The general strike on Thursday, 19 March was an even more significant success than that of 29 January.
That very evening, François Fillon gave the finger to 3 million demonstrators, by staying the course on the policy of finding tens of billions only for those responsible for the crisis while telling the strikers and protesters that the coffers are empty when it comes to jobs or wages.
Such a success and such a government provocation deserve better than the announcement of a new meeting of trade unions on 30 March.
For the Continental, Fulmen, and Goodyear struggles, among other struggles, to result in victory, for the struggles in the education, health, postal, and other public service sectors to emerge victorious, it is time for the entire social, trade union, and political Left to recommend the course of all-out mobilization of workers and youth.
24 hours of strikes and demos are not enough to make the government and employers bend. Only by a prolonged general strike can we make them meet our demands:
prohibit
layoffs, increase wages, and lower prices.
20 March 2009
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Olivier Besancenot is a spokesman of the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA). The original statement “Déclaration d’Olivier Besancenot: Le 19 mars ne peut rester sans lendemain” appeared on the NPA Web site on 20 March 2009. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com).