FRANCE IN COMMON INVITATION TO DRAFT A PROJECT FOR HUMAN EMANCIPATION
French communist party Published on 20th may 2015
INVITATION TO DRAFT A PROJECT FOR HUMAN EMANCIPATION This text is an invitation to public debate. It was drafted by the National Committee of the French Communist Party and published on May 20th 2015 on the event of the launch of the "national project convention", which will be held by the Party in the spring of 2016. It is neither exhaustive nor definitive. It is a point of departure and not a final destination. The thoughts on new ways forward for emancipation and the work plans for priority action as well as the emergency measure proposed herein are open to all contributions and meant to be enriched and more clearly defined throughout the year to come.
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CONTENTS INVITATION TO DRAFT A PROJECT FOR HUMAN EMANCIPATION............. 4
Together we are both strength and hope................................................................ 4 Lift the barriers‌............................................................................................................... 4 ‌ and build a broad people's front and a bold, efficient left........................... 5 Social emancipation and the environmental challenge: it is time to make choices for civilisation.................................................................................. 6
For a society of emancipation...................................................................................... 6 To make liberty, equality and solidarity our cornerstones............................... 7 To move forward: blazing a new path...................................................................... 8
Employment for all must be given national focus....................................... 8
Towards a new mode of social and environmental development........ 8
End the dictatorship of financial markets........................................................ 10
Emancipation of workers as the driving force of social transformation............................................................................................................ 10
Achieve equality between women and men in the 21st century............ 11
At the heart of democratic change: culture..................................................... 11
Meeting the climate challenge............................................................................. 12
Democracy: a Republic for all.............................................................................. 12
A nation of liberty and equality........................................................................... 13
Urban and rural: a new vision of regions......................................................... 13
Rebuilding Europe..................................................................................................... 14
Build a world of peace and solidarity............................................................... 15
As a conclusion ... an invitation to join the commons................................. 15
PROPOSALS FOR AN ACTION PROGRAMME.................................................. 16
15 priority work projects................................................................................................. 16 15 emergency measures................................................................................................. 22
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TOGETHER WE ARE BOTH STRENGTH AND HOPE... Women, men, the potentials and powers exist to open another path forward, a path away from the trap of the endless crisis that immobilises France, Europe and the world, a trap set by global capitalism. We are not powerless to change the world, to pull France and Europe out of the crisis trap, contrary to the message that the monopolistic media hammer out day after day. Progressive forces exist, there are many on the left, but they are too often isolated, smothered, destabilised. We want to unite these forces, for together they pave the way to the future. This text is an invitation to build a project for human emancipation together, to unite to find new hope. It is an offer to open the debate on a new society, and the main lines of an action programme that could launch France on this path towards emancipation. It is a starting point to build confidence, stimulate the desire to participate in this collective work. It is a call for the mobilisation of minds and wills to join together to overcome obstacles. Initially, we provide analyses, identify the stakes and challenges to be met; then, because we hope to serve the cause of mobilisation as quickly as possible, we suggest 15 work projects that we feel to be priorities, and 15 emergency measures to start moving out of the austerity trap and free ourselves from the dogma of neo-liberalism. Ten years ago, the French made the right decision: many forces said NO to the further liberalisation of Europe by rejecting the European Constitutional Treaty. The voters’ voices were ignored. Today, more than ever, a future without austerity is needed. Progress in France, which some seek to obstruct, is still alive. The forces of progress condemn the powers of finance and respect the value of work, which we refuse to see devalued and made precarious. We understand that a new production model must be invented. We know that we have only one planet and we must protect it. We support marriage equality, oppose the return of the death penalty. We stand with the people who marched on January 11th, sad but determined to defend peaceful coexistence and the right of free speech. The women and men who make up France know that it is not an entity frozen in time, but a rich melting pot of cultures and knowledge. Yes, this France exists! Today we write a new page of history that includes joint action and unity. We are part of this France, sharing the same demands and hopes. LIFT THE BARRIERS… A majority of the people of France are convinced that the world we live in, and our society as it is organised today are not sustainable; change must come. But they wonder if change is possible: «Can we really have an impact on the future in the face of globalisation, the power of finance, the abandonment of governments?» Often, proposals for change, while they are welcome, are seen as utopian and unrealistic. We often hear: «That would be great, but the others are too powerful», or «Your proposals are good, but not feasible». THIS IS THE HEART OF AN INTENSE IDEOLOGICAL BATTLE. Globalised capitalism and its strategies of internationalisation, delocalisation, and organised tax evasion are presented as the natural way of things; any change must be seen as out of reach. This feeling of powerlessness is fostered by the omnipotence and impunity of the financial world and the big bosses who have been given free reign. The current European Union appears to be an impenetrable fortress; the failures of the left in France and socialism in Eastern Europe have fed into a defeatist mindset. The responsibility of François Hollande and his administration is clear in this regard. This policy of resignation leads down a dangerous impasse. The world we are supposed to accept docilely is not sustainable, but leads only to disaster and catastrophe. A «viable» future for humanity obviously requires an alternative, a different way of life, of work, of trade.
