This is a question that the Lyon Commune liaison of the Anarchist
Federation asked itself during the September days. The social movement,which matured over the summer, seems to be affecting all spheres of
activism in Lyon. It seems that the entire far left followed the call to
"block" from "Let's Get Indignant," once the far right was "publicly"
excluded from the event[note]. Because we didn't want to indulge in
militant purity, we decided to follow and participate in the events...
But, anarchists that we are, we still boycotted the reformist meetings
of LFI and the CGT. We then invested our time in a rally organized by
the "lieu-dit," a former squat in Villeurbanne, well known to our
black-clad undercover agents: "Île Égalité." On September 4th, the
"island" collective organized a meeting entitled "What to do to prepare
for September 10th and beyond? Public meeting open to all, Thursday,
September 4th at Ile Égalité."
The meeting recorded on Rebellyon[note]doesn't provide many details. At
first, stunned by the resonance of Lenin's words "What to do," we try to
decipher the description of the event. We then assume that this meeting
will take the form of a discussion assembly, more
"possibilist"[note]than "revolutionary," about the usefulness of the
global "10th and beyond" movement, presenting the "things" already done,
then the "how to" to do more. In short, many things are possible. We
still appreciate this overall theme of "mutual aid." For context, we had
just met with the "Villeurbanne Committee," which, like us, is proposing
a mutual aid network in Villeurbanne. We expected to meet them again on
September 4th.
As dedicated organizers, we wrote a proposal on behalf of our Liaison:
for self-organization and mutualism, against the dreams of reformism. We
pressed into our rag the usefulness of "organizing" on September 10th
through a sustainable and anarchist mutual aid network. And therefore,
not to "bet everything on a blockage," which, for us, always ends up
being repressed and forgotten amidst the indifference of most of our
contemporaries.
On "D-Day" at the "island," we didn't fly the "FA" flag... because we
sat on a couch too deep to appear credible. Moreover, it seemed the
atmosphere was one of non-partisanship. The assembly gathers just over
150 people. After a few minutes of speeches, we understand that the
gathering is designed to "block" the country. A moment of "free"
speaking is given so that "everyone" can propose ideas to "destabilize
the country," to "sabotage," or to "annoy" whatever happens on the 10th.
But... The speeches quickly turn into "heroic" speeches, accompanied by
legitimizing applause[note], about uniting against the government,
setting "the country on fire" to oust Bayrou and Macron. The assembly
transforms, and the "votes" are made by applause, where the speakers
seem to seek validation from the audience, in increasingly "populist"
speeches. Thus, those accustomed to "call-out" speeches and practices
are the masters of the assembly. Two people were then overtaken by
another, more "virulent" person: one had an overly intellectual speech,
and another proposed mobilizations with the neighborhoods, which didn't
go down well. Ultimately, it all boiled down to how to "block" the
country, but we always wondered: what for?
We then avoided proposing our anarchist, overly mutualist, rather than
"revolutionary opportunist" discourse. Moreover, for each of the
speakers, no one introduced themselves, spoke about political
organization, or made clear statements about their motivations for this
mobilization.
Through all this, ultimately, we still understood that there was a
strong motivation to "block." And that the rest-the "ideas and
organization"-was secondary for most people. We then decided to discuss
things with people after the meeting and distribute our proposal
individually.
Despite our negative TripAdvisor review, we're following this
mobilization. One of us is involved in the solidarity canteens for
September 10th, while the others are on strike or attending events
organized by the "Indignons-nous" network. The liaison plans to meet at
the Place Guichard rally organized by the CGT (General Confederation of
Labour).
Regarding the canteens, our correspondent is very inspired. It seems
that there is hope in these solidarity actions, which can lead to
something long-term.
Regarding the strike on the 10th, one of us confronted, at a meeting at
work, the reformists of the Force Ouvrière union, who denounced this
national mobilization, supposedly far-right, as a Russian plot to
immobilize France. The icing on the cake: the goal was to sabotage
France's progress on its nuclear projects. So many reasons to support
the movement as anarchists of the FA!
On the day of the blockade, everything seemed to go "as planned." Two
members of the FA helped with a blockade on the M7 motorway, only to be
quickly dispersed. The picket lines were formed, and the demonstration
at Place Guichard took place at noon. There were reportedly around
15,000 people there. There was a good diversity of people, including
high school students, university students, and union members. It's also
clear that a good portion of the population is "ready" to endure the
repression that is about to befall us. However, the police allow three
wild demonstrations to form (heading south and east), which eventually
converge on Guillotière to march on the Presqu'île. We later understand
that another part of the procession remains and is "trapped" in Guichard.
By "luck," the police only "divert" the wild demonstrations while
violently targeting the groups that find themselves isolated. They
"freely" blockade the town. We manage, by detours, to cross a bridge and
reach Perrache. Heading toward Bellecour, our dear CRML member,
fascinated by a discussion on urban planning, finds himself bare-assed
on the front lines with a red and black flag. He is hit with a grenade
at his feet and then tear gas in his nose.
Besides, in this street, for a moment, we are proud to be the last to
fly flags, alongside the totos, but we advance by retreating. Because in
the same street, the "IFA - FA" standard-bearers are also gassed, but
quickly hidden in a building that luckily opens in front of them, a sign
from God... Or from Satan, because a frightened bourgeois woman then
shouts to the leftists in her property to try to warn the police. On the
other side, our Esperantist anarchist, "FA" flag in hand, does not
succeed in blocking the station alone, he is gassed and charged. The
processions are caught in a pincer movement, from north to south. They
find themselves scattered on the peninsula, pushed to the limits of the
Saône (to the west) and the Rhône (to the east). A moment of calm, the
rich people are on the balconies and calling us vermin, laughing: "Look,
they're wearing masks, all those leftists are troublemakers!"
By happy coincidence, the connection ends up on the banks of the Saône.
We put away the flags and walk towards Bellecour anyway. But this time,
we're looking for a café, to find our lost friends... As luck would have
it, we notice the police are waiting for us there. We manage to pass
ourselves off as passersby until a guy throws a bottle at us. After a
good run, we finally arrive at a café above Bellecour, where we give up.
There, we find a team of broken arms sporting war wounds: baton wounds
and torn t-shirts. We finally leave. A festive demonstration in
Charpennes allows us to enjoy a moment of calm. We know that people
continue to bother the police everywhere.
One last experiment was conducted by our least tired member. A meeting
that same evening brought together up to 2,000 people on the banks of
the Saône. But due to a lack of sound equipment, the experience was
mixed. It produced criticism and comments about the day, and hope for
the future... She would also end up getting gassed, thanks to a guy and
a firework accidentally aimed at the police...
Crabi, appointed as the "IFA-FA" standard-bearer for the Commune de
Lyon[FA69]liaison.
https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=8562
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