Student and Anti-Racist Mobilization in Rennes ---- This article follows our previous ones on student mobilizations in Rennes[here and here]. In the latter, we called for joining the rally this Tuesday, May 12th, against differentiated tuition fees for international students at Place Hoche. ---- Who's calling? ---- On May 9th, a press release was issued, signed by unions such as Solidaires Étudiant-es (SESL), Sud Education, the Pirate Union (UP), and the CGT Higher Education (CGT FERC SUP), student organizations like Le Poing Levé (LPL), the Muslim Students of France (EMF), and even the Federation of Student Network Associations of Upper Brittany (FARE)! Are Macron's supporters finally taking action? Things are really messed up! It is also important to mention the presence of the Association of Senegalese Nationals of Rennes (ARSER), which was at the forefront of the opposition to this measure. Their statement unequivocally declared: "No to racist tuition fees" and served as a call to action.[see here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYJw2mljNGD].
Why the outcry?
This new measure is part of a broader context of state racism and the destruction of Higher Education and Research (ESR). It's been around for a while! The racist measure of differentiating fees for non-European students dates back to the 2018 Student Plan and its cynically named "Welcome to France" component, which faced significant resistance! This resistance allowed for the partial implementation of the measure, only in a minority of universities, and generally without charging the full fee, as at the University of Rennes. This tug-of-war between universities and the government is a recurring issue, and it took shape in the 2007 Law on the Freedoms and Responsibilities of Universities (LRU) by Pécresse, which strengthens the power of university presidents, enabling them to better manage the resource shortages imposed by the government and used as leverage to push through its agenda without too much social unrest. And since 2007, things have gotten worse... There's no money! With the 2007 law, funding is no longer guaranteed by the state, so universities are courting those who can invest in research, such as arms manufacturers/sellers or even the military. The CROUS (student services) is raising its rents and offering increasingly meager meals, and they want to make international students pay more! The government, losing patience with the universities' resistance, has opted for a bulldozer approach, using decrees without bothering to find any allies within the academic community.
What should we do?
Today we need to resist everywhere, faculty by faculty, to prevent the implementation of differentiated tuition fees, but also to unite nationally against the government. A historical reminder: Since the 1986 Devaquet Law in higher education and research, which was defeated in the streets, forcing things through doesn't really work... Those amazing students, they're putting up a fight! And apparently, it's even considered anti-fascist!
But more concretely, to resist effectively and sustainably (not just when there's a forced implementation), we need to organize, and what better way to do that than through unionism as a concrete counter-power? Whether it's against the university, the CROUS (student services organization), or the State (represented locally by the prefectures).
Will we be taking action on May 12th?
Only about fifty people gathered in the city center. After a few speeches, they marched to the Prefecture of the Brittany Region, chanting various slogans. There were a few more speeches, and then they returned to Place Hoche, still chanting slogans. Those students certainly have some voices! Over the microphone, they called for people to join the rally at Place de la République organized by the "Bouge ta pref' 35" collective, and a good number of them did.
Is the struggle converging?
At 2 p.m. at Place de la République, the rally called by Bouge Ta Pref' 35 was supported by Solidaires 35, the Inter-Movement Committee for Evacuees (CIMADE), the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples (MRAP), the Human Rights League, and numerous neighborhood groups. The idea was to hold large-scale administrative information sessions to protest the difficulties in obtaining residency permits, the need to justify one's existence to the prefectures, and the lengthy processing times. Thanks to widespread word, more than twenty volunteers mobilized to help with administrative procedures and teach French to those who needed it, and dozens of supporters, including our dear students, joined the online gathering.
And what's next?
On Wednesday, June 10th, the Bouge Tes Prefs network is calling for nationwide action. To best prepare for this event, a public meeting will be held on Thursday, May 28th, at 10:00 AM at the Villejean Community Center in Rennes.
On the student side, a mobilization will take place on May 26th, called by a national inter-union group, joined by the Muslim Students of France (EMF), to further oppose the measure unanimously rejected by the university community, even if it hasn't yet mobilized large crowds. As for Rennes? To be continued, as local organizations have not yet issued a call to action.
Organize and fight to win!
Despite setbacks, let's keep hope alive!
And in the face of state racism, unity and resistance!
Clave, Buse & Elodie from the La Sociale Group, Rennes.
(illustrations taken from @noussolidaires on Instagram)
https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=8992
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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