Workers' Struggle
Encyclopedia
Lutte Ouvrière is the usual name under which the Union Communiste (Communist Union ), a French Trotskyist political party, is known, after the name of its weekly paper. Arlette Laguiller
has been its spokeswoman since 1973 and has run in each presidential election, but Robert Barcia
(Hardy) was its founder and central leader. Lutte Ouvrière is a member of the Internationalist Communist Union
. It emphasises workplace activity and places less emphasis than other left groups on struggles outside work. It has been critical of such recent phenomena as alter-globalization
.
(Barta). This developed factory work throughout the war and was instrumental in the Renault
strike of 1947, along with the anarcho-syndicalists. The group was exhausted by this effort and collapsed in 1952.
After attempts to revive the Trotskyist Group, Voix Ouvrière was founded in 1956 by Robert Barcia
, known as Hardy and the group's pre-eminent leader, and by Pierre Bois, a leading activist in the Renault plant. Effort was made to involve Barta but disputes between him, Hardy and Bois prevented it.
VO established itself through the 1960s by producing mass factory bulletins, usually weekly. The Communist Party of France (PCF) retained its hegemonic position within the workers' movement in France and its members sometimes tried to prevent the distribution of VO bulletins. In part this explains the continued use of semi-clandestine operation within VO and in LO today.
After being banned due to its support of the Students Revolt of May' 68, the group became Lutte Ouvrière.
LO has made great efforts to stand in elections either on its own or in an alliance with the LCR. Arlette Laguiller has, as a result, become well known to the public as LO's perennial Presidential candidate.
The early 1970s also saw two breakways from Lutte Ouvrière. The first such split in 1974 was centered on Bordeaux and took the name l'Union Ouvrière but rapidly disintegrated. So much so that when another small split group that developed a year later expected to be able to fuse with l'Union Ouvrière, it found it had already disappeared and were forced to form their own organisation as a consequence. This new group, Combat Communiste, was to evolve into Socialisme International
, the affiliate of the International Socialist Tendency.
Another more recent breakaway developed after Arlette Laguiller's relatively high electoral results in the 1990s and LO's statement that this meant that a new workers' party was a possibility. This statement, as well as a dispute over the personal code members were expected to abide by, led to the departure of over 100 members to form the Voix des Travailleurs grouping. This later fused with another smaller group but has more recently joined the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire as a recognised faction. In the period up to 2008, a minority faction existed within LO and appeared publicly, although its supporters were segregated in their own cells.
LO has supported the 2004 French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
. It considers that the hijab
s are a "visible sign of women's submission to their husbands and brothers". While considering the law as hypocrite, L.O. stated that it could "help women who try to resist ambient sexism in their familial or social environment" 25 April 2003).
Following the very low score of Arlette Laguiller at the first round of the April-May 2007 presidential election
(1,33%, compared to 5,72% in 2002
), the party was left with a debt of 1,4 millions Euros. According to Michel Rodinson, a party official, the campaign cost was in total 2 million Euros (800,000 of which are paid by the state). The rent of the Zenith for meetings in Paris, as well as the December political poster campaign, account for most of the expenses.
In the local elections in 2008, Lutte Ouvrière broke with tradition by joining the Socialist Party-led slates by the first round of the elections in a number of towns, preferring this tactic to the more usual option of cooperating with other far left groups to run a joint election campaign. Because an organized minority faction supported some lists running against lists supported by the party leadership, Lutte Ouvrière suspended the faction from the organization. The position of the faction will be finally decided at the next national conference, but the faction is expected to be expelled. The faction has agreed to take part in the initial stages of the New Anticapitalist Party
set up by the LCR with others, though this may not be a long-term strategy, with one member explaining it as "foot in both camps" strategy.
Unlike in 2004 and 1999 when it ran common lists with the Revolutionary Communist League
, LO will run autonomous lists in the 2009 European Parliament election
.
For long, the internal organisations of the party were largely unknown to the general public, the spokeswoman and regular presidential candidate Arlette Laguiller
being the only party leader appearing in public. Even to party members, some leaders were known only by cadre names. Such measures of secrecy were justified by the possibility that the party may have to enter clandestinity should there be a highly repressive government in place. For similar reasons, marriages and children were (and still are) discouraged.
Bernard Seytre, a member of LO for 20 years, confirmed the "iron discipline which rhythms the life of this Trotskyist organisation, whose responsibles [cadres] do not have the right to have children, lest they be excluded".
Lutte Ouvrière has thus been criticised by political opponents during the 2002 presidential campaign as being a political cult
, for example by Daniel Cohn-Bendit
, his older brother Gabriel Cohn-Bendit, L'Humanité
and Libération
.
In part this strict disciplinary attitude has enabled LO to be a very stable organisation in contrast to the instability that they allege characterises so many other left groups. In fact LO is a difficult organisation to actually join and after becoming a member individuals are expected to conform to a code of conduct which is considered old fashioned by some critics.
