LCR statement

The Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire's Olivier Besancenot, one of France's most popular politicians, has issued a statement on the curfew (as ever, apologies in advance for translation):

Braver le couvre-feu.

Les décisions annoncées par M.de Villepin, hier soir sur TF1, sont insupportables. Au lieu de répondre à l’urgence sociale, il ressuscite une loi datant de l’époque coloniale, la guerre d’Algérie donnant aux préfets le pouvoir de décréter le couvre-feu dans tout ou partie d’une commune et de suspendre nombre de libertés. Déjà, E.Raoult, maire du Raincy -la ville aux 2,6% de logements sociaux- en poisson-pilote de la répression, avait pris les devants et institué une telle mesure dans sa ville.

Aussi, la LCR appelle à braver le couvre-feu en manifestant dans les communes ou les quartiers, de nuit s’il le faut, là où il serait institué par le préfet. La LCR invite toutes les organisations de gauche et démocratiques à organiser ensemble à ces manifestations.

Facing the curfew

The decisions announced by M. de Villepin, yesterday evening on TF1, are unbearable. Instead of answering the social urgency, he revived a law dating from the colonial epoch, [from] the Algerian war, giving prefects the power to declare the curfew over all or part of the commune [local council area] and suspend a number of freedoms. Already, E.Raoult, mayor of Raincy - the town with 2.6% of social housing - in a foretaste of the repression, has taken the initiative and legislated such a measure for his town.

Therefore, the LCR calls for demonstrations against the curfew in communes or quartiers, at night if necessary, where it would be instituted by the prefect. The LCR invites all organisations of the left and of democracy to organise these demonstrations together.

Not sure what will come of this but it looks like a move in the right direction.

Update: Had to include the end of the Telegraph report linked to above, dated 16 August 2005:

[Besancenot] predicted an autumn of social discontent and explained his popularity as a result of "growing exasperation" with Mr Chirac and the Right-wing government.

Well, there's a thing.