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Capitalism’s crisis does not spell the end of History, although the world it has built cannot endure. We are living through the end of a cycle that requires that we invent new solution. There is too much inequality, too much poverty, too much pollution, and too much competition. All of this fuels the dangerous rise of extreme right movements that threaten the very basis of our societies. Change is inevitable. And to the question: «Is it really possible to shift change towards the path of progress, emancipation and justice?» our answer is a resounding «Yes»! We can no longer leave 1% of the population free to limitlessly accumulate wealth while the other 99% are stuck with austerity. The only tools for fighting back: democracy and the power of the people. Bringing together all available forces, setting them in motion collectively, and creating cooperation – this can bring about change. Millions of women and men are acting already, fighting back in trade unions and associations. Hidden capacities are now revealed: strengths, skills, initiatives, creative thinking. There is an enormous potential among our citizens. France has a special role to play as the world’s six leading economic power, the second on the European scale. At other times in our past, we have shown Europe and the world the path to Republican rule and the path to social progress. Clearly, France is home to great powers that can bear this change forward. Our country has experienced transformative moments in the past: moments and events that stand outside of neo-liberal blueprints. Some examples include Social Security, public services, associations, co-operatives, «fab-labs» … there is great potential. Resistance springs up and flourishes throughout the world. The Latin American continent has developed political experiences based on ideas of progress and justice. All around the world, resistance is growing: in Greece, Japan, and South Africa; in many countries around the world people are fighting for their dignity. … AND BUILD A BROAD PEOPLE’S FRONT AND A BOLD, EFFICIENT LEFT Opening a perspective for genuine progressive change within a process of advancement and disruption, work to change the world and bring about change now, this is what we mean by our motto, «humans first». By uniting, millions of women and men with various points of view, from or close to different political organisations, and with unique life experiences, can push through the changes that they feel to be essential for a better world. Our fellow citizens say that «political authorities don’t care what people like us think». This is true. We want to build another way of exercising political authority. Let us work on finding solutions together and laying out the pathways that will help us reach our goals. Here is our approach: help people renew their confidence in their own ideas and wishes, regenerate self-esteem and appreciation of others, ensure that one’s opinions are heard and taken into account, listen to others to broaden our perspectives. The Hollande-Valls administration elected in 2012 has turned its back on commitments made to voters. It has been an ardent supporter of transformations that meet the needs of the financial dictators and is often one step ahead of the big bosses when it comes to satisfying their greed. The regression of employees’ rights under the terms of the «Pacte de stabilité», the counter-reform of local authorities, the labour-law eviscerating Macron Law – these measures and many others are the illustration of France as a country that is increasingly at the service of capitalism. This administration would like to do away with the left as a source of progressive social transformation. The right dreams of a rapid rise and the opportunity to further aggravate the situation. The National Front feeds on the turmoil and elicits hatred and division. All of these elements lead to confusion, shock and anger. We say no to the terrible scenario that is unfolding: failure of the socialist government, possible victory for the right and National Front. Therefore we are mobilising all of our forces to develop joint efforts. Our project, rooted in the France in common / #5
notion of unity, says loud and proud: «No, there is not only one possible world! Citizens of France, of the world, we have a choice! We can create a new world and live in it!» No effort will be spared to debate and build with all people – from the Left Front, socialists, greens and republicans, whether members of political parties or not – people who, like us, are convinced that today’s policies lead us into a brick wall. We open the door to a re-invented left, an expanded Left Front, and the multiplication of meetings that can give momentum to hope and a breath of fresh air to dreams of a new project for emancipation. . SOCIAL EMANCIPATION AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE: IT IS TIME TO MAKE CHOICES FOR CIVILISATION To preserve the planet and humankind, it is time to make choices for civilisation. Social emancipation and meeting the environmental challenge are enduringly linked. The future of the planet and of its inhabitants are one and the same; both strive towards a single destiny, both are in a state of emergency. The new edifice of emancipation that we seek to build is based on these two pillars and a single ideology: humans before profit. In their mad race for instant profit, capitalists inflict irreparable damage on ecosystems that need long periods of time to recover. Their productivist system preys on natural resources and belittles the dignity and sovereignty of people. Driven by greed, capitalists drown us in products that are no sooner on the market than they are obsolete, while restricting the production of useful goods with lower profit margins (from generic medicines to the steel produced by the Florange plant). The invention of «green growth» by multinationals is a futile pretext that cannot hide their inability to resolve the crisis they created. The pollution of the soil, the seas, the rivers, the atmosphere and the damage to biodiversity have reached devastating levels and compromised future generations. Each year we reach new record-high temperatures around the world. The effects of global warming – no longer in question – are already perceptible. During the UN international conference in Paris at the end of 2015 (COP 21), all efforts must be deployed to shake world leaders out of their torpor. We wish to contribute with hundred of thousands of citizens organising around the world, thinking about new modes of development and an energy transition that meets the human needs of our time. Our planet is part of the commons. Preserving it is the successful mark of joining the goals of sustainable, shared development and environmental protection. It unites hope for justice and solidarity with the feminist struggle for equality. A sustainable world also calls for the liberation of workers on the job, making knowledge available to all and more generally eliminating inequalities and giving each person the means to understand the world in order to transform it. FOR A SOCIETY OF EMANCIPATION In struggles, in analysis and action within institutions, our project seeks to free the men and women of our country and the entire planet from all forms of domination, all social and economic constraints, alienation and prejudice that erect barriers to the development of people’s capacity to act and make decisions. Our project has the driving force of feminism as a means to achieve equality between men and women in public and private life. This is what we call human emancipation. To reach this goal, we contribute to the studies and debates on this idea and to the identification of reference points so that we can define the meaning of a society of emancipation together, as well as what we call «new generation communism».
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WHAT ARE THE MAJOR POINTS? • A new mode of production and consumption that is sparing of natural resources, creates new jobs that will push back and eventually eliminate unemployment, free up work and creative activities to genuinely respond to human needs; • A sharing society where design, innovation and creation are socialised more and more; • A society where equality between women and men is a driving force, in public and private life; • A society where the production of goods and services is re-localised and decentralised in the spirit of sustainability and recycling; • Control over money, banks; currency and credit is a major condition for success. TO MAKE LIBERTY, EQUALITY AND SOLIDARITY OUR CORNERSTONES We suggest the renewal and reinforcement of the values upon which our nation is founded, as well as new powers for citizens in France, Europe and the world. Liberty to release human potential. Equality to drive back all forms of domination: social, sexist, ethnic and cultural. Solidarity to stand against exploitation at the workplace, in the family, everywhere goods are produced and consumed, in daily life, in housing and leisure, in space and time, regarding nature and natural resources. Human fraternity and sharing to fight against alienation of all kinds: whether linked to fundamentalism, racism, xenophobia and the fear of others, sexism and prejudice against members of the LGBT community. At the same time, push back the destructive productivism of capitalism with its overproduction that encourages wanton consumerism, blocking individual aspirations for autonomy. Enough of powers confiscated by the few! Enough of the office of the president dominating all policy issues! Equal rights – not egalitarianism or the mirage of equal opportunity – must promote human potential through citizen appropriation of knowledge, art and culture and the social control of digital technologies. The continuous development of the inalienable rights of the individual must become a major principle, along with fulfilment and well being for all, no matter their sex, sexual orientation, origins, opinions, convictions, regional origins, name or colour. A true citizen revolution must be a renewal of democracy and a re-foundation of the Republic to enable each and every person to participate in the exercise of power on the local scale, at the site of residence, in municipal bodies … and up through the national and European levels. The aspiration of every person to have a liberated relationship with work, space and time is a real political goal and the appropriation of knowledge by all becomes a central issue, cutting through all aspects of policy. Knowledge is power, and to bring inequality to a halt, it is necessary that every person have the means to understand the world in order to transform it. This is a new project for emancipation where human values are more important that profits, and we call for its co-construction. At the same time, we call for a re-invention of the left, a broadening of the Left Front and work on uniting many different partners to replenish hope and give perspective to this motivating project.
