22

Mar

3:57pm
Roger McKenzie
French Communists: ‘We can definitely win’ no confidence vote against Macron on pensions

French Communists: ‘We can definitely win’ no confidence vote against Macron on pensions

Roger McKenzie//3:57pm, Mar 22nd '23

French Communists said Saturday that they “can definitely win” a vote of no confidence in the government of President Emmanuel Macron.

Monday’s confidence vote was tabled after Macron decided to force through his unpopular pensions legislation rather than risk defeat in the National Assembly last Thursday.

The bill, which raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, provoked further angry protests across France at the weekend.

Demonstrations took place in major cities, including Nantes and Marseille, where protesters got past police to occupy the main railway station.

In Paris, police banned gatherings on the Champs-Elysees and in the Place de la Concorde, where protesters had tossed an effigy of Macron onto a bonfire Friday.

“The government should change its position and listen to the people because what is happening is extremely serious. And we are seeing a radicalization,” said psychologist Isabelle Vergriette.

The strike by Paris sanitation workers has left piles of garbage across the French capital.

Emmanuelle Pierre-Marie, mayor of the city’s 12th arrondissement, said: “Food waste is our priority because it is what brings pests to the surface.

“As soon as we have a bin lorry [garbage truck] available, we give priority to the places most concerned, like food markets.”

Police have forced sanitation workers to clean up some districts, but heaps of trash remain.

More strikes are planned Monday in numerous sectors from public transport to energy.

The left-wing General Confederation of Labor (CGT) warned that at least two oil refineries are set to be shut from tomorrow.

Communist Party General Secretary Fabien Roussel said: “The constitution is clear: A law is adopted unless a motion of censure, tabled within the following 24 hours, is passed.”

He called on all opposition parties to vote against the government, saying: “On Monday, we can definitely win.”

Originally posted in People’s World

Has Populism Killed Democracy?
Jerry Grey China//12:23am, Mar 5th '23

Has Populism Killed Democracy?

There are two aspects to this comment: one, what is democracy, the other, is how is it different from populism?I’ll provide examples of both; you can form your own opinion and see whether you agree with....

Read More
Free Market Famine: the logical conclusion of a system predicated on manufactured scarcity
Jake C. USA//4:32am, Nov 12th '22

Free Market Famine: the logical conclusion of a system predicated on manufactured scarcity

The economic conditions that pushed the United States into the great famine of the 1920s-30s are eerily similar to those of the 21st century, namely: debt crisis, profit driven mismanagement of environmental....

Read More
On Dialectical and Historical Materialism: Part 3
Turner Roth USA//12:22am, Apr 25th '23

On Dialectical and Historical Materialism: Part 3

Lessons learnt from practical applicationRead the part 1 and part 2 of this article.StalinLet us turn now briefly to consider a text written almost a hundred years after the Communist Manifesto first appeared:....

Read More
Inflation is a Class Issue
Stewart McGill UK//2:18am, Aug 28th '22

Inflation is a Class Issue

Capitalist economics maintains that cost increases, particularly wage rises, have to be passed onto the consumer as if it's a law of physics. They never ask why profit margins have to be maintained and....

Read More
The Scotland Election and the Communist Party: Conditions and Possibilities
Akash Chatterjee India//11:18pm, Apr 4th '21

The Scotland Election and the Communist Party: Conditions and Possibilities

As the country Scotland is heading towards the national elections in 2021, new possibilities are starting to emerge for the Communist Party of Britain. It seems that the party is going to have the largest....

Read More
Two Speeches – Two Worldviews
Christopher Black Canada//9:36pm, Dec 29th '22

Two Speeches – Two Worldviews

On March 5th, 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his famous Sinews of Peace speech in Fulton Missouri in which he famously claimed that, “an Iron Curtain has descended across Europe.”  The essential....

Read More