Dear comrades!

It has already been said that I am a trade unionist and even though I am not speaking within the framework of my trade union mandate, I believe that the question of trade union responsibility in the face of the war and our discussion is an important political question that concerns the trade unions first and foremost. Because those who want a national union over the war also want that national union in relation to its consequences for the workers.

For months, the leaderships of the main trade union organisations, with a few exceptions, have not organised the resistance we need. This is true in Europe and in France, although it takes different forms in the war in Ukraine and in Palestine.

In the spring, all the major trade union confederations called for demonstrations in support of Ukraine. But a demonstration in support of Zelensky, calling for additional arms supplies! We can be sure of one thing: this policy is far from inspiring the working masses, and the initiative was supported by only 200 participants, despite the participation of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of members…

On Palestine, collaboration was sought by supposedly demonstrating against anti-Semitism during the genocide. It was a demonstration that used anti-Semitism to cover up Netanyahu’s excesses, alongside the far right! This was too much: the CGT refused to take part. And in general, there are these leaders who remain silent or make symbolic statements, but in practice do not organise any resistance or any demonstrations.

But there are demonstrations, especially among the youth, alongside the LFI, even under difficult conditions, despite the propaganda, despite the obstacles. Their firm position against the genocide was an important point of support for us, for the thousands of workers‘ activists who want to resist.

There is another aspect that is important for us French. France is a colonial power that continues to oppress the peoples who are resisting today in Martinique and New Caledonia. This has not taken the form of an open war, but still: 12 dead in New Caledonia! In a struggle of resistance against the policy of intensifying colonisation, which denies the Kanak people any possibility of exercising their right to self-determination. They deported Kanak independence activists more than 10,000 kilometres from their homes, cutting them off from their families and isolating them from the current mobilisation. Therefore, together with other French labour activists, we have taken an initiative through the International Committee against Repression for the immediate release of all political prisoners. Because we have to remember the famous maxim: the enemy is in your own country. Those who oppress the Kanaks are the same ones who wage war against the workers here!

This pressure, which is exerted on our trade union organisations and passed on by their leaders, naturally weighs heavily on the organisations themselves. This deadly logic leads to the acceptance of attacks. How can we fight the fact that they are reaching into our pockets for arms supplies if we accept the principle of increasing the military budget instead of responding to the needs of the population? Barnier (Prime Minister of France, ed.) announces a plan for a social war: 60 billion! But at the same time, billions more are being made available without any problem, and Macron has just granted Zelensky an extension!

But I think that our discussion should help to strengthen all those who are already resisting and trying to mobilise against the war, and to make the connection with the social war that is being waged against us. By connecting with each other, by discussing with each other, we help to break the leaden lid that weighs on us. To break this leaden cover with the sole aim of helping to mobilise the workers and the peoples, who alone will be able to prevent the war and the massacres!