WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, OCL CA #347 - Editorial: Collective struggle is the only way (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 Western democracies pride themselves, under the cover of "human rights",

on a label of freedom. Freedom to offend and/or slander others, freedom
to format, exploit, sell or buy them. And it is as moralizers that they
foment, help, support or trigger wars on territories other than their
own. ---- So-called democratic governments systematically use all the
means at their disposal, from violence to the denial of election
results, to defend their policy, the creation of competitive markets
throughout the world and in all areas of life - with all that this
entails in terms of antisocial policies, such as drastic cuts in the
budgets of public services and social protections that are already at
the end of their rope, such as environmental destruction. This is to
support "competitiveness" and capitalist profits and above all not to
touch the money of the richest. It is about "doing less with less" and
only the defense budget is spared.
If the power in France trembled a little at the time of the actions of
the GJ, if it is a little worried about the mobilizations that are
determinedly opposed to the devastating acts of farmers, concreters and
exploiters of all kinds (megabasins, highways, clearcutting of forests,
extractivism, etc.), it is because all these people who are rising up
are attacking the roots of the capitalist system, quick to destroy for
the interests of a few. But in return, the power is waging an implacable
war against its opponents, in the name of austerity, security, the
"migrant threat", etc. and, in doing so, is feeding and strengthening
the extreme right. This is clearly demonstrated in France by the choice
to appoint to sovereign positions - to the two strategic ministries of
Justice and the Interior - the two "molosses", Darmanin and Retailleau
with racist and ultra-reactionary tones and actions; not to mention, to
complete the picture, the return of Valls, who has become Minister of
Overseas Territories, a good servant of the colonial State. Racism is
increasingly explicit and its presence increasingly brutal in the mouths
of governments, and in certain media, internet networks and political
movements. Xenophobic, anti-immigrant, racist remarks trickle down from
the "upper" sphere to spread widely in society, feeding an extreme right
that is increasingly audible and powerful from one State and one
continent to another. The current attacks by the State and the bosses,
and those to come which will further accentuate poverty, increase
inequalities, and make the most precarious work, do not, unfortunately,
provoke any major popular reactions, at most a few timid and scattered
skirmishes. As if the hope for something better had vanished, replaced
by a bitter feeling of helplessness and weariness in the face of the
cynicism, manipulations and shameless trickery of those in power, while
they are in office. If we take the emblematic example of the supposed
"revision" of the pension reform in the (Béarnaise) sauce of Bayrou, no
one can believe that the employers, alongside the unions, will calmly
agree to reverse a reform that suits them, especially in the total
absence of a balance of power... The atmosphere is not, at present, one
of collective resumption of the fight neither on this subject of
pensions, - yet put forward as being one of the strong concerns of
employees - nor really on other grounds.

People, even those who until now went to vote as citizens, are
increasingly aware that politicians do not care about the verdict of the
ballot boxes. What matters to them is to maintain their position of
power by banking on apathy and general disinterest; and they are also
particularly adept at creating situations likely to engender these
passive attitudes. On the surface, governments seem disconnected from
social reality, when in fact it is a deliberate choice on their part:
they no longer even bother to pretend to respect the rules of their
democracy; their only goal is to dominate.
There is no possible arrangement. All reforms only reinforce the
established order, only a complete upheaval of this order, a radical
questioning of what maintains it can defeat the domination of the
richest over the vast majority of humans.
If disappointment tends to distance people from elections ('there is no
point in voting since they don't care about the result'), it can
ultimately be an asset. But it is still necessary that more and more of
them do not give in to passivity, and decide to fight: occupy and open
collective spaces, bring to life or reactivate information and debate
tools, gather forces and broaden the possible areas of struggle, resist
what seeks to weaken liberating principles and actions. The work is
immense but our determination even greater, even if the means seem quite
derisory. Our strength and our rage multiply them and it remains to
share them with the greatest number!

Toulouse, January 22

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4356
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