WILL, THE FRENCH WORKERS ACT? BUT WORKERS CAN DEFEAT REACTION

From a Correspondent :

In preceding articles we have traced the historical . forces which himself not a Trascist, could come to power as a fore- produced the’ possibility: that de Gaulle;

runner of fascism.

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The same prolonged political instability, the same-economic boom on rotten foundations, have. produced the mighty force of the French working class, which has not yet made: its voice heard.

Many of the British Left fatalistically. accepted de Gaulle, © remembering Hitler’s apparently unopposed march to power, and hoping against hope for a miracle.

Maybe after all he will prove to-be the ‘lesser evil’; maybe he will keep. fascism. out and leave the unions alone.

This is the Kast of four articles which John Archer has contributed to the debate on de Gaulle’s coming to power. Previous articles appeared.on July 12: (p. 188), August 2 (p. 196) and August 9 (pp. 201-2).

-PII LISI NININENININE INNIS PDN INGA III INI III IPP DIDS De Gautle’s position is precarious. because his is a régime of unresolved crisis.

So far-the workers have retreated before him, their majority _ paralysed by. the leadership of the Communist: Party and the CGT.

What little action the workers have taken this summer has _been misdirected and futile. The Communist Party leaders . have neglected a chance to wipe out the wretched remnants of the Socialist Party, to start to.mobilize the workers for. struggle and through them to win the leadership of the ‘poor peasants and artisans.

Major springs remain unimpaired.

Sending workers. unarmed. to ‘watch out’. for paratroopers when they ought to have been forming united front committees to wage an. anti-Gaullist genera] strike—-this simply reinforced the prevailing cynicism.

Yet despite these set-backs the major springs of working-class. strength remain unimpaired, though as yet untapped. ° What are'the grounds for optimism? “a :

225.