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See also: League, LCR

The Communist revolutionary league (Initials LCR ) is the main thing Political party French of Extreme left, with Workers' struggle. Mainly of inspiration trotskist, the LCR is the French section of the IV {{E}} Internationale (unified Secretariat).

Its spokesperson are Olivier Besancenot, Alain Krivine and Roseline Vachetta.

Activities

The LCR is invested in the social movement; its members militate actively in the trade-union organizations (in particular the trade unions CGT, FSU and CUS), in various associations of the labor movement, the Mouvement altermondialist and are active in many other activities considered as related to the Class struggle (movement of Without-papers, Grève S, movement anti-war, etc).

History

Before 1968

The LCR is resulting from the communist movement trotskist, anti-Stalinist. It gathers militants of two already existing entities: the Communist party internationalist and the revolutionary Communist youth:
  • the NCV is the French section of the Fourth International. It is the product of the fusion of the two organizations trotskists existing during the Second world war. The NCV particularly was characterized by its support for the liberation struggles main road in Indo-China and Algérie like by its critical support for Tito during the rupture of Yugoslavia with the the USSR. In 1953, the NCV knows an important scission giving rise to the current trotskist lambertist (represented by the Parti of the workers in France). The cause of the scission is the decision to go to make Entrisme within the French Communist party.
  • the trotskists carry out a work entrist within the Union of the communist students. They succeed in organizing an oppositional current with the direction there. This one is made exclude in 1966 at the time of its refusal to support the candidature of François Mitterrand for the presidential election, then supported by the PCF. The oppositional current, excluded, form the revolutionary Communist youth (JCR). The JCR is identified with the colonial revolutions (Cuba, Vietnam, Bolivia, etc) and the comprehension of dialectical of the three sectors of the world revolution: anti-colonial revolution in Vietnam and in Latin America, student movements and workers' struggles in Europe, fights antibureaucratic in the East (Czechoslovakia). This Internationalism the conduit with an opposition to the bureaucracies Soviet and Chinese and to consider that their policy falls under the line of those which, in the communist movement, were opposed to the Stalinisme: the left opposition trotskist.

This internationalism is accompanied by the criticism of the moderated parliamentary orientation, of fights for a “advanced democracy” of the PCF. The JCR consider that their “consequent” internationalism must lead them to the Fourth International. From where the congress of April 1969 and their fusion with the NCV to form the communist League, French section of the Fourth International one.

May 68

The JCR approaches May 1968 doped by its activities in the fight against the Guerre of Vietnam and her support for the anti-colonial movements.

As of the end of 1967 - spring 1968, there is a conjunction between the fights of the young workers (Saviem, Rhodiaceta) and the mobilizations coeds. May 1968 begins with the demonstrations in solidarity, against the “police force” in the studied movement of the Sorbonne until the May 10th. Then the barricades come where the JCR are very present. The May 13rd 1968, the general strike is issued with occupation of the factories.

May 1968 is an important movement studying and social in France. It has a social dimension, economic and policy which shakes the Gaullisme and the data morals of the country. The debate within the JCR is to know if May 1968 corresponds to a “crisis pre-revolutionist”. The JCR considers that it is about a situation where the question of the capacity is put but without being able to be solved.

The JCR multiplies its manpower by four at the time of the events. It has a vision of May 1968 inspired by the Russian Révolution with analogy 1905/1917. She considers that May 1968 had been a “general repetition”. The conclusion that it car is “that it misses the Party”.

Starting from this conclusion, it takes an aspect of allied “phalange” to a militant hyper-selection and an establishment increased within the Working class. The congress of foundation of the communist League proposes three points:

  • the construction of the revolutionary party;
  • adhesion with the Fourth International;
  • the “dialectical one of the sectors of intervention”.

After May 1968

After the events of May 1968, the communist League estimating of great revolutionary possibilities followed a policy known as of the “triumphalism” with calls to the mobilization of the ceaseless workers, the countryside of Alain Krivine with the presidential election of 1969 where the LLC invites its voters to be organized in “red Committee”. The LLC followed a policy which she judges today of “gauchist” but to analyze in the context of the time. Indeed it was a “gauchism moderated” compared to the movements Maoïste S “spontaneists”, very important at the time, who called with the “civil war”. The LLC was mainly established, at the time, within provided education for and working youth. Then, from the movements of extreme left in France, and especially in Italy, were going to rock in terrorism. It is the beginning of the “Années of lead”. The LCR did not rock there for several reasons:

  • It does not draw its origins only from May 68 since it fell under the continuity of the left opposition trotskist to Stalinism.
  • It knows the work world in France well after its work entrist within PCF
  • Its militants also militate in the various trade unions.
  • They had an political orientation different from the Maoists and their fight against PCF

The LLC regarded at the time the Socialist party as a “middle-class” party. For the LLC, the left was incarnated by the Communist party and the CGT.

