The summer break is over, budget preparations are underway and the debt blackmail is back. The government may have abandoned its plan to double medical deductibles, but it's still considering freezing all or part of retirement pensions. Retirees earning more than 2,000 euros are supposedly too rich!
As prices skyrocket – from fruits and vegetables to gas and electricity not to mention fuel – retired, employed and unemployed workers will have to cut back on their spending a little more.
They’re being asked to pay off a debt from which they’ve never benefited, while being accused of causing it. According to the ministers, the state is too indebted and there are too many public deficits because workers never work enough, the sick receive too much medical care, retirees are too well off, and the unemployed receive too many unemployment benefits.
In order to save money, they never consider cutting the military budget, canceling the Rafale fighter jet orders or taking from the 270 billion euros of public money given to private capitalists - all of which are expenses that add to the debt. And to bring money into the state’s coffers, cutting into shareholders' dividends or capitalists' profits, no matter how obscene they may be, is never an option.
Of course, with the presidential election campaign underway and because the government doesn't have a majority in the National Assembly, it’s holding back. But, from Glucksmann to Retailleau, the majority of those who aspire to replace Macron are openly declaring that they will make the working class sweat even more blood and tears.
As for those who make a few promises to workers, they will obey when employers tell them it isn't possible to keep them. Because the Medef (the French employers’ union) has its own agenda, and no matter who the next president of the Republic is, it will have the final say.
The political program that the bourgeoisie demands
Extending working hours by cutting public holidays or by monetizing the 5th week of vacation; raising the retirement age to 65 or 67; suppressing 1.5 million civil service positions, i.e. local government employees, firefighters, teachers, hospital staff and others; reducing the state budget by 100 billion euros; further reducing taxes and contributions from businesses... These are some of the measures that the Medef demands.
In reality, employers haven’t waited for the elections to impose their will. In factories, construction sites and the service sector, wages are frozen, overtime is mandatory, staffing levels are insufficient, while working conditions are getting worse. How many workers are still on the factory floor at age 65 because they haven't earned all their pension credits? How many worked this summer in 104°F heat without any extra breaks? How many don't dare take time off when they're sick?
Real power isn't in the Élysée Palace
Our lives depend far more on the bosses who exploit us than on the next occupant of the Élysée Palace.
They depend on the wars that have become permanent in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa. With soaring oil prices, the closure of trade routes and shifts in power dynamics among capitalists, these wars to control resources are exacerbating the chaos of an already ailing capitalist system.
They depend on finance, which imposes its law on the world. Trillions of dollars that could be used for useful purposes, such as combating global warming, are diverted towards speculation.
Under the pretext that France’s or the United States' debt is too high, financial markets are now demanding interest rates of 4 or 5%. These rates fuel inflation, increase the cost of credit and line the pockets of bankers: in six months, the French state paid them 34.5 billion euros in interests alone!
Financial speculation threatens to trigger stock market crashes and a general economic collapse. In the face of these threats, the half-measures proposed by the various candidates - whether they suggest to “freeze” a small portion of the debt or to reduce it by plundering certain fractions of the workforce - are insignificant.
There are no possible negotiations and compromises with the financiers and capitalist companies that impose their control over all of society. To prevent them from causing harm, changing the president or passing laws won't be enough. Workers will have to intervene massively to expropriate them without compensation or buyouts.
Nathalie Arthaud