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TO MOVE FORWARD: BLAZING A NEW PATH EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL MUST BE GIVEN NATIONAL FOCUS Neo-liberal dogma has controlled the economic policies of governments for decades. The obsession with lowering the «cost of work» (wages + social contributions) overwhelms our leaders. All is wrapped up in increasing competitiveness, lowering public and social spending or reducing deficits and public debt. This coherence feeds into catastrophes. We need to face up to it by offering new forms of opposition. • •We say: lower the cost of capital in the name of social efficiency, rather than lowering the «cost» of work as the big bosses suggest in the name of competitiveness. • •We say: bring stability to employment conditions, training and wages; no more public money spent to benefit corporations without confirmed, valued counterparts that rollback unstable, short-term employment contracts. • •We say: develop public services and Social Security with regard to a new European social model for progress, against the so-called «stability pact» and austerity. • •We say: mobilisation of the money created by the European Central Bank (ECB): creation of a Social Fund for solidarity and environmental protection; new selective credit measures to foster job creation; training and environmental progress; a decentralised public financial hub that would not be designed to provide continued support to financial markets. The right to employment for all as well as remunerated life-long learning programmes for all should be a national priority. It is time to push back the all-powerful private shareholders and guide the banking system to financing of investments for jobs, qualifications, wages and environmental protection. Let us grant new rights to workers and citizens, so that they may act in the political and business arena! And we need to redevelop an extensive public continuing education service on a national scale in order to anticipate future needs and develop new sectors of employment linked to the information revolution and the energy transition. In all aspects of life, this new social contract shall be based on mutualisation, cooperation and sharing rather than competition; the Republic of the people, by the people and for the people, rather than a nation that excludes; commons, not privatisation; autonomy and a promise of a future for young people, rather than the bleak prospect of poorly paid temporary work; sustainable human development, rather than capitalist productivism that leads to waste; public services, rather than the unbridled commdification of everything. «Sharing» is the base line and the guiding light for achieving a society where people can live together in peace and harmony. Let’s change the software: begin with common needs, mobilise knowledge, explore possibilities. This is the path we must take, and it is the best way forward. TOWARDS A NEW MODE OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENT Because they are inextricably tied together, we believe that the interests of our planet and those of the immense majority of our people deserve equal priority. By beginning with needs, we can produce goods and services that are useful and sustainable; we can rid ourselves of planned obsolescence; produce with less energy; be more sparing with raw materials; focus on environmental protection. The role of science, technical processes and research, knowledge and its appropriation at the France in common / #8
highest level are considerations that must be taken into account if we are to emerge from the crisis and face up to the great challenges of today and tomorrow. Higher education and research have potential that must be freed from the logic of competition in order to be fully deployed, in particular through the development of employment in the science sector or cooperative undertakings (such as the CERN). It will also be important to support and sustain the citizens’ debates on the role of science, technology and research in society. We cannot stand by and leave future generations a planet that has been devastated by the self-serving appetite of capitalists. We fully engage with the awareness of environmental issues on a planetary level, and see a serious failure of democracy in this regard, which we shall work to overcome. The quality of the air has become critical in regard to public health concerns. This is the case in large urban areas and beyond. The development of quality public transportation, at low cost and with good coverage, as well as the development of rail and waterway freight transport, must be given priority; urban sprawl needs to be addressed. Water is a common good for all humankind. Management of this resource must be removed from the grasp of multinationals and remain the prerogative of municipal authorities. A national public service, decentralized, should be created to assist local authorities. Faced with policies that have shut down our industries, we demand new, bold industrial policies that are adapted to today’s realities. Industry must serve regional development and respect the environment, answer the challenges of the energy transition, or participate in improved health care. Without tractors, there would be no farming; without catenaries, tucks and satellites, there would be no transportation; without chemical industries, there would be no health care. Unless we rethink industry, we will not be able to carry out the environmental transformation. We must not fall prey to narrow, backward-looking ideas, we should make industry and ecology part of the same battle: produce better, produce to meet the needs of all using high standards of quality and sustainability, favouring long term human development over the short term rush for profits. Food safety and security is an important issue for our world. New development modes mean producing more and better when our planet is home to 9 to 10 billion human beings by 2050. Our concept of growth calls for development that includes quality food, healthy and nutritious, available to all, supplied locally. This approach, which targets useful production and wise use of resources rather than unbridled financial business: • Is a call to initiate deep innovation in the organisation of society and the very concept of production: recycling as much as possible, eliminating disposable goods and imagining an economy based on things that can be repaired and recovered; • Is a call to set up large-scale training programmes, investments and new concepts for product value, meeting real needs and respecting the environment and recycling; • Is a call to innovate in all sectors, create thousands of jobs and develop research at an unprecedented level. Success will be achieved by granting employees the right of oversight on strategy and management. Success will be achieved through new criteria of ownership, making sharing and cooperation more important than competition, which is now the main driving force. It is also a call to reinforce the role and function of democratic, modern public services and the social safety net.
