the Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire ILCR. French section of the Fourth International, place in Paris at the end of last month. Held from 27-30 January Ine conterence WaS WIOC! sometimes sensationally portrayed in boin une tar lert and bourgeors press as a congress of crisis.
There was only an element of truth in the characterisation. The whole of the far left in France is experiencing serious problems. This is the product of a political situation dominated by the progress of the Union of the Left (the electoral bloc of the Communist Socialist Party bourgeois Movement of Left Radicals around the Common Pro. gramme') and the widespread expectation of its victory in ine parliamentary elections in 1978. PASSIVITY This expectation, allied to a high level of unemployment, has encouraged a passivity in the working class. Workers ask why struggie when the regime is finished anyway.
anis consciousness is reintorced and promoted by the leaders of the Coms and bocals Darc and the two big union confederanons. ine retormists nave systematically refused to organise centralised response to the Giscard government's austerity programme (the Barre Plan). or against rising unemployment.
The organisations of the far left are finding it difficult to swim against the tide of these electoral illusions. Consequently, they find InCISCIVCS with little political weight. But at the same time the far left organisations are more deeply implanted than ever before in the working class, at nanonal union conferences and in took and in particular, for an expanded numoer or women and workers to be elected to the Central Commit WOMEN A new factor in the pre-Congress discussion was the appear ance or work groups, wno reru sed to form tendencies, saying they da not aim to bresent a coDa alternative for the LCR Some women delegates requested right of tendency for a non-mixed group (exclusively or women com This latter demand was rejecica by me congress.
One of the largest work groups from Brest defended the essential positions of the First Congress of the Ligue, in particular asserting that the organisation of the broad workers vanguard was the precondition for the fight for the workers united front. On the organisational front, they put forward criticisms the leadership's method of VOTE On the vote on the polinca theses, those of Tendency D received 53.5 per cent of the vote rencenev ass Der cents eng ency B 4.7 percent; the various work groups receivca a total 10.8 per cent; and there were 7.5 cen sational theses, VOLES On Tendency D organi got just 50 per cent of the vote. Tendency A got 25.4 per cent Tendency B 4.8 per cent and the amendments of the Brest work group 14.7 per cent.
The Central Committee elected by the Congress included repres entation or all ine tendencies. or the 60 comrades elected, 15 were FARLEFT Large numbers of messages and greetings were received congress rom sec nons Fourth International as well as olner tar lent groupings. baunus iastic applause greeted the addres ses of the Lutte Ouvriere and the Organisation Communiste des Travailleurs (lately Revolution!) The LCR has just concluded an electoral pact for the municipa elections with these two organisations (see pages 6-7) under slogan For Socialism, for Workers Power'.
The extremely positive and fraternal specenes or une comrade representing these groups inspired the hope among many delegates that the pact will be one more step in une process or jomr acon an debate towards regroupment of the …ar enro conrontae decisive political battles on the horizon. René Charron & Steve Potter Advertisement