Since the sequence of presidential and legislative elections in 2012, the Left Front (Front de gauche) has been riven by a series of serious disputes that have kept it from recovering the unity of action that it once had.
The results of the 2007 presidential elections are altogether the worst for the left since 1969. It is true that Sarkozy’s clear majority as President still did not give the UMP the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution – which will make things more complicated for the UMP in the way...
The May 2007 election of Nicolas Sarkozy as President of the French Republic has up to now produced few formal analyses regarding the ideological nature of the political project for which he was elected, even though a re-foundation of the Left certainly cannot do without serious reflection on the...
As everyone knows, in the 2005 referendum the French people rejected the European Constitutional Treaty. What had enabled this success was that, for the first time, forces opposed to neoliberalism worked together and created a really dynamic popular debate and exchange of ideas, a deep-rooted...
The political situation in France is at a fresh turning point. The capitalist crisis and the financial crisis have suddenly worsened the living conditions of the world of labour, which is undergoing exceptionally violent attacks from the President and the Government, despite the complete rejection...
This paper draws a comparison between the German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the French Rassemblement National (RN) by examing the two electorates from the point of view of working conditions as well as a specific sector of the electorate, synthetically referred to as "popular classes".
One day after the elections, it is still difficult to comprehend fully the results of yesterday’s predicament. On thing is definitely clear, the left has been deeply defeated. The first surprise of the European elections has been the higher than expected turnout. Indeed, while every polling stations...
DIE LINKE and the French Communist Party are appealing to progressive forces, unionists and social movements to vote for the Left in the upcoming EP elections.
This article was written in January 2017 and initially published in the February 2017 issue of the Journal Sozialismus.
In December 2016, the Austrian presidential election finally came out with the rejection of far-right presidential candidate Norbert Hofer. However the defeat of the Freiheitliche...
Results 2014
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The French Shock
The European elections, coming on the heels of local elections, were a disaster for the left. They confirmed, all at once, the dissatisfaction of the French people for the course being followed by the European Union, and their distaste with the policies...
The municipal elections are an important event of French politics. Indeed, after the presidential election, these are the elections that usually benefit from the highest turnout. 35,416 municipal councils were to be elected; however, as a result of the pandemic, they took place under very special conditions.
The philosopher Lucien Sève has just died of Covid-19 at the age of 93. Roger Martelli, historian and editorial director of the French newspaper Regards, remembers the resistance fighter, politician and intellectual and gives an overview on his most recent works.
Since the 5th of December 2019, France is witnessing its biggest strike since either 1995 or as some mention May 68, though the number of participants is of course way less important than in that mythical year.
The editorial boards of Regards, Politis and Mediapart are joining forces to launch the "Pour l’accueil des migrants" manifesto to welcome migrants. It has been initially signed by 150 intellectuals, artists, activists, unionists and prominent members of civil society - tenth of thousands followed.
Emmanuel Macron is confronted with the strongest social mobilisations in France since his election. Even though these mobilisations are heterogeneous and gather a large variety of struggles, they were originally triggered by Macron’s rail reform which embodies the President’s harsh neoliberal agenda.
Emmanuel Macron and his government are facing their first major social disputes. The complexity and multi-sector nature of the movement raise interesting questions.
The electoral cycle of 2017 is a turning point in the French political landscape. The presidential and legislative elections were a major rupture which disrupted the political field.
Convincing his European partners, above all Germany, that France will embrace structural reforms in order to get a new deal for Europe with more public investment, the introduction of Eurobonds and a strengthening of the common budget: this is the strategy Macron has been putting forward since the first day of his presidency.
After the predicted but non-the-less spectacular result of the first round of the presidential election, on the left urgent questions are burning each and everyone’s lips: what shall we do in two weeks?
The so-called Labour Law, passed en force by the French government on 20 July, is the most serious attack against the “Code du Travail”, already undermined for the past thirty years. A short historical overview is necessary to better grasp the destructive scope of this law, promoted and enforced by a socialist government – cruel irony!
