35,000 on steel workers march | Socialist Action 1983

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Steelworkers banner: The government of the Left must not continue the politics of the right. general strike in September. Despite the widespread support for the strike it was Soft by the union leaderships. 800,000 workers on strike had the rug pulled from under them by GSC and FGTB union federations to engage in negotiathe government Despite these wave of public sector taking place TO CHANTS of 'Mitterand watch the working class is in the streets!' 35,000 Lorraine workers and their supporters marthrough Paris last Friday. While the march was angry and bitThe storm before the calm: steelworkers ter against peaceful. steel taking no chances. All police leave was cancelled and 5000 riot police were on standby.

the the mon Also French government ministers sack the offices Force Ouvriere. of the Socialist Party in Longwy Mitterand, it was However the government were tingent Socialist Action The march was called against government's plan to 20,000 jobs in the steel industry. While the Lorraine workers will be hardest hit, there were also delegations from more modern Market in the cuts were militant steel workers contingents from West Germany and Belgium.

the Socialist Party deputies from Lorraine who have resigned their party's whip. and Georges Marchais, leader of the Communist However Marchais was careful to point out that his action was not directed against the in which four still remain, and also em phasised the trade union character of the demonstration.

The march was initiated by the CGT, the pro-Communist trade union federation and was supported bi i the other major federations, the CFDT and However the march has sectarian aspects, with from a number of plants splitting up to march with their union federations rather than their fellow workers.

Unity in the struggle was one of the main slogans of the 1000-strong conof the Ligue Communist Revolutionnaire whose banners called on the SP and the CP to unite to reject tne betrayal or une sucerworkers

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plans in Dunkirk and Marseilles. Underlining the role of the Com-