PRC: 'It is important to analyse the reality of imperialism today'

Special interview with Revolutionary Party-Communists (PRC) of France.

ICP, 11 February 2017

 

ICP: We have left the year 2016 behind us. What are the events that marked the last year?

PRC: For France, it is definitely the struggles against the El-Khomri Law, which aims to liquidate the conquests of the workers in labor law.  At the European level, we observe that, facing the acceleration of the integration in every field, including the military; the peoples express their resistance. In the absence of revolutionary forces that are capable of leading and representing this annoyance, this resistance is taking place in a confused way. This situation manifests itself by the role of the National Front (FN), force of the capital, which is to capture the annoyance and corrupt it. At the international level, the confrontations within the imperialist system are exacerbated with the open and vast conflicts in which France is involved as an imperialist power.

ICP: The World heads towards an enormous crisis. It is not rocket science to see that the crisis will deepen in 2017. What are the situation and the positioning of France in this capitalist-imperialist system?

PRC: We share this commentary. Since the defeat of the USSR and the socialist camp, the capitalism practically dominates the entire World. This situation, if masked the crisis of overaccumulation for a certain period of time, it could not postpone it for long. The tensions and confrontations within the imperialism increase. It is really a struggle for sharing the World: The sources, the transport links… The war is a means to guarantee the control. It is important to analyze what the reality of the imperialism is today. If the USA is a major actor, it is strongly competed by the emerging imperialist forces like China and Russia. France takes stance in these confrontations, within the imperialist group that constitutes the European Union but also, and particularly in Africa, where she intends keeping a leading position as a neo-colonial force.

ICP: 2017 will also be an election year for France. What are your anticipations about the elections? What do the elections promise for the French citizens? What will be the position of your party?

PRC: The problem to be solved by the bourgeoisie is difficult. The capital has an imperious need to be faster, further and intense in destroying the social conquests of the working class. In order to come first in the capitalist competition at the global level, they have to decrease the price of the labor force significantly and destroy the resistance capacity of the working class. The experience has shown with the struggles about the El-Khomri law that the annoyance is very strong and seeks a political outcome. This situation explains the unpopularity of the current leaders and the will of change. The question is what to change, how and with whom? The political forces of the bourgeoisie tempt to reorganize in order to meet the popular expectations. They have to find an enlarged social base in order to go further.  This is not simple and it explains the set of maneuvers around the presidential elections.  All of them, from Le Pen to Melenchon are positioned within the frame of the capitalist management. From our point of view, the presidential election is an important issue within the class war.  Our party will be part of it with a candidate: Antonio Sanchez, metalworker and secretary of the party, in order to bring revolutionary ideas: Briefly, in order to say that without attacking the capitalism, without bringing it down by struggle and construct a socialist society, nothing will be possible. We will have candidates at the general elections and we will make sure that our political battle be useful for strengthening our organization in the workplaces.

ICP: Last year the National Front (FN) had significantly increased its votes. Is it possible that the extreme right creates a massive electoral base and even become the power in France in the following period?

PRC: The National Front is a party of the capital. It does not question the system and its program asserts that it will do everything for the companies. Its function is, among the others, to aspirate the annoyance and corrupt it. Its electoral base is widened especially among the social layers at the bottom and also among the petite and middle bourgeoisie. We fight against the National Front, which shows its real nature as the party of the capital.

ICP: The French labor class showed a significant resistance against the law known as El Khomri, which has changed the working conditions. What is left behind from this resistance to the class struggle today? What are the organization capacity and the level of conscience of the class today?

PRC: The resistance against the El Khomri law had been strong and lasting. To summarize, it is possible to say that the conscience of the class made a significant progress but still limited. Although the struggles about the law itself stopped at the national level, they continue in the workplaces regarding the effects of its application. We notice that the struggles develop around the employment and wage issues. We support these struggles and give them a political context by our explanations. We have to note that the union organizations have different points of views and we do not put the CFDT, FTC, CGC, UNSA and FO (organizations of open class collaboration) in the same place as the CGT, all of them have a reformist vision. Our comrades in the CGT fight in order to develop the struggles and to coordinate them.