This “gauchism” also had a quasi military dimension in the organization by the technical Commission of the LLC of a service of order (SO). This one organized, in collaboration with other groups of extreme left, attacks of meetings organized by the organizations of Extrême right-hand side. Thus the June 21st 1973, the service of order of the League, under the impulse of its person in charge, Michel Recanati, organized, in common with the Communist party Marxist-Leninist of France, the attack of the meeting “against wild immigration” held with the Mutualité by the movement of extreme right-hand side new Ordre (successor of Occident) which caused a hundred wounded among the police force. The Minister of Interior Department of the time, Raymond Marcellin, decides the dissolution of the communist League then, which will force its militants to remain clandestine during two months under the name of revolutionary communist Front. Then it will be reformed officially under the name of “Communist revolutionary league”.

This action gives a renewal of popularity to the LCR which is reinforced. But at the same time of many debates traverse the LCR after this event, in particular on the revolutionary strategy, the role of violence or the concept of “broad working avant-garde”. These debates will involve a change of government scheme of the LCR and the end of the period known as “gauchist”. At the same time the Union of the left was set up.

Union of the left

May 1968 is an event which modified the data of the whole of the political chessboard. De Gaulle is withdrawn, the énarques take the foreground, the left lays down a new policy: during the events it is dislocated (Socialist party) or is overflowed (Communist party). It is rebuilt. With the Congress of Epinay in 1971, François Mitterrand is combined with CERES Jean-Pierre Chevènement to propose what they call a “Face of class” to knowing an alliance between the Communist party, the Socialist party and the Radical left party through a common program which contains the rupture with capitalism, the nationalizations of certain industrial sectors and the right to veto of the work's councils.

The LCR regards that this program “is emptied of its substance”, judging it as a radical program, anticapitalist but not on the key question: the State. She also considers that it is about a programme of “collaboration of class”. She supports the initiative without supporting however the program, within the framework of a strategy known as “unit, action, overflow”. A minority will be constituted gradually around Gerard Filoche (Matti), then of Dominique Losay (Letourneau), to go towards a “working single Face”. The LCR invites to vote for the left with the second round of the elections.

Gradually the LCR moves away from the gauchism supported by Daniel Bensaïd (Jebracq, Ségur), Pierre Rousset, Pierre de Verbizier the Treillised vineyard (Vergeat), Yves Salesse (Boris)… which supports certain terrorist activities. Charles Michaloux, " Garcin" , Habel Sleeve-board, François Sabado and others center the LCR towards positions more anchored on the social movement (left of the CFDT in particular) which let consider with some a possible bringing together with OCI (see for example the writings of Edwy Plenel alias Krasny). The former leaders of the JCR (Krivine, Weber, Bensaïd) are marginalized.

In 1975, one of the tendencies of the LCR, the tendency Bolshevik-Leninist, rejects the vote-catching maneuvers of the organization, as its analysis of the USSR. It breaks with the LCR and constitutes the working Union which will evolve to positions close to the Ultra-gauche.

From 1975 to 1978, the majority of the LCR however loses any control on her studied sector formally directed by François Sabado. Extremely of its weight in the student movement of 1976, Dominique Losay (Stackhanov/Letourneau) takes the control of the student sector and starts to impose a turning towards the trade unionism. With François the Cortes (Ulysses) they have the absolute majority on the students of the League. Behind, with Gilles C. (Swanee) a more polarized minority on the sociétaux movements also escapes control from the direction. These currents precede the later scissions and exclusions (towards self-management CCA for Swanee, towards the LCI/OCI for Letourneau and Ulysses).

Of 1977 with 1981, the LCR denounces the “policy of division” of the PCF which sees the union being done with its detriment. The LCR defends the maintenance of “the unit of the organized labor”. In 1981, the LCR does not obtain the number of 500 signatures of elected officials to be able to introduce a candidate to the presidential election. It invites to vote for Arlette Laguiller or Georges Marchais with the first turn and for Mitterrand with the second.

