As I was on the train to Newcastle, a comrade phoned me to tell me the results of the first ballot in the French Presidential elections. When she asked me who I thought had come second, Le Pen was not the first candidate that came to mind. Like many I was shocked at the result – but when I looked at the situation in France things became clearer.
Maybe Le Pen getting through to the second round was not that much of a surprise. Some have called this a defeat to the whole workers’ movement – but it was the neo-liberal polices of the Socialist Party and the Communist Party that caused this. They have lost the respect of the workers and the youth.
The Socialist Party and Communist Party coalition government betrayed the French working class. Like Blairism in this country they have moved so far to the right that it is hard to tell the difference anymore.
This allowed the Front National to move in, raise its vote and its profile. The reformist left has abandoned any pretence that it is a movement for the workers and youth. By playing on fears like crime and immigration the FN have tapped into the vacuum that has been left by the reformists.
The French and British Press are telling us that democracy in France is in danger from the far-right – they tell us that instead of promoting a diverse and multicultural society that the answer is more attacks on immigrants and asylum seekers.
The danger is that asylum rights will be further eroded in France and Britain. For the immigrant population in France the far right pose real and present danger – like we saw on a smaller scale in Burnley and Oldham. The far right will stoke up racial tension by blaming the Asian and black population of those and other towns.
The rise of the far right in France – and most of all the confidence that it has gained through these elections – makes it more important than ever for the left in both France and Britain to fight the puerile arguments from Le Pen and BNP fuhrer Griffin.
The traditional left, in government across the whole of Europe, have attacked the working class. Instead of tackling the real problems that people face, politicians like Blunkett have spoken about the "dangers" of asylum seekers "swamping" our schools.
Along side the collapse of the reformist vote – we saw Trotskyists gaining over 10% (3 million votes). The French Section of the Fourth International, the Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire gained 4.25% (1.2 million votes), with its first time candidate Olivier Besancenot, a 27-yr old postworker
This was an important step for the LCR. Olivier has spoken up for the workers and youth. The LCR has been paying a leading role in the social movements in France.
With over 13% of the total youth vote and over 1500 enquiries asking about how to join up, the LCR and the Fourth International have put forward a real alternative to anti-capitalist youth in these elections.
This alternative did not just end at the polling booths – it went onto the streets. Within an hour of the first round results being announced, Olivier called on the youth to mobilise against the far right and take to the streets.
There were huge demonstrations across the country from that night onwards, culminating in 2 million on the streets on May Day demonstrating against Le Pen and his racist polices.
This mobilisation of the youth and workers together is a key ingredient in the battle against global capitalism. Le Pen typifies capitalism with its teeth bared.
The French left had a difficult choice to make with the next round of elections – should they vote for Chirac? The reformist left willingly called on their supporters to do this, though some leading Socialist Party members say they walked backwards into the booths and held their noses while they voted.
The slogan of the LCR is fighting Le Pen on the streets and in the ballot box – this was not a straight-forward call to vote Chirac. The Fourth International believes in fighting the far right on all fronts.
Most of those who argued for abstention did so on the basis that Chirac was going to win anyway. This is rather an opportunist position, and implies a different position (i.e. a vote against Le Pen) if the vote was likely to be close.
Some now argue that Chirac’s big vote is a disaster and will strengthen him in the up-coming legislative elections. This shows complacency about what Le Pen represents and also misunderstands the dynamics of the mass movement against him.
How can you argue that Chirac has been strengthened by the size of his vote, when so many who voted for him did so under the slogan "rather a crook than a Fascist"? In essence the second round was a plebiscite against Le Pen.
For the French workers and youth this election has raised political conciousneness as seen by the high vote for the far-left candidates and the mass demonstrations against the racist and anti-worker policies of the far right.
For many people it was a hard decision to vote Chirac against Le Pen, but this was a tactic position that had to be taken. And the battle is not over – the legislative elections are due in June and the mobilisation against the FN must and will continue.
As a young member of the Fourth International in Britain, I have been inspired by our comrades in France.
The media in this country say that youth are apathetic when it comes to politics – by which they mean elections. We are apathetic to the politics of big business where democracy has been taken out of our hands (If we ever had any in the first place).
But like the youth of France, we too are searching for answers. Some may say we are different from the French – well we face many of the same problems as our brothers and sisters across the Channel.
The elections in France may have seen the rise of the far right vote – but we have also seen the biggest mobilisation in France since 1968 and again the youth are central to this.
And just as in 1968, when the youth of France inspired the young comrades in Britain, today they also inspire us. While the revolutionary left in Britain may not be as big as we would like, we have come a long way from the sectarianism of the past, and a new Left unity has been built.
Over the last ten years the Fourth International has been working in and building the social movement around the globe from the World Social Forum in Brazil, with our comrades in the Brazilian Workers Party (PT) and ATTAC, with our comrades in Europe central to the this movement.
In places like France, Spain, Italy, Brazil we are fighting back. The young comrades in the Fourth International are fighting the far right – but most of all we are fighting against the capitalist system which breeds the Le Pens of this world.