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END THE DICTATORSHIP OF FINANCIAL MARKETS To finance human development, it is necessary to cut back the cost of capital. The truth is that it is bank interest rates, fees and dividends that sink business accounts: 309 billion euro with dividends and other financial revenue, among the highest in the European Union. It is not what big bosses refer to as «the cost of work» – 145 billion euro of social charges paid by employers (and which is invested usefully in health care or ends up as consumer spending) – as «an obstacle to competitiveness». The word compétitivité is new to the French language, but the idea is an old one, and has become the alpha and the omega to keep workers down and financial profits up. But we are not powerless to stand up to the world’s huge financial groups and the rule of money. Billions exist to meet today’s challenges, but the money is locked in the grip of a handful of profiteers. Those who believe in money for money’s sake – and the political forces that support them – make huge efforts to impose their ides: they argue that new technologies are responsible for lay-offs, and that globalised capitalism is an irreversible phenomenon where competitiveness is the golden rule... And yet, the information revolution opens the door to new concepts of production, work, and exchange; productivity has increased considerably in the past decades, but workers have not benefitted from higher wages or shorter workdays. This is because of the way that profits are used: the priority is to increase the financial yield of capital, to destroy competitors on the markets. The huge savings in work time that have been made possible by digital technologies serve first of all to reduce jobs and employment, which leads to lower purchasing power with regard to the goods that are produced. Austerity policies thus feed into a vicious cycle that winds up in depression. On the contrary, reducing workers’ hours would enable people to spend more time, throughout their working lives, pursuing training and education as well as cultural activities, developing their capacities, participating in family and social life – making all society more vibrant and lively. So-called supply-side policies lead to accumulation of considerable material and financial capital at the risk of creating new boom-and-bust cycles. Deep fiscal reforms are necessary. They should incite businesses to finance investments that create jobs and provide remunerated opportunities for training; there should be penalties for the distribution of profits in the form of dividends, for uses that work against employment and real growth or that damage the environment. Other necessary measures, that are fair and efficient include: decentralised local taxes on corporate capital; low rates of contribution on financial assets; reform of the tax scale for the solidarity wealth tax (ISF); reform of income tax to make it more progressive; zero-rated VAT on basic consumer needs. In fact, it is clear that all of these decisions are political. It is possible to contest policy decisions as well as the incredible concentration of wealth that is detrimental to society. EMANCIPATION OF WORKERS AS THE DRIVING FORCE OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION Work should not be experienced as a constraint, viewed with contempt and robbed of it value! The values of the Republic cannot be left outside the factory gates or the office door. Woman and men who work and create wealth should be able to take their future in hand. By pooling their collective intelligence, they can be the actors of social transformation. The organisation of work can no longer be left to methods offices and human resources managers who seek to set employees in competition with each other at all times. Workers and employees should have a say in how work is organised, should be able to find meaning in their work and free their creativity as well as increase their skills and know-how in the France in common / #10
context of a collective, cooperative organisation. It is time to put an end to professional discrimination between women and men, whereby roles and assignments in the workplace are determined by sex, leading to lower wages and poorer conditions. It is time to upgrade trades and occupations, especially in sectors that mainly employ women. Business can no longer be the last bastion of monarchy by divine law, where shareholders and managers act alone when making decisions that affect the future of employees and regions, and act with one thing on their minds: the amount of dividends they will receive and the worth of their shares. Business is just one mode of organisation of the human community for the purposes of collective creation. It is not the property of those who put up capital. It is past time to create a legal status that finally allows for power to be shared within the organisation, as is already the case with businesses operating within the social and solidarity-based economy. ACHIEVE EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY Every day, the movements that women have led to take back power in the workplace, at home and in the public sphere liberate new forces. We must take strength from them to overthrow patriarchal domination once and for all. We call for a vast liberation movement; an end to violence against women; the end of gender stereotypes; individuals’ control over their own bodies; an end to subordination of women in private and public life. AT THE HEART OF DEMOCRATIC CHANGE: CULTURE We believe that society cannot exist without sharing knowledge and culture and without a considerable effort to teach people about the world and to open their minds to creative work. Capitalism divides, splits, isolates, fragments: let us build together, in common, in cooperation. Never before have we been so in need of education and creativity, but the obstinate refusal to fund them is leading society straight into a brick wall. Let us put this regressive contradiction behind us and place culture and education at the centre of our struggle for rights. By sharing powers between the central and local authorities, we can guarantee access to culture for all, at the highest level of artistic achievement: high culture for all. By creating a public Internet service, we can free up knowledge, works and ideas to be shared. By promoting new forms of production, creation and distribution of art in all of its diversity, we will put culture back at the heart of the process for change. We can reach this goal through cultural policies, school programmes and educational practices, as well as through popular education and the work of associations. Given the importance of this issue, school programmes and practices must be re-evaluated, to build a high quality shared culture and to give all youth the means to take ownership. We must reinforce teacher training, both initial and continuing, to include arts, sport, technical and professional modules. Socialisation of art, development of critical thinking, work to bring art and popular education together, support to creative artists and activists for cultural and artistic teaching at school, in local neighbourhoods, at the workplace: these actions would give meaning to the immense potential for emancipation that culture provides. This will help improve relations within and among our communities, on the strength of democratic values, the recognition and sharing of a diversity of cultures in all regions.
