From: "Cercle social" <cerclesocial-AT-altern.org>
Subject: AUT: Re: Fwd: French revolutionary running at 9 percent
Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 20:20:03 +0100


A point of view from France

It's exact that Arlette Laguiller, spokewoman of Workers Struggle
(Internationalist Communist Union) is credited of 9% percent of votes for
presidential elections, and is now sure to beat the gouvernement French
Communist Party. She's very popular and has got a Muppet in the most viewed
TV show. Alain Souchon, a popular singer whoses songs sounds everyday on
radio, made a sing on Arlette.

Simply note a few remarks :

* Arlette is candidate for the 5th time, all presidential elections since
1969, and seems to say exactly the same thing each time. That's important,
because electors like her for this "invariance".

* Polls don't always give previews absentions, but it seems that 40% of
electors won't vote (not including strangers and p'eople excluded from vote,
and the ever-grwing number of people that never suscribed to electoral
lists, so are not counted as electors). So real score is far below what is
announced by polls.

* Theses absentations rise up to 70 % of electors in worker and unempoyed
neighbourhood. The exception is in some towns were Communist Party was very
strong, were Workers Struggle do sometimes better scores than CP - up to 20%
in former miner towns inthe North.

* In fact, Arlette electors are very mixed in class composition, witj a lot
of left middle-class people who will vote Arlette at firts turn and
socialist Prime Minister Jospin (himself a former Trotskist / Lambertist !)
at second one. Even the presidente of Miss France comitate, an olf
aristocrat, call for vote Arlette.

* Workers Struggles has got important financial means, since Arlette is
member of Eurpean Parliement, beacuase of European subventions. As she will
have more 5% of voices, her presidential campaign will be entirely paid by
state.

* Workers Struggle has got some 1000 militants, organised in a sect-like way
(party control everything in militants life, including sexuality).Even if
Arlette suggested the creation of a big workers party after her success in
1995 (5% of votes), they never tried to open the organisation and are very
mefiant about this.   So they don't progress at the rythm of electorals
success.

Nico



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