Pierre Douillard-Lefèvre, who at 16 was struck by a flash-ball round during a demonstration in Nantes in 2007, wanted to investigate this weapon of war, which at the time was newly in the hands of the police. Then, observing that the line between police operations and military operations was blurring, he closely analyzed how weaponry and war are intertwined with the development of capitalism and the strengthening of state authoritarianism. *Cursed Be War* was published in September 2025, receiving very little media attention at the time; two months later, the government released an online "Survival Guide," claiming to "prepare" the population for climate and health crises and the threat of war. As if these "crises" and war were unpredictable events, independent of the policies of those in power. Faced with the rise of a widespread offensive of militarist propaganda, *Cursed Be War* presents itself as a resistance manual intended to be as accessible as possible. Its objective is to provide tools to "rearm" resistance against bellicose rhetoric and actions.
This book does not aim to reinvent a new antimilitarist framework.
The author observes that collective antimilitarist movements have weakened considerably since the 1990s: demonstrations against the Iraq War, actions against compulsory military service, the fight against the Larzac military camp, and criticism of arms dealers once mobilized millions of people in France and around the world. He therefore finds it urgent to participate in the reconstruction of a broad and popular antimilitarism.
In his book, he draws on historical data, as antimilitarism is rich in the legacy of internationalist socialist, communist, and anarchist movements. It also draws on the present, analyzing what contributes to the current militarization of power and society. It challenges received ideas by attacking the slogans used by those in power. For example, this call by Macron, a wartime leader, for the "rearmament of France," when there has never been any disarmament, when France, a nuclear power, is also the world's second-largest arms exporter, and when the budget allocated to military spending reaches staggering sums...
The manual can be read out of order; the chapters are short and well-structured. The reading is facilitated by a knack for concise phrasing that provides clear conclusions to the arguments.
"France, the eldest daughter of the army," is steeped, throughout history, in an obsessive militarism. "War, a process of extreme mass violence, disciplined and institutionalized," is the product of centralized power, of the State.
"War and fascism" go hand in hand. A fascist network exploits conflicts to organize itself with the stated objective of imposing authoritarian regimes.
"War, labor, and capital" are linked. Wars aim for the insatiable accumulation of goods and wealth. Destruction and reconstruction are equally lucrative.
"War is ecocidal": seizing land and resources, destroying entire ecosystems.
It is accompanied by "massive propaganda" to manufacture consent to militarism. The indoctrination of young people begins in school, with "defense and global security classes" designed to "create a spirit of defense" and offering the opportunity for "voluntary" military service.
War is both a source and a user of "new technologies," with an escalation of limitless innovations. "A confrontation between states is nothing more than two industrial and technological machines thrown against each other, with human flesh in the middle." "War is a pillar of patriarchy. Women are the first victims of militarism and wars" (systematic mass rapes)... but they are also at the forefront of mobilizations against wars and armies.
The author asks: "Down with all armies?" in a paragraph entitled "Hating War Without Laying Down Arms." He distinguishes between antimilitarism and pacifism, "army" and "people in arms," and highlights the difference between war and self-defense. The priority, he concludes, is to fight as strongly and massively as possible to prevent militarization from spreading and war from occurring.
At the end of the book, avenues for debate and action are presented.
The author cites examples of powerful and victorious struggles against war in several countries, dating back to the late 19th century, as well as more recent ones. He then proposes concrete, current strategies for confronting the military tide and for creating or strengthening anti-militarist movements: denouncing arms manufacturers and their numerous subcontractors throughout France, as with the Stop Arming Israel collective; carrying out acts of sabotage; slowing down arms production through strikes (see the STMicroelectronics employees near Grenoble); blocking shipments to Israel, as in Marseille, Genoa, and Barcelona; supporting deserters; and subverting military propaganda to ridicule it. to intervene against the presence of the military in schools and at career fairs... The book ends with a call to join the War on War (GAG) movement, a coalition of anti-racist, environmental, anti-colonialist, and autonomous organizations present in several European countries, which mobilized several thousand people against the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget in June 2025.
It is a shame, however, that no reference is made to other groups such as the Regional Coordination Against Armament and Militarism (CRAAM), based in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which conducts information campaigns and connects the various anti-militarist initiatives in the region.
Kris, June 9
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4763
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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