Mostly, yes. The difference is that they actually inconvenience the state enough to make concessions, both due the higher level of militance and the wider public support they can rely on when needed. Protest movements in France are also really good at general strikes for the latter reason. What it boils down to is that they actually inconvenience the state enough to move the needle and get concessions. But the state is very aware of that and good at recuperating the dissent, letting the masses blow off steam and then walking some decisions back in a way that makes the general public think they won - all of this backed up by the state also being able to call on what’s probably the most violent and militarized cops in all of the Western EU.
So i’d say the key differences i see compared to the US are both broader and deeper organizing and higher militancy on the side of the people and a more calculating, flexible and pragmatic cynicism on behalf of the state. But this is absolutely not a revolutionary movement. Ofc the French haven’t had an actual revolution1 since 1871, so who knows, maybe some day this’ll change. The odds of that are probably better than elsewhere in the West.
1This only goes for the French mainland. The colonies are a very different matter, as evidenced by the Algerian civil war in the late 1950s.
I agree, but not for the general strike part. Their is no general strike for decades. Their is inter professional day of strike called by central union, but this is nothing close to general strike. Central Unions design this day to “not disrupt too much the economy”.
This is an issue directly link with professional unionist and centralism of those unions. Uncentralized unions with nobody paid denounce those strategy, as well as the vast majority of people imply in struggle (even people unionize in central union).
I know orthodox marxist like centralized organization, but (for unions at least) it leads to non-revolutionary position (or liberal, if you’d rather). However, those organization are the last mass organization of our class, nobody could deny it.
Yeah unfortunately my impression of these riots is they’re mostly like if the pink hat and no kings protestors in the US actually did something?
Mostly, yes. The difference is that they actually inconvenience the state enough to make concessions, both due the higher level of militance and the wider public support they can rely on when needed. Protest movements in France are also really good at general strikes for the latter reason. What it boils down to is that they actually inconvenience the state enough to move the needle and get concessions. But the state is very aware of that and good at recuperating the dissent, letting the masses blow off steam and then walking some decisions back in a way that makes the general public think they won - all of this backed up by the state also being able to call on what’s probably the most violent and militarized cops in all of the Western EU.
So i’d say the key differences i see compared to the US are both broader and deeper organizing and higher militancy on the side of the people and a more calculating, flexible and pragmatic cynicism on behalf of the state. But this is absolutely not a revolutionary movement. Ofc the French haven’t had an actual revolution1 since 1871, so who knows, maybe some day this’ll change. The odds of that are probably better than elsewhere in the West.
1This only goes for the French mainland. The colonies are a very different matter, as evidenced by the Algerian civil war in the late 1950s.
I agree, but not for the general strike part. Their is no general strike for decades. Their is inter professional day of strike called by central union, but this is nothing close to general strike. Central Unions design this day to “not disrupt too much the economy”.
This is an issue directly link with professional unionist and centralism of those unions. Uncentralized unions with nobody paid denounce those strategy, as well as the vast majority of people imply in struggle (even people unionize in central union).
I know orthodox marxist like centralized organization, but (for unions at least) it leads to non-revolutionary position (or liberal, if you’d rather). However, those organization are the last mass organization of our class, nobody could deny it.