By the French Marxist website, La Riposte
The results of the second round of the legislative elections in France are a sharp reversal for the far right and an indication of changing times. The arrival of the New Popular Front (NFP) at as the biggest bloc in the National Assembly will raise hopes among large sections of workers and youth, especially those who suffer most from the consequences of the crisis of French capitalism.
Macron and his government, which manages the interests of the capitalist class, have carried out a policy of social destruction which has led them to being increasingly discredited. Macron’s coming to power in 2017, under the guise of a ‘political renewal’ that upset the previous right-left divide, was not able to fulfil its pledge. He has carried out, instead, a classic right-wing policy and has used his authority to stifle any protest, with police batons and by using “49.3”, a constitutional device that allows the president to by-pass the National Assembly.
In the French Assembly elections, only those candidates who came first, second and third in the first round are eligible to stand for the second. If the Presidential party, with its allies, lies in second place after this round, it is only due to the withdrawal of NFP candidates who came third in the first round, and who could have stood in the second but chose to stand down.
As for the far right Rassemblement Nationale (RN), which already thought it was in government and had been strongly assisted by Macron’s policies, it was blocked in the second round, particularly by the electoral strategy of the NFP, but also by the enthusiasm that grew up in support of it.
Still, we can absolutely not forget the danger of the far right, because election after election, the RN is becoming a more permanent feature in the political landscape. As we wrote in our article on the results of the first round, the rise of the far right on one side, and the dynamism of the NFP on the other, have to be taken very seriously. They are the symptoms of, and a prelude to, a pre-revolutionary situation in France, but also one that could tip over in the other direction towards counter-revolution.
Managing capitalism under the empoyers’ guidance
The situation we have today is the result of the impasse of successive ‘left’ governments, which carried out a policy of ‘managing capitalism’ under the guidance of the MEDEF [Employers’ Federation], and refused to launch any real offensive against it. They only proposed measures to relieve the worst symptoms of a diseased system and they simply end up applying a slightly less brutal policy than their predecessor governments.
This election has not produced an absolute majority for any of the three main political groupings: in order of size, the NFP, the bloc behind Macron, and the RN. None of them can govern alone. The capitalist system is in crisis, as is the parliamentary system itself. The problems and difficulties encountered by the working class are far too deep to be resolved by parliamentary means.
According to the first statements of the leaders of the main political parties that make up the NFP, there is no question for now of forming a coalition to create an absolute majority. If the NFP enters the government as it claims to want to do, it will encounter the same difficulties as its predecessor ‘left’ governments.
If the NFP were to implement its program, it would represent a major step forward for workers at the expense of the capitalist class. As defenders of capital, the political blocs around Macron’s Party, and the RN, would systematically oppose all anti-capitalist measures. It would reveal even more clearly the antisocial and pro-capitalist character of the far right in the eyes of those who thought it was on the side of the workers.
The capitalist class will not sit idly by and allow a policy that will undermine their profits. In the event of an NFP government, they will exert pressure on the government, carry out a policy of economic sabotage and then blame the new government for the economic crisis that would follow. We can be sure they will do this, as history has shown time and again.
There would be no cooperation for a left government by ‘entrepreneurs’
During a televised debate for the 2022 presidential campaign, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, at that time president of the MEDEF, threatened Mélenchon, the leader of France Insoumise, now a key part of the NFP, that there would be no cooperation from the “entrepreneurs” if the left introduced increased taxes on capital and profits. This is the kind of economic ‘destabilisation’ the MEDEF would implement.
The NFP government will have to face this type of pressure. But its class enemies will also try to sow discord through the most right-wing elements of the NFP, including the right wing of the Socialist Party (PS), the Greens (EELV) or the so-called ‘centre-left’ party, Place Publique. The latter, alarmed by the election results, is already calling for help on its right.
There are also other isolated elements such as Sébastien Jumel of the Communist Party (PCF) who, between the two rounds, called for a ‘government of national unity’ embracing the “Gaullist right”. This was his attempt to garner votes to ensure his own election against the RN candidate, but which ended in failure. Such a union would only have continued the policy of social destruction. Such ideas should no longer have a place in the NFP or in its constituent political parties.
To break the deadlock in the National Assembly result and break the resistance of the capitalist class, there is no choice but to move from parliamentary to extra-parliamentary struggle. It is also necessary to get rid of the right-wing elements of the NFP, who are virtually won over to capital, and to strengthen the NFP program with expropriations of the big capitalist owners. It is necessary to launch mobilisations and a counter-offensive to the attacks of the capitalists that would be their response to this revolutionary program.
If the NFP does not take this path and instead capitulates to the pressures of the MEDEF, the political parties of the right and to the retaliatory measures from the capitalist class, then it will lead to massive disappointment among workers and youth. This would open the doors of power to the RN, and the left will again be discredited for many years to come, like Syriza in Greece.
A window is opening, we must boldly seize the opportunity we have.
This is an edited version of the article first published on the French Marxist website, La Riposte, here.