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MEETING THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE The most urgent of all of our emergencies is to limit global warming to a maximum 2°C. The battle has begun and more citizens must join in so that the «Paris Climat 2015» agreement will be a good one. The obstacles presented by rich and industrialised countries must be overcome. These countries must make financial commitments that meet their promises given at the Copenhagen summit. They must transfer technologies and patents to the countries of the south in order to enable access to progress and so that the developing world can avoid making the mistakes that rich countries have made. This is the sense of the political and citizens’ campaign that we have begun with political, social, trade union and associative groups in France, Europe and the world. Any delay in regard to this serious problem would be detrimental to humankind. Consuming less for the same needs and saving energy in housing and transport are essential and will create jobs. It is urgent to reduce progressively, but massively, the use of hydrocarbon resources (oil, coal, gas...) that produce greenhouse gas emissions which lead to environmental catastrophes (drought, rising sea levels, melting glaciers…), the consequences of which are unpredictable and may result in chaos. Populations are forced to move. «Climate refugees» are already in the millions. The debate on the energy transition is underway. It must be taken up around the planet, with force. We must satisfy the real energy needs of all people at the lowest possible price. In the context of expanding energy needs around the world, we favour an energy mix, 100 % public, non-CO2 emitting, including renewables (hydraulic, geothermic, marine, thermo-electric and photovoltaic solar, etc.) and nuclear energy (for which international safety standards must be defined). This blocks the path to the policies of deregulation and privatisation encouraged by European and other neo-liberal nations. A new agricultural model, with decent earnings for workers, must promote the valorisation, processing and sale of farm goods locally, close to consumers. On all levels, agricultural and food policies must take into account production planning, ownership of market regulation and the environmental transition of agriculture, encourage local networks and organic farming. DEMOCRACY: A REPUBLIC FOR ALL Our political and institutional systems and our system of representation suffer from the absence of citizen participation in decision-making. Indeed the situation is such that we can ask: are we still in a democracy? The Republic is in a bad way, and political life is in the straightjacket of a presidential monarchy. Local administrations, where citizens are closest to the government, are undermined by current policies. And yet, the aspiration to participate is intact: participatory citizens movements are springing up around the country and looking for new ways forward. The new surge of democracy that we are advancing is also an appeal for access to knowledge so that all citizens can take part in governance. A new era of citizenship will open with a new phase of democracy in school, an extension of compulsory years of schooling to give future citizens the time to acquire the knowledge necessary to take their future in hand. This also calls for a broad movement of greater democracy in media, which are now concentrated in the hands of a few powerful players. Media independence and plurality must be ensured. It is time to initiate a popular re-appropriation of media outlets by giving journalists veto rights over the nomination of chief editors and by bringing employees on to the board of directors. Public audiovisual services must be supported in their mission and their means. France in common / #12
We need to move beyond the presidential regime; to empower citizens in the political sphere and in the work place; to provide dynamic support for associations and modern popular education programmes; to enhance parliamentary democracy though proportional voting, gender parity, the end of simultaneous multiple mandates, legal status for elected representatives; to reform the construction and the workings of Europe. This requires a process to create the 6th Republic – social, democratic, citizen-centric, with equal representation. A NATION OF LIBERTY AND EQUALITY Inequality undermines our society. The colour of one’s skin, religious affiliation and sexual preference should not be a problem in a peaceful society. And yet, discrimination, fear and bias exist. Some would have us catalogued, locked into a single identity and set against one another. This must stop. Let us refuse the stolid old image of a so-called national identity that boxes people into ethnic, cultural and religious categories. The French nation that we want to live in is open, built on the principle of equality for all. Let us move forward on the secular path, for this way lays freedom of conscience and equality among citizens – notwithstanding right wing and far-right manipulation of public opinion in this regard. We support the principle of secularism based on shared culture where «others» are our brothers and sisters, with equal dignity and in acceptance of our differences. We must reaffirm these inalienable values: yes, liberty is a universal right and it goes hand and hand with equality for all. We can never fail to defend, recognise and expand individual freedoms, in particular freedom of expression, of religion, of political and trade union membership, as well as the freedom to dispose of one’s property and the freedom of enterprise. Equality should in no way be confused with egalitarianism, which disallows the right to difference. It is inseparable from freedom of choice and equal rights. Social justice cannot be limited to equal opportunity. It presupposes the means for equal freedom for individuals in their choices and lifestyles. This implies the recognition of social rights above and beyond individual and political rights: the right to work, the right to health, to housing, to education, culture, freedom of movement… which can be guaranteed by the development of public services. The fight against racism is one of the essential conditions for moving forward with change. The issue of class struggle is raised, as division and competition feed despair and rejection. But while capital/work continues to dominate societal structures around the world, patriarchy cuts across all class divisions. This is why feminism is a vector for any transformation. Basically, we seek to achieve and exercise rights in a common effort to move all of society forward. URBAN AND RURAL: A NEW VISION OF REGIONS It is urgent that we reconsider our regions, the city of tomorrow and the future of rural life. The withdrawal of public planning and development policies, the setting of regions against each other in competition, unequal economic development, the extinction of public services, and successive institutional reforms have deeply damaged the regional cohesion of our country. Tomorrow, 80% of the population will live in cities; urban areas are the very core of inequality and no longer meet the needs of their inhabitants. The housing crisis is severe, and every year 100,000 French people are forced to leave city centres where they can no longer afford to live. The most vulnerable are shunted off to peripheral zones, relegated to underprivileged areas. It is time to rethink the concept of the «new city», a sustainable, multifunctional city based
