Since the national strikes on October 18th 2007 the wider situation seems
to be towards radicalisation. The transport unions have realised that the
Sarkozy goernment has no intention whatsoever of negotiating over the
’special regimes’ for pensions. They are now making unified calls (which
was not the case for the 18th of October) for a strike to begin on
November 14th with the possibility of renewing the strike. Tomorrow the
transport system will be almost entirely closed at a national and local
level (trains TGV autobus) The Sarkozy government thinks it is in a
position of strength to impose the ’break’ that it wants and its reforms.
According to opinion polls over 60% of the population seem to be in
agreement with these reforms, and especially those aimed at the ’special
regimes’ for rail-workers’ pensions. It is in the context of a
confrontation between two different tendencies in public opinion that
those involved in the struggle are organising. Students are still
mobilising against the LRU reforms which will give ’autonomy’ to
universities in order to privatise them. More than 14 universities are
being blockaded by striking students. In many there have been violent
clashes between striking students and non-strikers (in particular with the
right-wing UNI student union) and attacks on pickets by police with a amny
students injured or arrested. This weekend a national coordination meeting
was held at Rennes by students, It called for all universities to be
occupied and for students to act in concert with the rail-workers on the
14th and blockade railways. The student sections of the CNT and the FAU
are actively participating in the movement. The President of the
university of NAnterre went as far as to denounce "a student movement
manipulated by radicals from the CNT and the JCR (trotskyist group)".
The energy workers (gas and electricity) will be on streike from the 15th
of November. Public sector workers (hospitals, postal service, teachers)
will strike from the 20th. The CNT is calling for all these struggles to
converge, for the public and private sectors to unite to form a general
strike.
We all remember November-December 1995. Twelve years ago we won
against te Chirac government, defeating their social security reforms.
This time victory depends on our ability to continue and extend the
movement of resistance.