As you've probably seen in the news lately France has been gripped by protests for the last few weeks. The government wants to introduce new employment legislation making it possible for the capitalists to dismiss workers under the age of 26 for no reason at all - known as the first employment contract (CPE).

It makes a nice change to have the students and the unions united completely - those over 26 should make no mistake, they're next - the French workers' having the experience they have will know that perfectly well - and will stand united.

The movement has been growing stronger and stronger, and the ruling class has been dividing. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the capitalists have gotten away with too much, for the comrades in France this is the last stand. It's time to boost the moral of the working class, correct the mistakes of 1968 and win us a victory.

IDoM:

For the moment, however, events are definitely moving in that direction. The eyes of the workers of the entire world should now be fixed on the events in France. We are standing before the prospect of a pre-revolutionary situation as an immediate possibility. If the government backs down and abandons the CPE, it may still be able to avoid the approaching cataclysm. If it tries to resist — as the initial reaction of De Villepin to the events of the day would seem to indicate — it may well find that events will take such a turn that even the withdrawal of the CPE will not suffice.

Nearly 3 million workers and students have protested in over 150 cities in France over the last couple of days, building and building up. Here's a map showing locations and numbers.

In the UK yesterday we had a strike of around 1.5 million people - largely public sector workers campaigning against plans to increase the pension age to 65. We need to learn something from our French comrades - one day strikes don't work, we need to be on the streets every day - nothing should move apart from us, bring the country to a standstill, and then we might get somewhere.