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on a socially mixed population where all can enjoy the benefits of city life. A better balance among different zones requires true solidarity and the reinforcement of financial equalisation as well as the «SRU» law on solidarity and urban renewal, with a new plan for urban renovation, investment in public services, especially in transportation, and funding for city policy objectives. Building tomorrow’s city also means revising the relationship between urban areas and the rest of the country. Unlike the current policy, which favours the emergence of hyper-centralised metropolises and business clusters that are self-contained and push other zones off to the margins of the economy, we seek a new mode of development, more horizontal and homogenous. In this plan, rural areas are sustained. New investment in rural regions, focused on sustainable agriculture, crafts, and development of know-how, associated with a transport and public service network will make these areas attractive anew. This new ambition for planning and development is joined with high expectations for democracy. Respect for different regions and zones goes hand in hand with the sovereignty of citizens. Unlike recent institutional reforms that seek to push citizens away from decision-making powers, we believe that modern democracy calls for grass-roots administration, in particular by maintaining the administrative unit of the commune and encouraging cooperation among different administrative levels: communes, departments and regions. The Republic we choose is indivisible and decentralised. Each citizen, whatever his or her place of residence, must fully enjoy his democratic right to take part in public debate. We must halt the current trend of «technocratisation» of public life by returning power to local regions and citizens. REBUILDING EUROPE What is true for France is true for Europe. Currently, the construction of Europe is an example of denial of democracy. People vote on referenda: leaders ignore them. The Greek people seek to define their future by turning away from endless austerity measures: European leaders seek to crush them. Enough is enough! We believe that another Europe is possible: a space for cooperation and solidarity against neo-liberal policies. And we are not alone. The victory of Syriza in Greece is a signal to the rest of Europe. As it stands now, the EU refuses all opposition, all resistance to the neo-liberal model. When the Eurogroup is forced to accept the roadmap of the government of Alexis Tsipras – tax wealth, fight corruption, fight tax fraud, raise minimum wage, initiate a resolution to the humanitarian crisis – it will not be THE last big victory over capitalist rule: the fight is far from over. But there is light at the end of the tunnel that leads away from market domination. Other battlefronts are open in the European Union. They are battles for solutions to the major crisis that is undermining Europe. We need to intensify the struggle. We say: yes to a union of sovereign nations and people, free and associated! On the scale of Europe and the world, we want to push for cooperation against the dogma of commodification and the free circulation of capital. If Europe is to be a major player on the international stage, in particular with regard to the environmental transition, than partnership and sharing are necessary. With concrete goals: a European fund for social development that would use the money created by the European Central Bank (ECB) to finance a boost in public services, rather than feed into financial profits; the recovery of the power to create money by the European central banks system in order to encourage employment, undertake the social and ecological transformation, and industrial recovery; European cultural creation; assume Europe’s major role in keeping peace around the world. These are fundamental issues that we want to act upon. Unlike François Hollande and his defeatist attitude, we strive for a France that takes the initiative to launch great projects for France in common / #14
social recovery. We are not alone in Europe to propose this project and its contents. All of the activity of the Party of the European Left seeks to unite progressive forces in order to bring about a new balance of powers in the face of the neo-liberal consensus serving capitalism. We are working to create progressive fronts, to deepen our cooperative efforts, to create a genuine European social and political front while encouraging popular intervention such as the European Forum for Alternatives. BUILD A WORLD OF PEACE AND SOLIDARITY The picture of the world today is disturbing: tensions, conflicts, crises; military «solutions» instead of diplomacy. Commodification has become the economic model organising the world. «Free and fair competition», the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – all is organised to block solutions to the system’s crises, and in the same way to block remedies for the serious issue of global warming. With a weakened United Nations (UN), the members of the G7, G20 and so forth claim exorbitant powers over the ways of the world. Is this the model that the world’s inhabitants want? Is this how we want to live? Is this how we will find answers to the trials that befall the poorest of the poor – hunger, malnutrition, epidemics, underdevelopment? Is this how we will ensure the future of the planet earth, our common good? Is this how we will face the great challenge of energy needs, natural resources and climate change? And we must ask the question: can we have an impact on events? Are not the powerful so powerful that it is useless to fight against them and change the course of events? We believe that the world’s business is citizens’ business. Interaction is ubiquitous: the Ukrainian conflict and gas supply; the wars in Libya and Iraq and the spread of terrorist attacks; the economic and price war. We are all concerned. The world is one and we are of the world. Indeed, despite the difficulties, people are standing up and fighting back, from the Tunisian spring to the resistance in Kobani, and we see women on the front lines every time. France can and must have a major role to play to promote peace and diplomacy, not war; to use our veto power at the UN; to mobilise our diplomatic network; to work to make international institutions fair, respectful of nations and people, acting in the service of human needs. Yes, France should speak out and not ride the coattails of the United States and NATO. We should refuse the division of the world into blocs and lead initiatives for nuclear disarmament, against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that was negotiated behind our backs. We should actively work to settle conflicts and sovereign debt. To this end, we must consider what effective instruments can be used to place power in the hands of the parliament and the people and not only those of the president of the French Republic. It is essential that these major issues become questions for debate within all of society. AS A CONCLUSION ... AN INVITATION TO JOIN THE COMMONS Putting people at the heart of matters is not an impossible dream, but a necessity This initial phase of work is an invitation. We express – in relatively few words – who we are and what we seek. This work is the outcome of a more significant overall effort: commissions, work groups, hearings, and many publications that we would be happy to share with you. We submit these contributions to the public debate for consideration and enrichment. We hope that this document will remove any uncertainty about the nature of our commitment or misunderstanding of our objectives. We propose – to each and every one of you – to work together to unite our knowledge, experience and ideas for the future of the left and the future of France. France in common / #15
Our approach is open, constructive and aggressive. We seek public debate along with thousands of voices speaking out. We want to work with you because nothing can be achieved without you. We will create the conditions for exchanges, common efforts, the confrontation of ideas and proposals. This project takes its impetus from everything moving in the direction of social and human progress, here and around the world. We believe it is indispensable that we work together to take back control of our common destiny. We know that nothing will happen unless we have broad unity. We are working tirelessly towards that goal. While we have this vast aspiration to change the course of events, we also have the modesty to think that we certainly do not have all of the answers to all of the questions and that it is therefore useful to be very broad in our approach if we want to be effective and produce a credible project. We are totally open-minded with regard to the debate to be carried out. This text is an appeal to compare analyses and hypotheses, to give weight to proposals, to refine objectives and gather strength. The communists and their party, fully aware of their responsibilities and the urgency of the moment, also want to work usefully. The spirit of this initiative that we invite you to embark upon with us: reawaken and give meaning to the will to change, open new paths forward to hope for human emancipation. And we are fiercely determined to succeed. PROPOSALS FOR AN ACTION PROGRAMME 15 PRIORITY WORK PROJECTS 1.
Restore national production to meet needs
2.
Change businesses and revalorise work
3.
Implement a system of job and training security
4.
Undertake a major reform for tax justice
5.
Make ethics a central part of the economy
6.
Meet the environmental challenge
7.
Open a new era of Social Security
8.
