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From The Socialist newspaper, 21 October 2020
Horrific murder in Paris: fight intolerance and racism!
Gauche Révolutionnaire (GR - CWI in France) issued the following statement on 17 October (extracts reproduced here) after the beheading of a teacher outside his school in the Paris region. The teacher had shown controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed, reproduced from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, as part of a lesson on free speech.
The GR statement, produced as a leaflet, was well received on demonstrations around France, as was the GR poster: "Against racism, against fundamentalism. For a fraternal and tolerant society. For socialism!"
The brutal assassination of history teacher Samuel Paty fills us with great sadness and disgust. Whatever we may think of caricatures of religious figures, it is important that freedom of discussion, criticism and expression remain at the heart of teaching and in society. A cartoon can never warrant assassination. However, unfortunately, there are many who stir up hatred and intolerance, whether in government, in the media, or on social networks.
This intolerance is combined with a stifling situation in society since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the arbitrary measures of isolation and repression against those who oppose president Macron's policies.
"It is the republic that is under attack," says education minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer. Such hypocrisy on the part of a minister who continues to support the dismissal of four teachers for helping students in an unfair baccalaureate exam test, or whose ministry ignored for months the cries for help from Christine Renon, head of one Pantin school, who ended up committing suicide.
The great 'republic' of Blanquer is bereft of justice, tolerance and equality. What hypocrisy on the part of people who claim to defend freedom of expression, but take offence and walk out when a student wears a hijab headscarf at a parliamentary meeting on the Covid pandemic's impact on young people. A former minister from Sarkozy's government said: "She is the one who needed to leave the room"!
How hypocritical that this government, which, according to President Macron, wants schools to help create "free citizens", but is destroying conditions in schools by cramming students into overcrowded classes ,and forbidding them to challenge the selection method that excludes thousands of young people from access to higher education.
This government is now trying to sympathise with the education workforce that it spends its time deriding and underpaying.
"They will not pass!" says Macron, explicitly taking up the slogan of the antifascists during the 1930s Spanish revolution. The leader of the far-right National Rally, Marine Le Pen, only had this to add: "We must drive it (terrorism) out of our country by force!"
Undoubtedly, this horrible event will be used as a new justification for the so-called law against 'separatism', which will reinforce discriminatory measures against Muslims in general.
As always, terrorists play into the hands of the ruling class, and this will rebound against the vast majority of Muslims.
We have had enough of people in government and in the media throwing fuel on the fire by constantly attacking Muslims, and then exploit the pain of the victims to make Islamophobic attacks.
We have had enough of this government that despises students and education workers, and then uses their sorrow as an opportunity to pretend that everything will be done to protect them, when everything is being done to destroy working and studying conditions.
We are fighting for teachers to have a maximum of 20 students per class - enough to be able to conduct classes and debates and discussions with the students. But this will require a break with Macron's politics.
The real separatism is that which condemns millions of people to poverty and low wages, while the billionaires and capitalists get richer and richer.
It is the basis of intolerance and racism, among ever-growing inequalities, while public services are constantly being run down by the policies of Macron and others.
We have to fight for a different society - one where the economy will be publicly owned and where public services (health, education, etc) will be managed by the workers in these sectors, democratically, in conjunction with the population.
It is by fighting for such a democratic society - socialism - that we will eradicate intolerance and racism, which are used to divide workers, young people and the majority of the population against each other, instead of fighting our real common adversary: the ultra-rich and the governments which are at their service.
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
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In The Socialist 21 October 2020:
Lockdown
Health before profit - Work or full pay
Wales 'firebreak' lockdown fails to protect workers
Liverpool lockdown: suspicion and anger
Newcastle lockdown: stress and breakdowns
Leicester lockdown: disillusionment and anger
Unison
Why the Socialist Party is backing Hugo Pierre for Unison general secretary
International
Nigeria protests: 'This movement needs to fight the whole rotten capitalist system'
Horrific murder in Paris: fight intolerance and racism!
South Africa: Mass day of action for permanent jobs and a living wage
News
Tories reduce winter homeless funding: reverse the cuts,use the empty homes!
World capitalism's terrified strategists abandon austerity - for now
Coronavirus
Test and Trace U-turn on stopping local case reporting
Oxbridge gets private Covid tests: pool resources to test us all!
Millennials disillusioned with 'democracy'
Workplace
RMT: Programme to fight redundancies and cuts
Action on Covid transmission in schools now
FCC dismiss Unison activist Tony Smith
Optare workers strike over pay broken 'promise'
Solidarity with Deliveroo Couriers in York
Campaigns
Students: Give us our money back
Fight for your future at the online rally
Southampton: Coxford community condemns racist attack
Socialism 2020: Will you help our finance appeal?
Selling the Socialist: increase in NHS anger
Truth about Zane: Cover-up Tories crack
Kent: Chaotic privatised asylum process
Teignmouth hospital closure threat ... again!
Readers' opinion
Books that inspired me: For Whom the Bell Tolls
Beware the billionaires bearing gifts
Disabled students let down by "rotten education system"
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