):
Arlette Laguiller
Arlette Yvonne Laguiller is a French Trotskyist politician. Since 1973, she has been the spokeswoman and the best known leader and perennial candidate of the Lutte Ouvrière political party...
has been its spokeswoman since 1973 and has run in each presidential election, but Robert Barcia
Robert Barcia
Robert Barcia, also known as 'Hardy' and Roger Girardot, was a French politician, leader of the Union Communiste Internationaliste , a Trotskyist organisation that is better known by the name of its weekly paper Lutte Ouvrière , which is also the name of the UCI's public party, whose spokeswoman is...
(Hardy) was its founder and central leader. Lutte Ouvrière is a member of the Internationalist Communist Union
Internationalist Communist Union
The Internationalist Communist Union is an international grouping of Trotskyist political parties, centred on Lutte Ouvrière in France....
. It emphasises workplace activity and places less emphasis than other left groups on struggles outside work. It has been critical of such recent phenomena as alter-globalization
Alter-globalization
Alter-globalization is the name of a social movement that supports global cooperation and interaction, but which opposes the negative effects of economic globalization, feeling that it often works to the detriment of, or does not...
.
History
Its origins lie in the tiny Trotskyist Group founded in 1939 by David KornerDavid Korner
David Korner was a Romanian and French communist militant, trade unionist, and journalist...
(Barta). This developed factory work throughout the war and was instrumental in the Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
strike of 1947, along with the anarcho-syndicalists. The group was exhausted by this effort and collapsed in 1952.
After attempts to revive the Trotskyist Group, Voix Ouvrière was founded in 1956 by Robert Barcia
Robert Barcia
Robert Barcia, also known as 'Hardy' and Roger Girardot, was a French politician, leader of the Union Communiste Internationaliste , a Trotskyist organisation that is better known by the name of its weekly paper Lutte Ouvrière , which is also the name of the UCI's public party, whose spokeswoman is...
, known as Hardy and the group's pre-eminent leader, and by Pierre Bois, a leading activist in the Renault plant. Effort was made to involve Barta but disputes between him, Hardy and Bois prevented it.
VO established itself through the 1960s by producing mass factory bulletins, usually weekly. The Communist Party of France (PCF) retained its hegemonic position within the workers' movement in France and its members sometimes tried to prevent the distribution of VO bulletins. In part this explains the continued use of semi-clandestine operation within VO and in LO today.
After being banned due to its support of the Students Revolt of May' 68, the group became Lutte Ouvrière.
1970s until today
An ongoing issue is the possibility and conditions of cooperation with fellow Trotskyist party the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire, the French section of the Fourth International. In 1970, LO initiated fusion discussions with the LC (as the LCR was then called). After extensive discussions, the two organisations had agreed the basis for a fused organisation. However, the fusion was not completed. In 1976 discussions between the Ligue and Lutte Ouvrière progressed again. The two organisations started to produce a common weekly supplement to their newspapers, common electoral work and other common campaigning. Since then on occasions the two organizations have stood joint candidates at some elections.LO has made great efforts to stand in elections either on its own or in an alliance with the LCR. Arlette Laguiller has, as a result, become well known to the public as LO's perennial Presidential candidate.
The early 1970s also saw two breakways from Lutte Ouvrière. The first such split in 1974 was centered on Bordeaux and took the name l'Union Ouvrière but rapidly disintegrated. So much so that when another small split group that developed a year later expected to be able to fuse with l'Union Ouvrière, it found it had already disappeared and were forced to form their own organisation as a consequence. This new group, Combat Communiste, was to evolve into Socialisme International
Socialisme International
Socialisme International was a small French revolutionary socialist organisation, founded in 1985 and publishing its magazine until 2009....
, the affiliate of the International Socialist Tendency.
Another more recent breakaway developed after Arlette Laguiller's relatively high electoral results in the 1990s and LO's statement that this meant that a new workers' party was a possibility. This statement, as well as a dispute over the personal code members were expected to abide by, led to the departure of over 100 members to form the Voix des Travailleurs grouping. This later fused with another smaller group but has more recently joined the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire as a recognised faction. In the period up to 2008, a minority faction existed within LO and appeared publicly, although its supporters were segregated in their own cells.
LO has supported the 2004 French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public primary and secondary schools...
. It considers that the hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
s are a "visible sign of women's submission to their husbands and brothers". While considering the law as hypocrite, L.O. stated that it could "help women who try to resist ambient sexism in their familial or social environment" 25 April 2003).
Following the very low score of Arlette Laguiller at the first round of the April-May 2007 presidential election
French presidential election, 2007
The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...
(1,33%, compared to 5,72% in 2002
French presidential election, 2002
The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates on 5 May 2002. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of international attention because of Le Pen's unexpected appearance in...
), the party was left with a debt of 1,4 millions Euros. According to Michel Rodinson, a party official, the campaign cost was in total 2 million Euros (800,000 of which are paid by the state). The rent of the Zenith for meetings in Paris, as well as the December political poster campaign, account for most of the expenses.