Strong commitment to education and youth
9.
Launch a national housing programme
10.
Make gender equality a reality
11.
Culture at the heart of the transformative process
12.
Rebuild democracy
13.
For a Republic of citizenship and equality
14.
Transform Europe
15.
Act for a world of solidarity
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RESTORE NATIONAL PRODUCTION TO MEET NEEDS Objective: To create jobs and meet the challenge of the environmental transition, we seek to relaunch production in France, by promoting a new mode of development and production based on needs, environmental planning and a new status for corporations. ACT URGENTLY FOR EMPLOYMENT: RELAUNCH PRODUCTION • A national plan to re-industrialise the country under a renewed, democratic planning process • Massive investment, in particular in research and higher education, redirecting funds from the Crédit impôt recherche (tax credit for research) and the Crédit d’impôt pour la compétitivité et l’emploi (tax credit for competitiveness and employment) • Creation of public centres for industrial growth and services with state-owned companies, joint companies, and nationalised companies DIGITAL: BETTING ON THE ECONOMICS OF COLLABORATION • Objective: 100 % high-speed networks throughout the country • Creation of a fund for the development of third-sector ecosystems (Fablabs, Makerspaces, hackerspaces) and the collaborative economy PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE • Begin the ecological transition of our agricultural production model, support young farmers and small-scale agriculture • Create a fund to support small-scale agriculture and relocalised food chains • Law on the reduction of profit margins and practices in major retail chains to establish fair prices CHANGE CORPORATIONS AND REVALORISE WORK OBJECTIVE: MAKE WORKERS’ EMANCIPATION THE DRIVING FORCE OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION. • Begin reducing the work week to reach 32 hours • Create a new legal status for corporations including the role of employees and the corporation’s ties to the region • Create the right for employees to buy out their company • Extension of the power of employees in the corporation • Funding for assistance in the creation and development of sociétés coopératives et participatives (Co-ops and participatory companies) • Repeal of the Directive on posted workers IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM FOR SECURE EMPLOYMENT/TRAINING OBJECTIVE: FIGHT AGAINST INSECURITY AND THE SETTING OF WORKERS AGAINST EACH OTHER IN COMPETITION BY PROMOTING A SYSTEM THAT ENSURES WORKERS A JOB OR TRAINING AND REMUNERATION ALL THROUGH THEIR PROFESSIONAL LIFE. • Creation of a public service for secure employment and training ensuring income, employment or training all through professional life, in particular to give youth and seniors greater security • Repeal of the French law on «job security»
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• Make long-term contract (CDI) the standard and limit the number of temporary and casual workers in a company • Set up annual conferences on the revalorisation of wages and qualifications UNDERTAKE A MAJOR TAX JUSTICE REFORM Objective: A major tax reform must be instigated in order raise the resources for the implementation of our proposals and ensure tax justice. The five-year target is to create tools necessary to confront financial powers and redirect money to the real economy. • Reform income tax to make it more progressive • Reform the ISF (solidarity wealth tax) • Create a public banking pole centred on the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, the Banque publique d’investissement, the Banque postale, mutualist and co-operative banks and nationalised banks. This pole would promote a new selective credit system favouring investment and employment. • Set up of a European tax on financial transactions (potential revenue: 36 billion per year) • Taxes on stock options and reinforcement of capital taxes ETHICS AT THE HEART OF ECONOMICS Objective: Make ethics a central part of society by going after tax evasion and social fraud, by making remuneration more equitable and fighting against corruption and cronyism. • Massive recruitment of agents for the Tax Office and Treasury • Signature of bilateral agreements to end banking secrecy • Taxation of stock options • Establishment of a minimum wage • Establishment of total transparency in regard to fringe benefits in high-level civil service and for high-level executives in public and private companies • Strengthening of means allocated to the fight against corruption Meet the environmental challenge Objective: Five-year target to meet the environmental challenge by initiating the environmental transition. This objective involves all public actions. It is focused on five pillars: the fight against global warming, the energy transition, a national transportation plan, building renovation and the right to safe and nutritious food for all. • Climate plan aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) • Creation of a public pole for energy centred on an energy mix of 0% CO2 and including renewables and nuclear energy • National plan for road-rail transport and public transpiration • National plan for thermal renovation of buildings • Move towards 100 % organic and local supply in catering services OPEN A NEW ERA OF SOCIAL SECURITY Objective: Strengthen our system of Social Security solidarity by granting the means for development and the extension of entitlements.
