the Communist Party campaign. SOME 70,000 people turned out for a Communist Purly [PCF] rally in Paris on 16 February.
Standing under two decorations that symbolise the party's campaign — the Fresch flag and a giant banner saying *Vote Communist PCF leader Georges Machais laid out his scenario for the coming month: Communist on 12 March, discussion on the thirteenth, and victory on the папетослів.
The name of Francois Mitterrand, Teader of the Socialist Party (PS), the PCE's former partner in the of the Left, was booed every time it came up.
PROGRAMME And it came up frequently - more than the names of President Giscard d'Estaing, Prime Minister Raymond and the other leaders of the capitalist parties The tone of the PCF campaign has become stridently anti-PS Marchais complained in national radia broadcast on 16 February, the Common Programme was only a way of bolstering its own strength.
And he denounced the old Social Democratic tradition, which consists in petting the left clocled in order to carty out the policy of the right.
This, according to Marchais, is what broke the Union of the Left. The hope of victory as not enough to scal ihe union of the lent.... A programme is necessary:
The PCF programme! is a mixture of verbal shop-floor type militancy, reformist economic prescriptions and sickening nationalism. Well before the campaign the PCF had plastered Paris with posters saying: "They invest abroad and close down our factories, Build Freach -'Vote PROSPECT Pro-imperialist positions matters as the French mucicar strike-force (which the PCF supports) and "national defence (on Union which it accuses the PS of laxity) have heen combined with militant, sounding ALECKS CR desire to 'manage capitalism What is the PCF doing?
Part of the answer is the substantial gain io the P'S vote berwoen 1973 and 1977, which has overtaken a stagnant Choisir all-women election slate 36 Februury] Now a gus group has five cundidates.
But the police have stepped in to prevent three of the five standing on the grounds that they trunsvestite, an immigraet, and a gay under 23 years uld.
Ar a stroke the cops have managed to exercise their prejudice against -DINERS and "Hummer" must be green at the gitis.
* French right-wing splinters.
234 for the right. on such 'independent leftist- strength in the the the crisis of federation.
emergence of a layer state and ministerial position. austerite.
The youth. The THE Harris-'Express opinion poli predicts 51 per cent of the vote going to the major left parties and 45 per for a PCF vote.
cent to the right. The remaining four per cent would go to the far left, the fascises, the ecologists and various Trunslated into purliamentars seuls this would mean 257 for the left 1176 Suciulist, 81 Communist] aun PCF electorate. At the same time the PS has picked up organisational working class, If the PCF capruning leading positions in the CFDT, the second largest union The PCF has been unable to prevent the far left from sinking deeper. tound. tough still modest, wurking class roots. This has boen combined with the of workers, mostly young, who are willing to move into action independent of and even against, the line of the PCF leadership with polls predicting a left victon the PCF faced the prospect of backing a PS dominated government without any of the expocted benelits in terms of So the party leadership decided on a tactical change, bringing to bear its most powerful weapon: irs continued strength in the workers movement Hence the atracks on the PS for th Social Democrats open advocacy of according -10. leadership, is the party ot the working clan; only if the PCE is srong will Georges Seguy, the leader of the COT. compensation hill for those compani the largest union federation, has been called upon to pitch in, calling openly than 1300 million The PCF leaderabip has wrongh itself in a contradiction. Is radie implied that in will allow tbe present talk, in the contest of a rise in worki goverment to stay in power if its own vote is not enough. The legislative stimulating a further upsurge clections are held in two rounds. Al absolute majority is needed to b elected on the first round; on the second a pluraliry is enough.
The PS has alseady announced that its candidates will acand down on the second round wherever the PCF gets a higher vote on the first. The PC refuses to da the same does not command enough support on the first round Marchais has said, social change i ruled out and there is no point in trying to settle the question of the second The PS is putting itself forward a the lender of the battle against the righ and the most consistent champion of the unity of the left. boping that the workers" aspirations for whity can he transformed into PS vores The PCF campaign, sectariao in tbe most literal sense, is unlikely to resolve the party's difficulties, even though it will temporarily boost party patriotism among working class meibers. For [which will favour the right) where despite the leftist" rbetoric, its policy is as reformist as ever.
CONTRADICTION since Its cconomic prosramme: for example, apart from the cmpty slogam ancat making the rica pay', call for right the the of companies more has the fight-wing rate worth nore than a the nationalisation of on 0.38 ca ployees, which accounts for only 14 per cent or production and 1s per cent allowed to vote. that are nationalised comes to mo Joe PCh leadership is thus mirir class militancy and consciousness.
combativity which is in conflict wi Ebe leadership's thoroughly reform programme and strategy Sooner or later the PCE bureaucra will hase to confront that contradictio - whether in poverament or opposition.
DESPITE the left's substantial lend in the opinion polls the right still ha a mussive gerrymander in its favour *It hus invented three new oversea lund generally right-wing) seats *French citizens abroad [gain usually rightists] now have the righi to choose where they vote by prusy. Or course they all opt for marginal There is a new seat in Corsica cheating is rife:
"Apart from these there has been ne redruwing of electoral bounduries 195H. This meuns disproportionnte welghting in furour of (consercutive; rural seats. The left tends to hald ihe larger seats, the Immigrant warkers are nol
SOCIALIST CHALLENGE 9 March 1978 page 9
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DEMOCRACY IN ACTION WE HAVE alreudy reported on the
GERRYMANDER IS ALIVE AND WELL...