WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, Monde Libertaire - Ideas and Struggles: Knowing How to Start a Strike (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr) [machine translation]

 Definitely not to die! ---- Factories closed, rust attacks the

infrastructure, women and men thrown away like objects because employers
and international capital always want more profits. The
deindustrialization of France has been an economic and social reality
since the aftermath of the Second World War. It resulted in the decline
of arduous but well-paid jobs like those of miners. In some sectors, one
in two lives is affected. Social ills reflect a political and social
defeat favoring the far right. What becomes of these workers? ----
Romain Castellesi draws on sectors and companies that are symbols of
this crisis, such as La Chapelle Darblay, Decazeville, Carmaux, Dim in
Autun, and Bourbon-Lancy in Romans, to evoke the shock of life and the
struggle waged with their backs to the wall in the face of contempt from
the leaders of these companies, as well as from governments, including
those on the left. His book, published by Agone, "Savoir commencer une
grève" (Knowing How to Start a Strike) presents workers' resistance to
deindustrialization in contemporary France.

How to resist?

The announcement of the closure of a company that has been a fixture in
the local landscape for decades brings scenes of dismay, despair, and
anger. After accepting degraded working conditions, shorter hours, lower
wages, and the trying constraints of maintaining employment, the shock
of this disruption in isolated areas cannot be mitigated by pointless
rhetoric. How can we resist, and is it possible to resist the power of
money? It's difficult to navigate. "The nature of these struggles, which
react to the prospect of uncertainty, downgrading, or even the
disappearance of a world of solidarity and sociability sometimes
centuries old, blurs the markers of the labor movement as it existed
before deindustrialization, namely the mass organization aimed at
overcoming the differences within the group and organizing the
collective emancipation of the working class." The question always
remains: how did we get here? But beyond the struggles, the mobilization
aims to restore damaged dignity, unite a working-class collective, and
make people pay for their humiliation.

In the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, France became the
most deindustrialized country in Europe. "Since the 1970s, France has
lost 50% of its industrial workforce, across all professional
categories. Industrial employment represented 37% of the labor force in
1975 (8.2 million workers), 25% in 1980, and 20% in 2020. This collapse
causes real upheaval for those who remain in the factory and are
subjected to job pressure, further weakening their existing assets.
Romain Castellesi draws on eyewitness accounts of these changes. I
particularly appreciate Ponthus's account, taken from his book "A la
ligne" (Editions de la Table ronde).

A societal shock

We have seen this situation coming since the Fourth Republic. Regional
planning policies were preparing for its effects, but there is nothing
concrete for those who will have to change their profession or their
life. You will read these pages of testimonies, which highlight
short-term social policies and long-term strategic dismantling.
Activists can use these analyses to assess the behavior of current
employers. One could argue that contempt is even more blatant today. The
wear and tear on workers, union repression, and obscene promises from
public authorities make any action more difficult. Beyond women and men,
the regions are weakened. Cities are falling into disuse, depopulation,
the decline of Black countries, and the devaluation of these countries.
Note the book's extensive developments on the role of women,
particularly at DIM in Bourbon-Lancy.

After the fight and the closure of the factory, how do we live? Some try
to take legal action before the labor courts, but for everyone, it's a
great void, the development of pathologies, and activist exhaustion.
Fortunately, some actors are taking up writing, and we often report on
this in this column and on the program "Au fil des pages." A hopeful
conclusion for Romain Castellesi: "Fragmented by sector, socially
isolated, politically disaffiliated, workers clearly don't want to die,
and the renewed interest they are generating continues to resonate with
their stubborn presence in French society."

* Romain Castellesi
Knowing How to Start a Strike
Worker Resistance to Deindustrialization in Contemporary France
Ed. Agone, 2025

https://monde-libertaire.fr/?articlen=8336
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