BY JACK WILLEY AND MATILDE MARTÍ
PARIS - Young Socialists arrived here to the sound of solidarity chants, with thousands of people waving signs and banners against government plans to cut deep into workers' social wage. YS members from Canada and the United States came just in time to participate in a massive demonstration of 200,000 here December 12.
A contingent of thousands of rail workers led the demonstration, carrying bright red flares that set a tone of combativeness throughout the march. This was our introduction to the class struggle heating up in France.
That morning Carlos Cornejo from the Montreal YS attended a general assembly of rail workers at the Austerlitz train station. In explaining the vanguard role of the rail workers, one striker stated that they had "a moral and social responsibility to fight in solidarity with students and other workers."
Later on, as they arrived at the starting point of the march, many people began shouting, "The rail workers are arriving! They are here! Vive the rail workers!"
Protesters identify with Quebecois
"I received a lot of applause, shouts of `Bravo!' and
`Merci!' and got in many long discussions when protesters
saw my sign," reported Young Socialists member Guy
Tremblay. His sign read "Travailleur du Quebec Solidaire"
(Worker from Quebec in Solidarity).
Many people approached him to offer their solidarity with the struggle in Quebec. Several wanted to know more about the fight for independence, because there has been little coverage of it here.
Solidarity has, in fact, become part of the daily life of many people in Paris. We experienced this on several occasions.
During the transportation strike, hitchhiking became a common form of travel. Like many others, we hitchhiked in order to get around the Paris area. In the process, YS members met people from Peru, Tunisia, and Algeria, as well as striking workers and students. Some of our best discussions have been with Algerian immigrants, who explain the Vigipirate, an anti-immigrant campaign in France.
On December 14, we went to the University of Paris VIII at St. Denis, where students had been occupying the campus. YS members were invited to speak at a meeting of more than 50 students and professors who were discussing how to strengthen their fight. Three rail workers from the General Confederation of Workers (CGT) union in Montparnasse came to offer their solidarity with the students and encouraged them to participate in the upcoming demonstrations.
One student emphasized at this meeting that the fight goes beyond the borders of France, pointing to the example of people from Canada, Germany, and the United States who were attending the meeting.
Tissier Sylvette, a nurse from a local hospital, explained how the Government wants health-care workers to act as immigration cops. "Since Vigipirate, most immigrants without legal papers have stopped going to hospitals for fear of deportation," she said.
During the week, we made several visits to railway stations to speak with striking workers. On two different occasions, strikers commented on the fact that the government has money to do nuclear testing, but at the same time has none for social security.
At the Montparnasse station, striker Jean Marc commented, "It's not true that there is no money. The nuclear testing by the French government in other lands shows the opposite.
"They try to convince the world that France is the country of freedom and human rights," he said, "but meanwhile our rulers are showing to the entire world their contempt for the people."
YS members from both Britain and New Zealand arrived in time for another strike demonstration of 200,000 in Paris December 16.
We all wore signs stating what country we came from and that we were there in solidarity. Many people approached us to find out more, while others gave us a thumbs up or raised fists, expressing their gratitude.
Nathan Simms from New Zealand reported that people approached him all day to ask his opinion about the nuclear testing by the French government in the Pacific. Many people carried signs opposing nuclear testing.
The demonstration route went past a major prison in Paris, "La Santé." Prisoners there were waving and tossing burning papers through the bars, demonstrating their support for the workers in the march. Demonstrators responded by waving and cheering the people in prison. There was a sense of solidarity that none of us had ever seen before.
International delegation works together
It has been quite an experience for YS members from
four different countries to learn to work together, in
French, English, and Spanish. We held a couple of events
in the last week of December. At St. Denis, the YS
sponsored a class on the struggle for women's equality,
which two French youth attended.
We had discussions with youth from Paris about the YS and the possibilities of collaborating more closely with young people interested in our movement. One high school student was attracted most by our emphasis on defending the Cuban revolution and our internationalism. Some people have joined us in sales of communist literature.
We held a discussion on the imperialist war drive against Yugoslavia and the working-class campaign to oppose it. Four young women attended, including three who were at the Cuba Lives festival in Havana in August 1995 and another who had bought the entire series of Nouvelle Internationale at one of our literature tables the day before.
Matilde Marti is a member of the Young Socialists in Sheffield, England. Jack Willey is a YS member in New York.