Faced with a democracy that has been denied, an authoritarian government and repressed social movements, the seven trade unions that have spent almost three months fighting against the El Khomri bill (CGT, FO, FSU, Solidaires, Unef, UNL and FIDL) and in favour of a labour law commensurate with the 21st century are organising a referendum in companies, administrative bodies and research centres.
When it launched its umpteenth reform, the French government was counting on a trade union movement weakened by in-fighting and defeats, on pensions in particular.
160 000 demonstrators in Paris, 120 000 in Marseille, 100 000 in Toulouse… All in all, more than one million workers, students and pensioners took to the streets on March 31st throughout France to oppose the dismantling of the code du travail, the set of labour laws and regulations.
The labour movement in France is facing an unprecedented attack in the form of a radical bill introduced by the government that would largely dismantle the rights and guarantees enshrined in the Labour Code. However, this attempt is being opposed by a new dynamic combining trade union activism with an extraordinary mobilisation of youth, largely via social media, unseen on this scale since the lead-up to the mass protest against the First Job Contract in 1996.
In 13 French regions a second round of regional elections was held. In seven regions, the Sarkozyite right has won (there used to be left-wing majorities in all of them before the elections). In five regions left-wing majorities were reached which are based on the lists affiliated with the Parti socialiste (PS) after the first round of elections.
The results of the first round of regional elections confirm the gravity of the political situation in the country. Following on from the European election, the Front National (FN) is building on its position as a leading political party, with a majority that will amount to some 30% following the results of the regional elections on December 6.
Bernard Maris, an economist at the Bank of France, was at the meeting of editors of Charlie Hebdo on 7 January 2015 in Paris. He, too, died under the bullets of the killers – Oncle Bernard, author of a column in the satirical magazine, in which he explained the mysteries of finance.
Yesterday’s terrorist attack murdered a large part of one of the country’s most famous editorial teams – including five of the most creative artists and cartoonists involved in the satirical newspaper, an economist who has often his critical views represented very efficiently in the media, as well...
The abstention levels of 39% were a record high for municipal elections. They were particularly high in areas most affected by the crisis; in metropolitan communes; among the young; workers; and voters of the Front de Gauche (Left Front) and of the FN (National Front). In addition, almost 3 million potential voters were not registered to vote.
On 22 January 2013, France and Germany were celebrating, with considerable pomp, the anniversary of the “Elysée Treaty”. However, 50 years after the treaty was signed, in a new world and a crisis in Europe, it would be more appropriate to revamp Franco-German relations … an idea, which at least inspired the Front de Gauche and Die Linke, whose co-operation has strengthened over the last few years.
One week before the big demonstration in Paris on 30 September against the Fiscal Compact called for by a broad alliance of trade unions, social movements and political actors, among them the Front de Gauche, the federal council of the French Greens („Europe Écologie Les Verts“) has with a clear majority spoken out against the ratification of the Fiscal Compact by the French National Assembly.
For the first time since ten years the government of France is led by the PS (Parti Socialiste) again. In 2002, the Gauche Plurielle government and its then candidate Jospin encountered catastrophic results due to the public's massive dissatisfaction with their politics. When it became clear that...
First and foremost, Hollande’s election is a clear rebuff for the “President of the Rich” and the power of the oligarchy he embodies which has become stronger in the crisis.
In spite of the relief felt about Sarkozy having been voted out, the mood can by no means be compared to 1981 (Mitterand’s...
Till now it was generally considered that, under the 5th Republic’s 1958 Constitution, the Senate (the Upper House of Parliament) could never swing Left.
However, during the senatorial elections of 25 September last, despite an election system tailored for the Right, the “grand electors” (that is...
With increased internationalism of the right-winged political spectrum in Europe being on the rise, the question of internationalism of the European left is becoming more present in the past years. A nativist versus internationalist debate defines contemporary politics.
Less than six months after accessing the second round of the presidential election and gathering more than 10 million votes in the second round, the Front National (FN) is in deep crisis.