WORLD WORLDWIDE FRANCE News Journal Update - (en) France, UCL AL #339 - Antifascism, Tribute: 2023, 10 years later, Clément still present (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 On June 5, 2013, Clément Méric, a young libertarian anti-fascist and trade

unionist activist, was assassinated in the heart of Paris by fascists. Since
then, his name and his fights have become a symbol of far-right violence, but
also of the need for anti-fascism. A look back at 10 years of anti-fascist
struggles, in the form of a tribute. ---- In 2013, antifascism was structured
around a main organization, the one in which Clément was active: Antifascist
Action (AFA). It defends an autonomous, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist
anti-fascism, and mainly opposes far-right street groups such as Action Française
or Third Way, the Nazi group to which Clément's assassins belonged. The AFA is,
even today, one of the main autonomous antifa organizations.
The growth of the extreme right and its public legitimization, the repression of
social movements and the extreme left, as well as the awareness of the problems
of virilism in militant circles, have led to a questioning in the antifa milieu.
It led to the creation of the Young Guard (JG) in 2018, first in Lyon against
local fascists and then in several cities in France. Endowed with spokespersons,
active in the media and not hesitating to get closer to left-wing parties (NPA,
LFI) during elections, it is also active in the street, where it sometimes
reproduces patriarchal and virilistic methods that are open to criticism.

The recompositions of the autonomous groups
These two organizations represent the different facets of autonomous
anti-fascism: autonomous local groups linked by the same name, a presence in the
streets and social movements, but also differences on public exposure and on the
political alliances to be forged. Finally, it should be noted that the student
anti-fascism carried by Clément, unionized at Solidaires Étudiant es, has
declined, despite regular attempts at reconstruction.

Murdered by the far right because he refused to look down, Clément still lives in
our struggles.
The mirage of state anti-fascism
Following the assassination of Clément, the State reacted by dissolving the two
organizations of the culprits, Third Way and the Youth Nationalists
Revolutionaries of Serge Ayoub. This legal weapon was then used many times, for
example against Génération identitaire, le Bastion social or many local groups.
However, this seemingly radical solution did not really work, simply leading to
the radicalization and illegalization of some of their members. Especially since
they were not coupled with the closure of fascist premises or bookstores, or the
banning of royalist or neo-Nazi parades, which are increasingly numerous.

Zemmour's presidential campaign even offered a catalyst to these violent groups,
as evidenced by a new assassination in the heart of Paris, that of Argentine
rugby player Federico Aramburu, on March 19, 2022. While government tolerance and
political and media discourse have helped normalize the far right, this murder
did not even trigger a massive anti-fascist reaction. More than ever, state or
electoral anti-fascism is a mirage and the facade solutions provided by the state
cannot satisfy us.

A necessary unitary and mass anti-fascism
Faced with the increased violence of the far right, anti-fascism must be unitary
and massive. We observe it above all at the local level, with the founding of
numerous unitary collectives in cities or departments, bringing together unions,
left-wing political organizations, feminist collectives, activists and
anti-fascist activists... Most of the time, these collectives are set up where
the presence of the extreme right is new and where there are no autonomous
groups, thus responding to a need for self-defense and political construction.
Conversely, the various national attempts to structure anti-fascist forces have
so far failed, due to ideological and strategic differences.

In the cultural field, on the other hand, anti-fascism has experienced a revival
of activity, probably due to the growth of the fascist threat: press articles,
books, but also the popularization work carried out by La Horde (Antifa le jeu,
maps of the extreme right...). Finally, the unions are also increasingly taking
over the anti-fascist struggle, thereby continuing one of Clément's battles. By
affirming that the extreme right is the enemy of workers, by rejecting the
fascists of our unions and our demonstrations, by building social alternatives or
by investing unitary frameworks like VISA, they play a fundamental role in the
anti-fascist struggle.

So, to keep Clément's memory and struggles alive, let's be more revolutionary,
unitary and anti-fascist than ever!

Hugo (UCL Montreuil)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Hommage-2023-10-ans-apres-Clement-toujours-present
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