French trade unions confront the far right

During local elections in March 2010, several trade union members stood as candidates for the far right National Front (FN) party, which claims common ground with the traditional role of unions in protecting the interests of French workers. However, France’s unions have been quick to respond, uniting to declare that the values of trade unionism and those of the far right are totally incompatible, and to exclude a number of trade union members who have chosen to become FN candidates.

Background

The National Front (FN) seeks to win the votes of the French electorate by exploiting the negative impact of job losses. Declaring its intention to ‘protect’ French workers, the party of the extreme right seeks to occupy the traditional ground of the trade unions, usually seen as the organisations responsible for protecting the interests of workers. It is not, therefore, a surprise to see certain union members converting to the ideology of FN to the point where they even stand as candidates for the party.

Exclusion of militants

Several issues escalated during the local elections as unions discovered that some of their activists had presented themselves as candidates for FN. First, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) announced on 21 February that it was suspending its Secretary in the town of Nilvange, in the Moselle department, which FN won in the Cantonal elections. Since then he has been permanently excluded from the union.

On 9 March, Force Ouvrière (FO) punished a representative from the region Nord/Pas-de-Calais, after having heard through the press that she was a candidate on the list of FN.

On 24 March, the union Solidaires-SUD of the region Haute-Garonne announced its decision to commence ‘proceedings of exclusion’ against one of its members in the town of Toulouse.

Finally, on 4 April, an activist of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) who had presented themselves as a candidate for FN in Boulay, in Moselle, attended a preliminary hearing which could eventually lead to their exclusion from the union.

A common declaration

Aside from these individual decisions a number of unions agreed a common declaration (in French, 17Kb PDF) on 14 March, proclaiming that ‘the ideology of nationalism runs counter to the values of trade unionism’. The unions – CFDT, CGT, United Union Federation (FSU), the independent union Solidarity, Unity, Democracy (SUD) and the National Federation of Independent Unions (UNSA) – declared:

The exclusion and rejection of others, France turning in on itself, the closing of borders, scapegoating others and the suggestion that immigration is responsible for all evils are attitudes that, as history testifies, can only lead to the worst situation.

Other organisations, like the French Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff – General Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff (CFE-CGC), the French Christian Workers’ Confederation (CFTC) and FO have not signed the declaration but have highlighted, without reference to FN, that union statutes forbid members from presenting themselves in elections for political parties, particularly if candidates claim to represent their union in the elections. Contravention of this will result in the immediate exclusion from the union of the member involved.

FN creates a ‘circle of defence’

For its part, FN disputes that it represents the extreme right and affirms that it has ‘always shown its attachment to the democratic rules and values of the French Republic’. The party estimates that trade union signatories to the declaration ‘represent a minority of employees’.

In line with this, former CGT union members who have been excluded have condemned this decision as illegal, saying it shows ‘the sectarian, even the Stalinist side of the leaders’ of the CGT. FN has equally decided to put in place a ‘national circle of defence of union members’ and, without being a union, wants to offer assistance to trade union members.

During the 1990s, FN attempted to establish itself in public offices by creating unions such as FN-Police or FN-Prison Personnel, but the relevant tribunal considered that they were not acting as trade unions but as political organisations.

FN represents few voices from within trade unions

If the threat of infiltration among unions by FN concerns the unions, an exit poll of voters should reassure them of FN’s difficulty in mobilising sufficient support among union members. According to a survey commissioned by the daily Liaisons Sociales, and carried out by Harris Interactive on 20 March, using a representative national sample of 2,057 people on the electoral register, FN obtained, among trade unionists, 9% of the votes. This is much lower than the general level of support received by FN at national level (15%).

Conclusion

The party representing the extreme right in France, FN, is attempting to win the support of French workers by occupying the ground traditionally held by trade unions. A number of trade union representatives have also stood as candidates for FN in local elections.

However, in accordance with the French principle of trade union independence, the national trade unions do not allow their members to stand as candidates in elections, particularly if they also claim to be representing their trade union, and if they are stand as a candidate for the far right.

In response, unions are reminding their members of this. CGT has sent an 11-page document to all its local unions explaining the incompatibility of the philosophy of FN with the values of trade unionism and is taking action to expel any members who contravene this rule.

Frederic Turlan, HERA