In November 1979, exclusion of the tendency Leninist-trotskyste produced of the regrouping of French partisans of Socialist Workers Party American (SWP) (Dominique Losay alias Letourneau and Daniel Gluckstein alias Seldjouk) and of pro-lambertistes (Némo, Ulysses) as well as tendency Bolshevik, pro-Nahuel Moreno (Argentinian PST) at the time of the congress of the Hague pinks. In its intervention of answer to Daniel Bensaïd for the majority, Dominique Losay alias Letourneau, in the name of the TLT, calls with the regrouping with the OCI (become NCV then Parti the workers) with the center a “open world conference”. The excluded dissidents, who account for 25% of the organization, found the communist League internationalist (LCI) who will amalgamate in October 1980 with the communist Organization internationalist (OCI) “lambertist”. Dominique Losay (Letourneau) and Christian " Leucate" (Némo) will make only one very short passage to the OCI whereas Daniel Gluckstein becomes the principal leader about it.

1981-1988

December 1981, the most known dissidents are:

socialist Question takes the control of the current For the trade-union unit (MORE, Socialist) of UNEF-ID and founds S.O.S Racism in 1984.

The LCR considers that the victory of François Mitterrand in 1981 is an effect differed from May 1968. It compares this election with that of the Popular front of 1936 and considers that the dynamics of the election must lead to a new “June 1936” (general strike). This analysis of the situation brings it to a government scheme which it names “turning working”. Indeed, envisaging the possibility of the general strike, she wants to be “where that occurs”, i.e. in the factories. The LCR wants “to change its social composition by mechanical effect of establishment”.

400 militants are implied in this “working Turning”. But, according to the assessment makes later by the LCR, “the working turning was a bad answer to a true problem: its weakness of establishment in the working concentrations, but a bad answer because one cannot manufacture a working establishment while transforming intellectual, student and employed into workmen. ” The Maoists try out this policy as of the years 1960-1970 and make the same reports.

In 1983, the political situation changes abruptly with the “rigor” of the government of Laurent Fabius to maintain France in the European Monetary System: suppression of the indexing of the wages, the 35 hours carryforward, blocking of the wages of the civils servant. The LCR judges that the government adheres to the capitalist theses and considers that accelerates the “decline of PCF” and the “social-liberal” transformation of the Socialist party.

Then comes the defeat at the polls from the left in 1986, and the arrival of Jacques Chirac like Prime Minister. The LCR starts a decline then, having over-estimated the revolutionary possibilities of 1981. Moreover, the abrupt turn of the policy of François Mitterrand did not profit to them. On the contrary, all the movements of extreme left decrease during this period (many voters turning to the National front). The LCR loses many militants and thus visibility. It was however invested in social conflicts of the time, in particular in the movements of the workmen of the car (Peugeot, Talbot) or of the iron and steel industry. It is also implied in the creation and the development of S.O.S Racism, in the strike movements coeds of 1986 against the law Devaquet or the strike movement with the SNCF the same year.

In 1988, for the presidential election, the LCR decides to support and to be invested in the countryside of Pierre Juquin, candidate dissenting of the Communist party. Its candidature causes the support of the Socialist party unified and the LCR. Support groups set up themselves in all France, mixing Communist militants, militants of the PSU, LCR. The result is disappointing: Pierre Juquin obtains only 2,08% of the voices, while the Greens collect 3,8%, Workers' struggle 1,9% and the Parti the workers 0,4%.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

In 1989, the Berlin Wall crumbles, then in 1991 the the USSR. The market economy settles in all the Eastern European countries. That causes a deep political change with the international scales. The Communist parties crumble, the socialist parties of all Europe give up the Anticapitalisme and accept the market economy. The political assumption defended by the LCR is not validated, namely that the collapse of the mode of the Soviet Union succeeds a “anti-bureaucratic revolution” towards the Socialisme. However nothing of all that occurred; even, a wave of optimism blows on the Western countries during the Années 1990 (economic growth, digital revolution).

The LCR is directed then towards the creation of a new party. It makes an analysis of the situation: “New time, new program, new party”.

  • New time because it considers that socialism lost the century but that capitalism did not solve its problems, that it is not the end of the history and that the Class struggle continues, and that there will be thus new crises, the new contradictions posted by capitalism, of new wars and thus of new revolutions.
  • New program which can take into account the assessment of the Stalinisme and the Social-démocratie, for a new strategy of transition from capitalism towards socialism, effects of the Mondialisation, the central aspect of the socialist democracy as well as a first stage “on the left of possible”.
  • All this must thus involve the creation of a new party, a “party broad anticapitalist” called of his wishes. This project has as an originality to also open with those which are not necessarily recognized in the “revolutionary Marxism” of the LCR. It is defined as “being strategically not delimited”.

