An aircraft mechanic and activist in the libertarian communist movement for nearly fifty years, Pierre Contesenne passed away during the night of March 4-5, 2026. A group of comrades offer him a final farewell. ---- The passing of Pierre Contesenne "Pierrot" came as a shock to us, as he seemed such a solid anchor in our lives. Pierrot, born on June 22, 1955, entered the Air France apprentice school after completing middle school. He graduated in 1974 with the Mechanics class and began his military service at the Villacoublay air base (78), where he refused to work on military aircraft. In 1976, hired as an aircraft mechanic at the Air France workshops in Orly, he joined the CFDT, then a self-managed union, and was elected staff representative in 1977. In 1978, at the engine maintenance workshop, he met Daniel Goude, who recruited him to the Union of Libertarian Communist Workers (UTCL).
A proponent of worker self-management, Pierre Contesenne opposed the PCF (French Communist Party) militants who dominated the CGT (General Confederation of Labour). He supported the radical actions chosen by the strikers and reported on them in Lutter!, the UTCL's newspaper, and later in Alternative libertaire until the late 2010s, under the pseudonym Procope Semeniouta. He revisited these themes in a retrospective article for Les Utopiques, the journal of the Solidaires trade union: "Shirt Day... and Thirty Years of Radical Struggles at Air France." "
One of the leaders of the SUD-Aérien union
During the CFDT's expulsion of "black sheep," Pierrot supported the creation of an independent, militant union at Air Inter in 1985, the SNPIT led in particular by Julie Corbeau, also an activist with UTCL. In 1997, the SNPIT became SUD-Aérien, and Julie and Pierrot were among its founders and pillars.
A tireless advocate for struggles in the airline industry, he was particularly committed to supporting the most vulnerable workers, those in subcontracting companies. As secretary of the Orly industrial works council, he focused on developing cultural activities, exhibitions, and conferences for employees." Believing that "anything that opens up education and culture is part of the strategy for emancipation," he strove to "introduce subversion" into it, once again encountering hostility from the PCF-CGT activists. Retirement had not diminished his determination to fight. He always felt deeply connected to the union, staying informed, engaging in regular dialogue, and paying close attention to both the progress and the difficulties encountered on the ground by union teams. From Rue du Dragon to Droits devant!!
Within the UTCL and Alternative libertaire, Pierrot met activists from all sectors, enriching his political and union knowledge. For years, in the same local group, he worked alongside the writer Daniel Guérin, whom he greatly admirednot without a certain affectionate irony expressed with his working-class wit. He participated in the lively and engaging debates of congresses, summer workshops, and the convivial gatherings of UTCL and later AL, cultivating a non-sectarian spirit of sometimes vigorous but always fraternal exchange of ideas with activists from the various components of the revolutionary and trade union left.
Pierrot was also involved in the social movement alongside the voiceless. In 1995, he co-founded, with Annie Pourre and Jean-Claude Amara, the association Droits devant!! (Rights First!!) following the memorable occupation by DAL (Right to Housing) of a building on Rue du Dragon in Paris's 6th arrondissement. Deeply committed to the struggles of undocumented immigrants, he also drafted the first "Appeal for the Autonomy of the Social Movement" in 1998, followed by a second appeal in 1999, notably signed by Pierre Bourdieu.
Firm in his convictions, yet always open-minded, Pierrot also had a passion for vintage British motorcycles, which he restored. And then came his late university studies in applied economics and anthropology at the EHESS. Finally, there were the journals, the scientific and philosophical books he devoured. He was one of those people who, curious and rigorous, never stopped thinking. Firm in his convictions, but always open-minded. And increasingly concerned by the rise of new forms of capitalist productivism, and by the growing discrimination and far-right extremism.
Organizer of small reunions for alumni of UTCL and AL, he brought us together for meals, "Gasthaus" as he called them. Pierrot, a quiet pillar, a working-class elegance, a warm friend. A steadfast commitment to the fight for a society of justice and freedom.
Cécile Bernabeu, Marco Candore, Christian Mahieux, Gilles Re., Thierry Renard, Patrice Spadoni
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Hommage-Pierrot-adieu-a-un-militant-ouvrier-constant-et-chaleureux
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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