In the local elections in 2008, Lutte Ouvrière broke with tradition by joining the Socialist Party-led slates by the first round of the elections in a number of towns, preferring this tactic to the more usual option of cooperating with other far left groups to run a joint election campaign. Because an organized minority faction supported some lists running against lists supported by the party leadership, Lutte Ouvrière suspended the faction from the organization. The position of the faction will be finally decided at the next national conference, but the faction is expected to be expelled. The faction has agreed to take part in the initial stages of the New Anticapitalist Party
New Anticapitalist Party
The New Anticapitalist Party is a French political party founded in February 2009. Its name was originally intended to be temporary; a vote on the name being held at the founding congress on 6–8 February 2009, where NPA won over "Revolutionary Anticapitalist Party" with 53% of the vote.The party ...
set up by the LCR with others, though this may not be a long-term strategy, with one member explaining it as "foot in both camps" strategy.
Unlike in 2004 and 1999 when it ran common lists with the Revolutionary Communist League
Revolutionary Communist League
The Revolutionary Communist League can refer to one of several different parties:*Japan Revolutionary Communist League*Revolutionary Communist League *Revolutionary Communist League...
, LO will run autonomous lists in the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (France)
European elections to elect 72 French Members of the European Parliament were held on Sunday 7 June 2009.Due to the entry of Romania and Bulgaria in the European Union in 2007, the number of seats allocated to France was revised from 78 seats to 72 seats, a loss of 6 seats...
.
Fête de Lutte Ouvrière
Another very public activity of LO is their annual fete which is held in the grounds of a chateau which the organisation purchased for that purpose in 1981. The annual Fête de Lutte Ouvrière is probably the largest public gathering of the revolutionary left in Europe at this point in time.Leadership
Arlette Laguiller
Arlette Yvonne Laguiller is a French Trotskyist politician. Since 1973, she has been the spokeswoman and the best known leader and perennial candidate of the Lutte Ouvrière political party...
being the only party leader appearing in public. Even to party members, some leaders were known only by cadre names. Such measures of secrecy were justified by the possibility that the party may have to enter clandestinity should there be a highly repressive government in place. For similar reasons, marriages and children were (and still are) discouraged.
Bernard Seytre, a member of LO for 20 years, confirmed the "iron discipline which rhythms the life of this Trotskyist organisation, whose responsibles [cadres] do not have the right to have children, lest they be excluded".
Lutte Ouvrière has thus been criticised by political opponents during the 2002 presidential campaign as being a political cult
Political cult
Political cult is a term used to describe some groups that are generally considered to be on the political fringe. Although the majority of groups to which the term "cult" is sometimes applied are religious in nature, some are non-religious and focus either on secular self-improvement or on...
, for example by Daniel Cohn-Bendit
Daniel Cohn-Bendit
Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit is a Franco-German politician, active in both countries. He was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France and he was also known during that time as Dany le Rouge...
, his older brother Gabriel Cohn-Bendit, L'Humanité
L'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...
and Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
.
In part this strict disciplinary attitude has enabled LO to be a very stable organisation in contrast to the instability that they allege characterises so many other left groups. In fact LO is a difficult organisation to actually join and after becoming a member individuals are expected to conform to a code of conduct which is considered old fashioned by some critics.
International relations
LO maintains relations with the following other Trotskyist groups (Internationalist Communist UnionInternationalist Communist Union
The Internationalist Communist Union is an international grouping of Trotskyist political parties, centred on Lutte Ouvrière in France....
):
- Workers' FightWorkers' FightWorkers' Fight has been the name of several Trotskyist groups and publications in Britain.-Organisations:*Workers' Fight is also the name of a group in England linked to the French Lutte Ouvrière that focuses on activity in large factory workplaces, rather than trade union or community-based work...
(UK) - The Spark (United States)Spark (U.S. organization)The Spark group is a US Trotskyist organization. It is aligned internationally with the Lutte Ouvrière tendency.Spark began as a faction within the Spartacist League that was attracted to the French group Voix Ouvrière method of propagandizing in the factories...
- Combat Ouvrier AntillesAntillesThe Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
- Organisation Révolutionnaire des travailleurs HaïtiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
- Union Africaine des Travailleurs Communistes Internationalistes (Africa)
- Sinif Mucadelesi (Turkey)
- Lucha de Clase (Spain)
- L'Internazionale (Italy)
See also
- Arlette LaguillerArlette LaguillerArlette Yvonne Laguiller is a French Trotskyist politician. Since 1973, she has been the spokeswoman and the best known leader and perennial candidate of the Lutte Ouvrière political party...
- Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire
- Parti des TravailleursWorkers' Party (France)The Workers' Party was a French socialist party. It was formed by the Trotskyist Internationalist Communist Party led by Pierre Boussel, better known under his pseudonym Pierre Lambert, together with a number of other socialists with whom they worked in the Force Ouvrière union...