June 1994: scission of the militants of Democracy and Revolution (Gerard Nets). Democracy and Revolution joined the Socialist party (PS) in October 1994 and become under the name of Démocratie and Socialisme the monthly magazine of the Gauche Socialist, running of the PS where are found in particular old Socialist Questions.

Scission of militants of the Movement of union action (FARMHOUSE) who found Socialist Questions. Socialist Questions in May 1982 joined the Socialist party (PS).

1995 - 2006

In 1995, the LCR does not introduce a candidate to the presidential election, and invites to vote for Robert Hue, Arlette Laguiller or Dominique Voynet.

The LCR is reinvigorated starting from the movement from November-December 1995 against the plan Juppe. The LCR considers that it was the “first anti-liberal revolt”. Thereafter, the LCR is immersed in the movement altermondialist, born following the demonstrations of Seattle in 1999 or Genoa in 2001.

At the same time, the “Plural left is set up” gathering the Socialist party, the Communist party, the PRG, the MRC or the Greens, this time without common program. The LCR does not take part in this new union of the left, which does not fit in a fight against capitalism (Clermont-Ferrand is the most important city which, after an electoral agreement having for clause prérequise the autonomy of the elected officials trotskists, had on its lists of the militants of the LCR. These militants constituted the left opposition of the majority and did not vote the budget of the municipality, considered to be contrary with their ideas).

In 1999, at the time of the European elections, the LCR is presented behind a common candidature with Workers' struggle. For the first time at the time of this election, the extreme-left obtains five deputies of which two are LCR (Alain Krivine and Roselyne Vachetta). January 20th, 2000, eurodéputés the LO/LCR do not vote (3 counter and 1 abstention) an initiative of the the European Parliament on the Taxe Tobin, which is criticized by French deputies like Alain Lipietz. The LCR confirms this refusal because it was a question of establishing a commission on the question directed by Charles Pasqua

At the time of the presidential election of 2002, after the refusal of LO to continue the adventure of the joint lists of 1999, the LCR decides to introduce a candidate LCR for the first time since 1974 and the candidature of Alain Krivine. It is about Olivier Besancenot young a 27 years factor unknown in the political world which was one year attending parliamentary of Krivine the European Parliament (1999-2000) Its personality is a real media success and gains 4,25% of the voices more either than the PCF which obtains 3,37% of the voices. Between the two turns, the LCR will invite “to beat Le Pen in the street and the ballot boxes”, which will be interpreted by almost everyone like a call to vote Chirac, contrary to LO and of Pt. Following this election, the LCR knows an inflation of the number of its militants (approximately 3000 members) and of his popularity.

For the regional elections and European of 2003 and 2004, Workers' struggle having proposed to make joint list, the LCR accepts to create a pole on the left “plural left” but in spite of a result higher than that of the regional elections of 1998, it does not manage to benefit from its popularity with the effect “votes useful” in favor of the PS. In 2005, the LCR engages in the countryside for “not” with the constitution through the united collectives of the Fondation Copernic in which certain militants of “not” of left take part (PC, PS, Verts, etc). Thanks to this countryside, the LCR and its door word, Olivier Besancenot know a renewal of popularity. Alain Krivine did not wish to represent itself to be elected at the political office in January 2006.

The continuation of the countryside for NOT to the European constitution brought important movements within the LCR. Many debates animated the organization as for the attitude to be adopted in connection with the project of unique candidacies of the Gauche antilibérale. At the time of a national conference in July 2006 the LCR declared the candidature of Olivier Besancenot. The tendencies partisanes of the unit process antilibéral maintained their participation in the antilibéraux collectives. A minority of the LCR with Christian Picquet and Leonce Aguirre sought to pursue the goal of a antilibérale unique candidacy. The national conference having declared the possibility of a withdrawal of the candidature of Olivier Besancenot in the event of agreement with the other components and the collectives. The majority, with François Sabado, Alain Krivine, Daniel Bensaïd, Ivan Lemaitre, primarily supported the need for refusing any agreement with the Socialist party. The French Communist party did not seem to answer the criterion of independence with respect to the Socialist party. It should be noted that all the tendencies of the LCR considered essential the assertion of independence with respect to the PS. The dissension at the origin of this strong polemic in the LCR is of nature strategic: the minority thinking that it was possible to carry out a political battle in the collectives to obtain an improvement of the program and to affirm independence vis-a-vis the PS and the majority thinking that it was not possible any more to gain positive projections in the collective antilibéraux.

