people.
This is no cause for doom and gloom, as this is just the way it is. Now it is up to conscious people, which is to say people who are aware of the existence of classes, of the struggle between the classes, of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, and especially of the necessity of revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. It is up to such people, those who may or may not be members of the working class, to bring to the working people of France the awareness of themselves as a class, and of the necessity for revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
At the same time, it may well be necessary to create an entirely new revolutionary French party, one that is truly Marxist-Leninist, one that embraces the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. That may appear to be a tall order, and perhaps it is, but the fact that the Russian Bolshevik party, led by Lenin, has already blazed the trail, and that should simplify matters. I would suggest reading the revolutionary platform of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, at the time of the revolution in Russia, 1917, and copying that which is relevant to the current revolutionary situation in France, and discarding that which does not apply. That can be the basis of a new French political Marxist-Leninist party.
After the creation of such a party, it may prove possible to work with members of other political parties. Those who are the members of the ”centre” can possibly be united, if only for a short time and only on certain issues, if only because they constantly vacillate. The leader of the political parties who are social chauvinists, socialist in works and chauvinists in deeds, which is to say, servants of the bourgeoisie, must be treated as the enemies of the working class, as indeed they are. The rank and file members of such parties must be treated with more respect, as they may be merely misled.
The working people of France have got to face the fact that the French bourgeoisie, with their vast wealth, have managed to buy off, to bribe, the upper stratum of the working class, and that includes many working class leaders, would be socialists, those who claim to be communists or Marxist-Leninists or Bolsheviks or whatever. As long as these self styled socialists deny the necessity of the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, they show their true colours. They are merely agents of the capitalists within the working class. The revolution against the capitalists has to include the fight against these traitors, at least until such time as they choose to join us and embrace the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
The people of France have a very distinguished history of revolution, of which they can be most proud. They have provided us with the great French revolution of 1789, which not only overthrew the nobility and abolished the feudal system, but also made the phrase of liberty, equality and fraternity, household words. That was followed by the first workers attempt at setting up a socialist workers society in Paris, 1871. Although the Paris Commune lasted only a few weeks, it was a great historical event.
Indeed, it was the experience of the Paris Commune that provided Marx and Engels with a fundamental lesson, of such enormous importance that they introduced it as a vital correction in The Communist Manifesto. As they phrased it, ”One thing especially was proven by the Commune, which is that the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready made state machinery and wield it for its own purposes”. Lenin goes into this in more detail in State and Revolution, a book which he wrote in the summer of 1917, immediately before the socialist November Russian revolution. It is every bit as relevant today as it was then.
As Engels phrased it, ”France is the land where, more than anywhere else, the historical class struggles were each time fought out to a decision”. Further, Lenin went on to say, in his excellent book, State and Revolution, ”in the coming proletarian revolution, France may once again reveal itself as the classic land of the class struggle to a decision”.
It is quite clear that ”the coming proletarian revolution” is now upon us, and it is very likely that France will ”once again reveal itself as the classic land of the class struggle to a decision”. No doubt, the working people of France will rise to the occasion, as they have in the past.
Once again, the working people of France are in the vanguard of the international working class movement. Now it is imperative that they study the revolutionary theories of the great working class leaders who have blazed the trail for us, in order to avoid the mistakes of the past. In this way, no doubt true Marxist-Leninist leaders will emerge, and lead France to a true socialist society, that of the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
Viva la France!
Workers of the World, Unite!
Scientific Socialism!
Dictatorship Of the Proletariat!
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 