Communism is nothing without the revolutionary energy of youth.
With Roussel, the PCF chooses to deprive itself of it.
The direction taken by the PCF since late 2018 keeps surprising. From witty remarks on TV sets to controversies at the Fête de l'Huma aimed at crafting a distinctive "Roussel personality," a divisive political line has emerged, running counter to the PCF's historical battles. This new approach appears largely uncombative in the struggle for peace and against imperialism, readily acidic towards the left (whether it be the "welfare-dependent" or "wokism"), and surprisingly eager to engage in dialogue with employers regarding the "value of work," the migratory "problem," and security.
These positions, deeply breaking with the PCF's historical commitments, were nevertheless not the result of any collective debate. For this reversal to be imposed without visible contradiction within communist organisations, it became necessary to marginalise and intimidate their most combative elements, those concerned with international solidarity, Marxism, and revolutionary perspectives. Chez les Jeunes communistes (MJCF – JC), ces pratiques ont pris des formes particulièrement violentes, evidenced by the successive disaffiliations and exclusions of local groups in recent months — in Hauts-de-Seine, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Nord or Loire. Yet, if one examines the recent political battles of these activists, they are shared by millions of people in our country: against the genocide in Palestine, against the war in Ukraine, to end racism, Islamophobia, and sexual violence. Thus, when young people decide to fully commit to Marxist themes with communists, the response from the PCF and MJCF leaderships now seems to be sidelining or even exclusion.
In reality, these practices accompanied (and sometimes preceded) Fabien Roussel's arrival at the head of the PCF, and worsened after Léon Deffontaines' election to the head of the MJCF. It was during this period that the questioning of the Union des étudiant·es communistes (UEC) was decided. Yet, the struggles of communist students contributed — usefully, I believe — to the communist movement's reflection: on student wages, women's work and sexual violence, or anti-racist struggles. The existence of such debates, actively engaged with the struggles of millions of people, demonstrated the vitality of youth organisations within the communist movement. However, parallel to the emergence of the "Roussel" orientation within the PCF, the JC leadership retreated into its own circles and began to refuse these debates, which it considered secondary societal issues. It thus directly put into question the UEC's right to develop its own campaigns in universities. We were ordered to relay the national leadership's decisions, and nothing else.
In January 2019, conscious of the questioning of their commitment, the communist students elected me national secretary, entrusting me with a mandate: to protect and develop the political spaces that allowed them to familiarise themselves with Marxism, to lead their first militant campaigns in their faculties, to debate and organise with the support of a democratic, open, and welcoming collective. The day after my election, unacceptable demands were made of me, qui revenaient toutes à désavouer les engagements de mes camarades, en acceptant la dissolution de fait de secteurs de l’UEC pour que les étudiant·es soient placés sous le contrôle direct d’autres structures. With the support and endorsement of the new PCF leadership, the JC leadership redoubled its efforts to hinder our activity and make our task impossible, exhausting us in meetings, and subjecting us to bureaucratic blackmail and constant monitoring.
The political upheaval that was Me Too is not unrelated to this story. Youth — particularly students — deeply engaged in the feminist struggle. This challenged many ways of seeing and doing, including within our organisations. Like many others, communist students chose to follow this path. We profoundly changed our ways of activism and leadership, notably by promoting the empowerment of young women who were already, in fact, at the heart of mobilisation on their campuses. We also wanted the feminist struggle to play a significant role in our activities, with the annual organisation of a Semaine du Féminisme (Feminism Week), the organisation of a national vote for a feminist university, poster campaigns, etc. During the same period, the JC leadership multiplied "pressure tactics" to obstruct these initiatives.
More generally, anything that fell outside the "authorised perimeter" by the leadership was targeted. This was, for example, the case of our historic battle for a student wage, which should allow everyone to study in good conditions, mirroring what the salaries of student teachers in normal schools had been, and in continuity with the proposals of the National Council of Resistance and the Langevin-Wallon Plan. This proposal was, in our opinion, essential for students from working-class backgrounds to truly take ownership of university and higher education. This was also the case for our approach to Marxism, which we wanted to be combative and open, serving all emancipatory struggles, including against racism and police violence. All these efforts were hindered and denigrated. A final example is that of the climate marches which mobilised millions of young people — particularly students — around the world, and which we wished to support, despite the refusal of the JC leadership who believed that these struggles were not those of the so-called "real youth."
After years of bureaucratic harassment, questioning, and various pressures, we chose to give communist students back their voice, at our national conference in October 2020. Unsurprisingly, the UEC members gathered in Créteil wanted to give up neither feminism, nor anti-racism, nor the struggle for a student wage. They felt that their organisation was useful for student struggles and the communist movement, and renewed their trust in their national coordination to continue efforts in this direction. The hand extended to the JC was maintained, provided that intimidation, pressure, and blockages ceased.
Effort in vain: the time for "falling into line" had come. A week later, the PCF and JC leaderships announced with great communication fanfare the designation of another "national secretary of the UEC," explaining that my comrades and I were liars usurping the UEC. The whole thing was expedited during a national JC meeting, via video conference. Apparently, the statutes allowed it. We were stunned. L’organisation était démantelée (y compris ses structures locales, dans plusieurs dizaines de facs), sa direction dissoute. Les événements que nous organisions (Semaine de la Pensée Marxiste, Semaine du Féminisme, campagne pour un salaire étudiant) ont été supprimés aussi. During the same period, other militant collectives of the JC — notably the Val-de-Marne federation — were also marginalised on similar grounds, eventually having to leave the Movement in 2022.
In fact, the consequence of all these sidelining efforts is the decline of communist organisations. Local and national structures have disappeared, militant actions have been lost, and political constructions have been thrown away. There is every reason to be angry when one thinks of all the students who could have gotten involved with us, or simply become interested in our ideas, if they had been able to meet us on their campus. What a waste! Many of those who went through these sordid periods eventually distanced themselves. Who could blame them? Even from the outside, these conflicts seem completely crazy and incomprehensible! It makes no young person who wishes to get involved want to do so with communists. Here is the outcome: those who would want to fight collectively find themselves dispersed, without common direction, while the period demands being grouped together to make the Macronist camp and the far-right bend.
But this fantasy of a docile youth is illusory. Invariably, new generations will continue to speak up and commit all their strength for a better world. Sooner or later, the Rousselist project of a communist organisation cut off from the revolutionary energy of youth will be overtaken by reality. Communist activists, wherever we are, we are committed to our activism being useful to the revolutionary movement. Let us continue to persevere, to broaden our networks, to address the driving forces of our country, to engage in ever wider discussion with the combatant left. Let's make sure that all this work and these years of commitment bear fruit!
Illustration image: photograph from September 17, 2020, by UEC – Union des étudiant·es communistes
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