French Far-Left Rising

[Sheilbh]

It's interesting to see how the French left doesn't talk about solidarity or social obligation, but simply uses the language and ideals of a mugger.

They talk a lot about the language of the revolution and I think they're talking in the language of the revolution too.  It was always so explicit about violence.  They're friends of the people

[CountDeMoney]

It's interesting to see how the French left doesn't talk about solidarity or social obligation, but simply uses the language and ideals of a mugger.

They talk a lot about the language of the revolution and I think they're talking in the language of the revolution too.  It was always so explicit about violence.  They're friends of the people

By contrast, our Left are weenies.

We haven't had a positive advocate since the Unabomber. 

[Crazy_Ivan80]

France

Anti-capitalists and Communists
In their own words
Apr 16th 2012, 9:16 by S.P. | PARIS

THE strict rules governing the right to equal airtime for all ten presidential candidates, which have been in place since last week, are based on a commendable principle. But the result, if you watch television or listen to the radio at the moment, gives the impression that France is awash with Communists, anti-capitalists and other revolutionaries.

Three candidates fall loosely into the far-left camp, and therefore between them are allocated nearly a third of all airtime: the Left Front's Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is backed by the Communists; the New Anti-Capitalist Party's Philippe Poutou, a car-factory worker who took over from Olivier Besancenot, the postman who ran in 2007, and Nathalie Artaud, from the Workers' Struggle.

Together, these three get 14%-18% of the vote, according to the latest series of polls, with the vast majority of that going to Mr Mélenchon. To put this figure in perspective, remember that François Bayrou, the centrist candidate, is polling at around just 9%-11%.

You really need to be here to appreciate the sort of discussions that are currently taking place on serious political programmes. For the benefit of those following from afar, here are some excerpts.

Mr Poutou was on the radio last week talking about his plan to reduce the French working week from 35 hours to 32. The idea, explained Mr Poutou patiently, is "to work as little as possible and to earn as much as possible":

We're told that the 35 hour week is a luxury. Well we think it should be reduced.

He then added:
If it was possible to not work at all, we wouldn't be against that.

Mr Poutou sits squarely on the revolutionary far left, which dreams of overthrowing the capitalist system. So does Ms Artaud, who this weekend denounced Mr Mélenchon for being a mere "vote-catcher" for François Hollande. To this pair, Mr Mélenchon, who spent years as a Socialist Senator but is now backed by the Communists, is merely a harder-talking version of the traditional establishment left. The Communist Party, after all, was until ten years ago part of a formal governing alliance with the Socialist Party at national level, under Lionel Jospin, and has hooked up with the party on various lists at regional and local elections. So it is worth listening closely to the man.

Mr Mélenchon's slogan is "Seize power". His television clip ends with the line:
You see, with the will, we can share out the wealth. The money exists. What needs to be done is to make it available to everybody.

Here is a taste of the man in full flow, at a rally in Clermond-Ferrand, to rapturous applause:
Look the rich in the eye, and tell them not "I'm not dangerous" but "I am dangerous": I'm going to empty your pockets!

And here he is explaining in a TV debate the core of his programme:
The number one question is not immigration or insecurity, the number one question in society is the sharing out of wealth...If I'm elected, we will share it out, and those who don't want to share willingly will share by force.

I could go on, but will leave it at that for now. It may help explain why, outside France, with his 75% top tax rate, François Hollande comes across as an outdated, old-style tax-and-spend leftist. But inside the country, he is seen as a woolly moderate who has embraced austerity politics and the Brussels consensus.

yuk, people like that need to be shot. sooner rather than later.

[Neil]

It's interesting to see how the French left doesn't talk about solidarity or social obligation, but simply uses the language and ideals of a mugger.

They talk a lot about the language of the revolution and I think they're talking in the language of the revolution too.  It was always so explicit about violence.  They're friends of the people

No they're not.  They want to hurt people and retard the development of society.

[grumbler]

No they're not.  They want to hurt people and retard the development of society.

Disagree.  They want power and adulation.  They are willing to hurt people and retard the development of society if that's what it takes to get what they want, but they don't consider those elements to be necessities.

[Admiral Yi]

It's interesting to see how the French left doesn't talk about solidarity or social obligation, but simply uses the language and ideals of a mugger.

These guys are thugs, and nothing more.

Even the "from everyone according to his ability" part seems optional.

[Neil]

No they're not.  They want to hurt people and retard the development of society.

Disagree.  They want power and adulation.  They are willing to hurt people and retard the development of society if that's what it takes to get what they want, but they don't consider those elements to be necessities.

I don't think that the power and adulation are the ends, I think that they are means.  The ends are to hurt people that they don't like.