An interview with LCR presidential candidate Olivier Besancenot Can you describe the development of the movement against the war in France? Is there a problem of Islamophobia in France? What do you think the possibilities are for a mobilisation against the war coming out of the ESF in Florence?
It the moment, we are in the early stages of the movement against Whe war. In the political, trade union, and campaigning organisations, the first contacts are being made, and the first debates are taking place in the trade union and social movements. Campaign meetings are beginning to take place.
Bush's latest declarations at the UN and his perspective of a "preventive war" are going to force everyone to speed up the mobilisation.
The mobilisation against this war will face fewer obstacles than at the time of the American bombing of Serbia or Afghanistan. But, previously, the essential obstacle was not really Islamophobia Although it is true that in France there is real racism against North African Arab immigrants, as was demonstrated by the election results of the far right parties, this has not been the main cause of the antiwar movement's difficulties.
At the time of the previous wars, the parliamentary left was in power and was therefore directly implicated in the conduct of the war. This made mobilisations very difficult. Most importantly, people were extremely shocked by the abuses and violence of Milosevic and of the Taliban and Al-Quaida.
By contrast, the reasons Bush puts for.. The mobilisation against this war will face fewer obstacles than at the time of the American bombing of Serbia or Afghanistan. ward for a "preventive war" against Iraq have very little support. Opinion polls show that a majority of people are hostile to the war.
The European Social Forum in Florence was not called to mobilise opposition to the war but to construct an alternative to the disastrous impact of neo-lib eralism and the construction of a capitalist Europe.
But the most radical and active organisations will be there and it is very likely that the mobilisation against the war will be discussed and become a feature of the forum. In the Presidential elections you received a large percentage of the youth vote. How do you see the radicalisation of French youth?
Is well as the significant number of A young people who voted for me
in April 2002, there are other even more important, signs indicating the radicalisation of youth, including the mass turn-outs at anti-globalisation events, the uprising of youth against Le Pen and a series of strikes by young people insecure employment (MacDonalds, Go Sports, EuroDisney, FNAC etc.).
Young people are bound to play a major role in the mobilisation against the war. Our organisation, the LCR, and our youth organisation the JCR (Young Revolutionary Communists) are actively campaigning in all these areas. The LCR has built social movements like ATTAC in France. Such movements are weak or nonexistent in Britain. Can you explain something about them?
development of ATTAC shows how the french precal
landscape has changed in recent thousands of members organised in more than a hundred local branches.
The organisation reflects a revolt against the social damage inflicted by neoliberalism and a desire to understand the economic system in order to fight it.
We have seen the re-emergence of an anti-capitalist mood at a mass level, even if the movement remains heterogeneous over what type of alternative society is needed and what political strategy should be pursued.
There are other movements against capitalist globalisation; for example VAMOS, which is a coalition of youth organisations.
More generally, the fact that the official
left, and above all the Socialist Party, has
been absent from the anti-globalisation
mobilisations means a space has been