“The bourgeoisie of the whole world, which looks complacently upon the wholesale massacre after the battle, is convulsed by horror at the desecration of brick and mortar!” – Marx, The Civil War in France
Across Europe, protests are erupting in response to austerity and the drive to war. In France, students, particularly those of a working class background have taken to the streets over the poor conditions in their schools only to be brutally responded to by the police, with one 15 year old having his hand blown off. The students have recently been joined by the resurgence of the Yellow Vest movement. In Spain, the eviction of an 87 year old woman has lead to thousands taking to the streets against rising rents and a lack of an adequate quantity of housing. In Albania, student protests against corruption which have been ongoing for months have turned increasingly more violent as protesters have begun to call for the president to step down. Workers and students in Belgium, also inspired by the happenings in France have begun protesting against austerity and rising education costs. Meanwhile, more explicitly anti-war/anti-conscription protests have erupted in Germany, and the Netherlands. Italy has also been hit by this wave of student protests while simultaneously seeing strike actions in the healthcare and transport sectors. In the south there has been an ongoing truck blockade which is severely impacting supply lines and occupations have occurred, including the airport in Genoa. With all this going on it is safe to say there is a lot to keep an eye on as well as to be conscious of.
The mobilisation toward war, whilst being on the agenda of the EU and NATO for some time now, remains unpopular with the majority of the working population. Recently in the UK, the head of the army has said the public are going to need a talking-to on the need to support an upcoming war effort. It seems the general has his work cut out for him though as around half the population claims they would refuse to fight for King and Country in any circumstances and only around a third of the population would. Paradoxically however, support for increasing military spending in the UK has risen from 28% in 2022 to 51% in 2026, perhaps showing some efficacy for pro-war propaganda, yet not as much as the bourgeoisie would like.
As the cost of living continues to climb around the world, more and more are losing faith in the promises of capitalism. More and more are finding it difficult to afford even basic necessities, regardless of how hard they work. Yet the ruling class continues to enrich themselves. In America, where many can’t pay for groceries, the administration cheers about a rising GDP. France itself is facing a crisis in its bond markets, meaning more if its budget will have to go toward interest payments on debt. This could lead to a deepening of austerity and shows that social reforms in capitalism cannot be sustained. These struggles against poor conditions in schools, lack of housing, and against the drive to war cannot be understood in isolation to each other. Across Europe, countries are increasing their military budgets and putting less into social services. Those taking to the streets are among the most at risk of being put into combat positions in any conscription effort. After all, it is largely not the children of the bourgeoisie who, due to being more likely to get a university education, have to worry about being placed on the front lines. No, if they’re drawn into the war effort it is more than likely they’ll serve as the officers directing the slaughter.
In essence, the capitalist state has told the workers and students that their lives do not matter beyond being cannon fodder and a cog in the valorisation process. Cries to defend the fatherland are juxtaposed against agents of the very same fatherland subjecting protestors with tear gas, water cannons, batons, and arrests. Many governments have stated that they will use whatever means at their disposal necessary to restore order. Many mainstream media outlets, as well as trade unions and left-wing parties have come together to offer some sympathy to the movements while simultaneously condemning their more radical and violent elements. This is an old, yet effective tactic for the more moderate wing of the Left of Capital to try and dilute and capture instances of unrest. On the other hand, their more radical counterparts may fully endorse the violence whilst emphasising reformist demands. Whether moderate or radical, the veneration of state power and democracy remains.
Violence is neither to be worshipped nor condemned. It is a tool which, more likely than not, is necessary for the success of any upheaval. It would be laughable for us to hue and cry at the breaking of windows or the wounding of cops, yet it must be emphasised that the presence of violence does not mean the presence of revolution. So long as the protests are directed toward changing the present society rather than destroying it, all violence remains little more than a lashing out which can be easily dealt with by the state, whether by appeasement or further intensifying its own violence. For as long as capitalism’s violence beats us into lives of servitude, there is no need to dismiss the value of violence from our side. As the saying goes, “a single nonrevolutionary weekend is infinitely more bloody than a month of total revolution”.
With that said, it is important to recognise that these struggles, while holding potential, are also not (yet) revolutionary and are also very confused, as shown by the presence of national flags and the positive reception of characters such as Mélenchon. Like vultures they swoop in and attempt to suck the life force out of the workers and students to empower themselves and their agenda. The lack of widespread activity in the workplace such as occupations and the absence of proper autonomous class organisations is also undoubtedly negative. However, we must remember that throughout history revolution never descended upon us out of nowhere. The Russian Revolution began with working women marching for “Bread and Peace”. To the naysayers, if the trend we have been seeing continues, where struggles are increasingly pulling in more and more of the class, it makes no sense to write off this movement as having no potential. Yet, it is only by a going beyond and a linking up with the wider working class that these struggles could begin to show a threat toward the global capitalist system which serves as the root for all of these problems. It is this encouraging of struggles to go beyond reformist demands and to connect with others that communists need concern ourselves with.
Lyra