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• Plan for the mobilisation of public hospitals and public health structures • Ensure the effective tight to abortion throughout the country • Reform the method of calculation of corporate social charges, modulating with regard to the wage and employment policies of the company • Lower the retirement age to move towards full retirement at age 60 • Creation of a public, centralised service for aid to dependent persons • Initiate a «nursery» plan to create 500,000 child care openings • Move towards universal family allowances as of the first child STRONG COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION AND YOUTH Objective: Make education and youth two priorities for action by making access to knowledge more democratic, gearing schools to more successful results for all and ensuring the autonomy of young people. • National plan against inequalities at school, with compulsory schooling, free of charge, for children from age 3 to 18; guarantee of a place in nursery school at age 2 • Plan to recruit personnel for National Education and renewal of the initial and continuing training of teachers • General revalorisation of scholarships and adoption of a framework law for the autonomy and future of young people • Oversight and valorisation of payment for internships • Launch a national housing programme Objective: Establishment of a framework law on housing and opposed to real estate speculation; launch of a national programme of social housing construction in order to meet outstanding needs within the next five years, especially in dense zones. The percent of household income devoted to housing should exceed 20 % of available income. • Construction objective of 200,000 social housing units per year • Doubling aide à la pierre (aid granted by the State to encourage property investment in assisted housing) • Strengthening of the «SRU» law (solidarity and urban renewal), with 25 % social housing compulsory • Stimulating the housing sector by the creation of a decentralised National Land Agency • Reinforcement of the 1 % patronal measures (Employer participation in the construction effort) • Redirection of housing funds to the public sector MAKE GENDER EQUALITY A REALITY OBJECTIVE: ENSURE EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN SOCIETY AND FIGHT SEXIST VIOLENCE. • Reinforcement of the law on equal pay to make it more binding • Promotion of non-sexist education in school and national awareness campaigns • Increased number of housing units, shelters and temporary residences for isolated women and victims of violence • Support implementation of the Most Favoured European Woman Clause
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CULTURE AT THE HEART OF THE TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESS Objective: Rebuild the public service of cultural affairs by shared responsibilities between the State and local authorities to guarantee a right of access to the highest level of artistic production to all, to enable open sharing of works, ideas and knowledge; to encourage the socialisation of art in school, in public and in the workplace; recognition of the diversity of cultural expression. • Five-year target for national and local public budgets to reach the equivalent of 1 % of GDP • Improve the law on contract workers in show business • Enable stability for emerging artistic endeavours and guarantee a percentage of public institutions’ budgets to support art REBUILD DEMOCRACY Objective: Give every citizen a part to play in public life. Change the matrix of decision-making by placing democracy and citizen participation at its core. • Make citizen participation and initiative fundamental rights by including them in the Constitution • Establish a proportional system for all elections and reinforce the rules prohibiting simultaneous multiple mandates • Increase the means of the CNDP (French national public debate commission) • Right to vote for foreign residents • Launch a process to establish the 6th Republic • For public re-appropriation of media, attribute veto rights to journalists in regard to the appointment of chief editors and grant employees seats on the board of directors of media companies. FOR A REPUBLIC OF CITIZENSHIP AND EQUALITY Objective: Make the Republic stronger throughout the country by ensuring that each citizen has equal access to public services; that citizens’ rights are re-affirmed; that citizenship is full and effective; that citizens share values of solidarity, secularism, equality and fraternity within the French «Republican pact». • Plan to combat regional inequalities by ensuring that public services are available throughout the country and by taking measures to ensure that doctors are readily available in all areas • Launch of a third phase of urban renovation • Plan to combat racism and discrimination, with the establishment of local monitoring agencies covering issues of discrimination and equality • Right to security for all with a plan for recruitment for the Police Gendarmerie, with a focus on community law enforcement TRANSFORM EUROPE Objective: Use the position of France in the world to re-direct European construction towards a model of integrated solidarity and co-operation. • Abolish the Stability Pact, engage re-negotiations on the budget treaty and European treaties
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• Reform the status and purpose of the European Central Bank and support the proposal for a European conference on debt • Support the creation of a European fund for social and environmental development and solidarity, devoted to investment and public services and to job recovery, industrial renewal and training, financed by the billions of euro in the «Draghi Plan» • Rebuild a new policy for agriculture, the food sector, and fisheries • Redefine the policy on European Union (EU) visas, based on international law, respecting right of asylum and the protection of persons; guarantee the universal right to freedom of movement by through safe and legal entry for refugees and migrants; repeal of the so-called Dublin rules and the implementation of European solidarity in welcoming migrants, in particular through «quotas»; support of reception policies that respect the human rights of first asylum Mediterranean countries • Take the initiative to declare Europe a «nuclear free» zone and initiate European participation in an international conference on nuclear disarmament and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction; stop the sale and delivery of French-made weapons to conflict regions ACT FOR A WORLD OF SOLIDARITY Objective: Use French diplomacy to serve peace, justice and solidarity • Initiate an exceptional meeting of the United Nations on the rebuilding of the organisation in compliance with the UN Charter based on the principles of equality and the sovereignty of peoples: revalorisation of the role of the General Assembly, expansion of the Security Council, redefinition of the mission and means of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organisation, UNESCO (UN Organisation for Education, Science and Culture) and the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) • Bring public development aid to 1 % of gross national product and support the proposal of the Special UN Summit of Sustainable Development to bring that to 2 % by 2030 • Support the adoption of binding, differentiated agreements at COP 21 (drastic European plan to reduce CO2 emissions); • Withdraw France from NATO integrated command, establish a schedule for the withdrawal from the Transatlantic Alliance, oppose the EU-NATO strategic partnership and initiate the creation of a Pan European Framework for Joint Security and Co-operation • Recognize the Palestinian State, support the withdrawal of French public and private corporations from the occupied territories, systematise the labelling of products made in those territories, re-direct French investments to support of Palestinian development and the reconstruction of Gaza; suspend the association agreement between the EU and Israel for violation of Article 2 on the respect of human rights • Initiate the organisation of an international conference on peace and development in the Middle East under the aegis of the United Nations
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15 EMERGENCY MEASURES 1. Increase minimum wage by 15 % over three years, end to the wage index freeze for civil servants and increase of pensions by 15 % over three years with an objective to set minimum pension payments at the monthly minim wage 2. Elimination of VAT on basic necessities, elimination of tax loopholes for speculation and doubling of the wealth tax. 3. Elimination of golden parachutes and salary caps at the equivalent of 20 times the lowest salary in the company. 4. Repeal of the act decreasing support for local authorities and moratorium on interest payments to banks by local authorities. 5. Reimbursement of 100 % of health care costs incurred by young people under age 25 and students under age 30. 6. Prohibition on cutting off energy and water supply on eviction of tenants in precarious situations all year long; establishment of a temporary rent freeze while awaiting the implementation of a new housing reform. 7.
Immediate reinforcement of binding measures for equal pay.
8. Nationalisation of motorways to finance transport infrastructures and moratorium on plans to privatise public corporations and public services. 9.
Control of profit margins in major retail chains.
10.
Implementation of the right to vote in local elections for foreign residents.
11. Instate a moratorium on the closure of public services and mergers with private businesses. 12. Combat racial profiling with by requiring that receipts be given when an identity check is carried out. 13.
Legalisation of the situation of undocumented workers.
14. Repeal of the Stability Pact, commitment to renegotiate the budget treaty and the European treaties; declare France out of the TAFTA zone. 15. Recognition of Palestine and commitment to the organisation of an international conference on peace and development in the Middle East under the aegis of the United Nations.
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