[news] The social movement in France

[Eric R.]

The social movement in France, against the reforms of the pension 
system and "decentralization" in schools, develops and tend to harden, in 
particular in the education sector, where some establishments are in 
strike since March. The Minister for education, Luc Ferry, denounces "the 
spirit of 68 at work in the education sector". The general-secretary of 
the main trade union, the CGT, announces a million people in the 
streets during the demonstrations of tomorrow May 25. For the two next weeks, 
many strikes and demonstrations are planned, of which the "renewable" 
strike of the Parisian subway and the national railroads as from June 3. 

In the sector of education one attends true attempts of 
self-organisation apart from the trade unions (some of them accepted the reforms), 
even if it is not yet "against" them. "Coordinations" multiply and seek to 
be centralised. This activity was largely facilitated by the recourse 
to a not-trade-union Internet site, created by a "coordination", and 
maintained by six volunteers "who know data processing". Updated 
permanently, it informs on unfolding of the fight in all the country and 
constitutes a forum of exchanges on what is to be done.

The existence of Internet makes it possible not to depend more on the 
trade unions for the information flow. This monopoly of information is 
(was?) one of the most frightening weapons of the trade unions against 
the combativeness of the fights when those tend to overflow them. In May 
68, for example, they made use of it abundantly to facilitate the 
general resumption of work, announcing untruthfully the end of the strike 
for places which were still in fight. But, the monopoly of information is 
(was?) also the principal pretext to have the monopoly of the 
negotiation and decision-making power in the fights. 

A visit to the site of the "coordination" of the teachers, 
"ReseauDesBahuts" 

http://reseaudesbahuts.lautre.net 

(for those who read some French) makes possible to have:

- "on line" information on the fight of the teachers (and parents of 
pupils) and on the feverish debates on how to self-organise apart from 
trade-unions ("dismissible delegates ", etc.) 

- an illustration "in vivo" of what new technologies can bring to the 
workers' fight and the development of the capacity to self-organise.

[from a contact in Paris]


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