[Marxism] "Is France on the verge of a new May/June '68?": A critique by Diana Johnstone

[David Thorstad]

When the following item was posted a week ago on Marxmail

http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2009/06/france-party-npa-european

my impression was that the article was nothing (or little) more than a 
puff piece for the "New Anticapitalist Party" and its "star" Olivier 
Besancenot. But, not being that informed about the fine points of French 
politics, I wrote to Diana Johnstone to ask that she analyze/critique/ 
react to the posted article. She agreed that I could post her comments 
here (and elsewhere). Diana was a participant in May '68 (unlike the 
much younger author of the puff piece for the NPA). She is also an 
incisive and rationalist observer of French and European politics, not 
associated with any political tendency. Her views merit serious attention.
Here is an introductory portion of her detailed critique of the article. 
If anyone wishes to read the entire critique, please contact me off-list 
and I will send it.
David
============================================================================================


June 19, 2009

David,

This pathetic article should be titled, “Riding a bike in Paris along 
the Trotskyist line”, or something like that. Rather than generalities, 
let me revert to explication de texte, commenting citations.

*Little wonder that the mainstream journal /Le Nouvel Observateur/ 
recently devoted an entire issue to what it called “The French 
Insurrection”, or that there is now serious talk in most sections of the 
media of a “New May ’68” – a reprise of the strikes and riots that 
brought France to its knees and almost felled the government of Charles 
de Gaulle more than 40 years ago.*

Before speaking of a “New May ‘68”, it might help to take a hard look at 
the old one. Although there is plenty to dispute about the significance 
of those “events”, it is generally agreed that they depended on the 
convergence – and even more the divergence – of two major factors: a 
more or less libertarian youth revolt against traditional authority at 
all levels, and a strong Communist-led labor movement. The labor 
movement got what it asked for – pay raises – because a growing and 
prosperous economy could afford to give workers the share that they 
should have had, given increases in productivity and profits. The youth, 
more slowly, got what they wanted – a new cultural orientation, with a 
general intellectual shift toward “communication” (I might say the 
realization of the société de spectacle, but I am not well enough versed 
in situationism to pursue that line).

“Almost felled” de Gaulle? Politically, May 68 was a disaster. It was 
used to get rid of Charles de Gaulle, the last rebel against US hegemony 
in non-Soviet Europe. Nota bene that the US was eager to see the last of 
le Grand Charles (who had only recently withdrawn from the NATO command 
and criticized the US war in Indochina), and no doubt did what it could 
behind the scenes to hasten his retirement. This would not be the US 
attitude toward Sarkozy, who could call on NATO to protect him from 
“indigenous terrorists”.

The political result of May ’68 was, then, 13 years of center right 
governments, more liberal on lifestyle issues but more tied to the US in 
economic and foreign policy.

But to return to the comparison, both the youth and the labor movement 
are in very different circumstances today.

Precisely because of the cultural changes begun in 1968, “youth” are far 
less homogenous than they were then, when all had been raised with a 
certain discipline and the same general culture. There were no youth 
groups in the banlieue or elsewhere modeling themselves on American 
ghetto blacks, for instance. Islam was invisible. One didn’t even know 
who was Jewish and who wasn’t. Moreover, all of that generation was 
quite confident of its future, enough to be able to drop everything and 
“make the revolution” before getting back to more prosaic activities. 
This generation is more pessimistic, and pessimism is not necessarily 
revolutionary. Still, the notion of rebellion and even revolution 
survives in France more than in any other country in the world.

But a big difference between France in 1968 and in 2009 is the European 
Union. Now, unlike then, all major legislation is adopted, or decreed, 
at European level, and it is impossible according to EU rules to make 
radical progressive economic reforms, much less a revolution.

As for the workers, in today’s news the workers at some machine factory 
just accepted a salary cut in return for keeping their jobs until the 
end of this year. Businesses are shutting down one after the other, 
throwing people out of work. It is generally accepted as a matter of 
fact, despite slogans, that French industry (except a few areas such as 
the oil sector) is quite incapable today of responding positively to a 
massive workers’ strike, as it did in 1968. And the French government is 
blocked (with full complicity of course) from aiding its national 
industry by EU regulations ensuring “competition”.

There may or may not be a serious popular revolt brewing in France, but 
it can bear no serious resemblance to May ’68.

*The unlikely figurehead of this new popular revolt is Olivier 
Besancenot, a 35-year-old postman from the outskirts of **Paris***

Here we get into the puff piece. Why “unlikely”? To add a touch of 
paradox where there isn’t any. Besancenot comes from an intellectual 
family and worked for a while as assistant to Alain Krivine while the 
latter was a Member of the European Parliament. Who could be a likelier 
figurehead of revolt than the heir apparent of Alain Krivine? He is seen 
around my neighborhood, the 18^TH , and the “outskirts of Paris” where 
he delivers letters part time is Neuilly. Not exactly tough terrain.

*Besancenot’s boyish good looks, fashionable clothes and fluently easy 
manner on television have made him the nation’s favourite revolutionary. *

This gets better and better. La société de spectacle in all its 
mediocrity. For fun let’s make a list: your favorite rock star, your 
favorite film star, your favorite rugbyman, your favorite revolutionary, 
your favorite tennis player, your favorite televangelist… And boyish 
good looks, fashionable clothes and fluently easy manner on television 
will make any of these a nation’s favorite. Aren’t we having fun?

*In what is now looking like a very smart piece of PR, the LCR was then 
dissolved, re-emerging as the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (NPA, or New 
Anti-Capitalist Party), a much broader coalition, formed with the aim of 
contesting the European parliamentary elections in early June.*

Well, it may have been intended to be a much broader coalition, but that 
didn’t happen. It has brought in some depoliticized youth (even Ségolène 
did that for the Socialist Party), while some of the more more 
politicized veterans of the LCR went over to the Front de Gauche (see 
below).

*Besancenot, who is now official spokesman for the NPA (there is no 
leader), commands a 60 per cent approval rating from French voters right 
across the political spectrum.*

What are they approving? “His boyish good looks, fashionable clothes and 
fluently easy manner on television.” But that doesn’t mean they will 
vote for him, much less follow him into Le Grand Soir.