Thomas Butler, Liverpool Socialist Students
Over the past weeks, hundreds of thousands of students and workers alike have spilt out onto the streets in France, with hundreds of schools blockaded and closed. This has sent a clear message: that the youth of France utterly reject the capitalist government’s neglect towards services in favour of militarisation.
Much of the establishment media and politicians have sought to undermine this collective act of resistance by narrowly painting and propagating an image of general unrest, unbridled violence and chaos. However, what is truly radical and significant about the demonstrations that the big-business-backed media won’t acknowledge is how powerful the collective force of working-class people can be in fighting for a better future.
It is important to highlight that the explosion of anger has not appeared spontaneously; you only need to hear it from the students demonstrating themselves. Chronic staff shortages, cockroaches in classrooms and collapsing ceilings are only a small insight into the sorry state of French education. Despite this, the French government has proposed a brutal austerity budget for 2027, amounting to up to 61 billion euros in service cuts. On top of this, however, they have managed to find more money to further increase military spending; the capitalist Macron government will have doubled military spending since coming to power in 2017.
This has been the spark that ignited the explosion of anger, with young people collectively expressing themselves in defiance, saying that working-class people cannot and will not tolerate further squeezes on their living standards. This brave act of resistance has not been an isolated incident; in Germany, tens of thousands of students took to the streets in a school strike in late September. The German capitalists have also demanded an increase in military spending despite the government pursuing austerity policies.
In Britain, the ruling class is singing from the same hymn sheet. The government has pledged to scale up military spending, while Burnham’s ministers press on with the same old cuts, with one minister feeling it is their “moral crusade” to cut benefits for young and disabled people.
In these struggles, it cannot be overstated the important role the trade unions can play aiding the youth fightback. As has rightfully been said by some major French trade unions, “Their mobilisation is our mobilisation”. Not for its own sake, but because the issues and struggles young people face are interwoven with those of the working class. Both face austerity, the threat of war, and squeezed living standards.
Workers and students
The Socialist Students constitution states the aim to “build links with trade unions and the wider workers’ movement”. The unrest in France has been rightly linked to the mass unrest it faced in 1968, when capitalism found itself on a knife-edge, beginning with student protests.
What truly brought French capitalism close to its demise was the 10 million workers on strike, with many occupying their workplaces. Unfortunately, the working class and young protesters were betrayed by the leadership of the mass working-class organisations.
Today, we have a chance to build new workers’ parties that centre the organised working class and young people, with a socialist programme that will actually deliver young people a future.
Socialist Students is building for the 20 November youth walkouts with over 20 youth organisations across Europe. A chance to send a message to not just the establishment but the disenfranchised young working-class people that a socialist fightback can be mounted to fight for our futures and not their wars.
Get involved in Socialist Students today to join the youth fightback in Britain, and build – alongside young people across Europe – for big walkouts on 20 November.
Socialist Students has confirmed walkouts organised at more than 100 schools, colleges and universities across England and Wales on 20 November. Protests are expected in at least 50 towns and cities, with the main London demonstration taking place at 12 noon in Parliament Square.
Socialist Students has been invited to have regular space in the Socialist to assist with its drive to build the biggest possible youth walkouts on 20 November.
