French Austerity Protests Analyzed by Progressive

The French are again leading the resistance to globalization. For this, they deserve our applause, not derision.They’ve been down this road before. Back in 1995, when another rightwing president, Jacques Chirac, tried to convince them of the inevitability of suffering as part of the free-market process, they put their foot down. “After a quarter of a century of an ideological swing to the right, here was a movement mocking the blackmail: there is no alternative,” Daniel Singer, longtime Europe correspondent for The Nation, commented. “Its message, frightening for the preachers of the establishment, was plain: if this is the future you are offering to us and to our children, then the hell with your future!”

Nicolas Sarkozy

They’re back at it, fighting the same battle again, this time pitted against another arrogant conservative leader, Nicolas Sarkozy. In response to his proposal to up the retirement age, French unions brought Paris to a halt on Tuesday. In doing so, they have followed the lead of their counterparts in other countries such as Greece, where massive demonstrations have greeted austerity measures in response to the economic crisis. Read more here:

French Austerity Protests Analyzed by Progressive