2007

The April 22nd, the LCR, by the candidature of Olivier Besancenot, collects 1.498.581 votes, that is to say 4,08%, with the presidential election, which represents an increase of 287.019 votes compared to 2002 and places it in 5th position. Following the 2 turn which opposes Nicolas Sarkozy to Ségolène Royal, Olivier Besancenot invites his voters to express the 1 {{er}} May for measures urgently social that it defended during the program, before calling with to vote against Nicolas Sarkozy, without to support Ségolène Royal in what seems to him one anti-Sarkozy referendum .

With the first turn of the legislative elections, the LCR decides to introduce for the first time 492 candidates on all the French territory. With a total of a little less than 529.000 votes, the LCR progresses of 209.000 votes compared to 2002 (it had then added up 320.000 votes in 441 districts).

The LCR thus escapes the retreat which touches the whole of the other components of the left apart from the PS. The majority of the militants estimate that it is of a “victory” which guarantee the political line of firm criticism of the Social-démocratie and about the Social-liberalism (PS, PCF, Verts, etc…) ; others, very minority, think that the presence of the LCR at the time of this electoral cycle could take part in the failure of the other parties of the left of “not”.

To build a new party anticapitalist

At the conclusion of the elections of 2007 the LCR announced the will to create a new party anticapitalist established in youth, the companies, the public services, the popular quarters. She thus proposes with all the anticapitalists to gather to build the mobilizations which, for her, must prepare a radical change, revolutionist, société.
The LCR estimates that this new party must:

- To defend a program anticapitalist in the social struggles and with the elections

- To be located in a strict independence with respect to the Socialist party and to refuse to manage the institutions with this one. While centering its activity on the “Class struggle”, and the social mobilization and policy.

- To weave international bonds with all the organizations defending of the similar prospects

The LCR proposes to organize meetings as of September 2007 in the cities, companies and universities of the country in order to discuss the methods of this new party with all those, individual, teams militant, current political, which can be interested.

The expiries of the constitution of this party were fixed during the meeting of June 2007 of the National management of the LCR. It should be noted that this project is distinguished completely on the majority from the points from that from the “party anticapitalist strategically not delimited” from the years 1990. In the actual position of the reflection, the principal engine of the construction of this party would be the LCR, for lack of other partners.

Electoral results

With the presidential election of 2002, the LCR was represented by Olivier Besancenot, the youngest candidate for this station (4,25% of the voices).

With the regional elections of 2004, alliance Workers' struggle (LO) - LCR obtained a national score of 4,97% whereas the scores added with the candidates with Workers' struggle and LCR with the presidential election of 2002 approached the 10%.

It records however only one light retreat compared to the European elections, where the candidate of alliance, Arlette Laguiller had added up 5,18% of the voices, and improves even the total scores of the extreme left to the regional elections of 1998.
See electoral Results of the extreme-left in France.

Presidential elections

Ideas

The Communist revolutionary league fights for a working democracy, the “capacity of the workers” by the socialist revolution as its statutes indicate it, as well as the abolition of capitalism. She supports actively and takes part in all the social movements and defends at the electoral level the installation of a “emergency plan social”, which counts among him measurements such as the rise of the SMIC with 1.500 € Net per month, the prohibition of the dismissals, the abrogation of the Contrat news engages and of all the contracts known as precarious, the election of a constituent Assembly for a new Republic. This step falls under the optics of a “Programme of transition” defended by Trotsky in its work from the same name. It also fights - between others for the ecology, the Sustainable development and the Féminisme.

The Communist revolutionary league asserts revolutionary Marxism, more precisely of the Trotskisme. She thus defends the idea of Class struggle and analyzes the company and her movements by using the Marxist tools for analyzes which are the dialectic Materialism and the historical Matérialisme.

Young people

The LCR is equipped with a movement of young people: the revolutionary Communist youths (JCR). They are primarily present on the colleges and the universities, but also several training center of apprentices (CFA).

However there exist also young sections of the LCR. In fact cells with whole share have activities overall similar to those of the JCR. The young cells are generally established in the cities where the JCR do not exist, either for lack of establishment, or by will of the young people concerned to be recipient of the Party.

Publications

The LCR publishes a weekly newspaper, Rouge , and a quarterly theoretical review, Critique Communist .

References

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