Macron made a show at the UN general assembly. In this festival of heads of states, he acted like a leader of the fight for the environment and against inequalities… He got an ovation and an earth champion prize… the climate prize even! Just a few days after his popular environment minister, Nicolas Hulot, resigned, and climate change demonstrations denounced the lack of action to stop global warming. This speaks volume about the hypocrisy level at the assembly…
It seems that while speaking at the tribune of the great international organisation, the little French president thundered against inequalities and even defied Trump’s might makes right attitude. Two weeks before, he had tried to fool us with his strategy against poverty: take from some people’s benefits to give miserable handouts to others.
And since he fights poverty – or rather, the poor – he plans to take on unemployment and retirement benefits in the coming weeks.
The law of the rich
While he plays “president of the poor” at the UN, he remains president for the rich here, and continues to lead reforms against the working class.
On the one side, he gifted billions to the richest by removing the wealth tax. On the other side, pro-business reforms facilitate layoffs, worsen work conditions and push us to make more with less. In Education, government plans will result in 3,600 job cuts by 2022 according to teacher unions. In the Health sector, hospitals keep being put on a diet with reorganisation plans without an increase in budget. At the same time, Macron keeps repeating his cynical managerial speech: the problem is not lack of money, it is lack of organisation.
The latest government invention being designed: a new law that will force local governments to increase the working hours of their agents with no increase in wages.
Let’s reverse the trend
All the hardships they force on us turn into a new flow of wealth towards the pockets of the already rich.
It is high time to stand in the way of the continuing attacks against our jobs and our standard of living.
Several unions are calling for a strike on October 9th, to protest against low wages, lack of jobs, etc.
Wages, pensions, access to education and healthcare, work conditions, unemployment benefits, we are all concerned! All these attacks from the government form a pattern. They target the whole working class, whether we are in the public or private sector, active, retired, or unemployed.
October 9th will be a first opportunity to protest. And to prepare what comes next: the real fight, all united, to a level that matches Macron’s attacks.
