Letter from | IMGpapers 1980

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From Charles Lister ON May Day in Paris, tens of thousands of workers take to the streets and display their strength in huge marches through the capital's wide and shady boulevards. Traditionally, May Day demonstrations are massive and united.

This year, however, things were sadly different.

There has been an open and violent split between the two halves of the French working class movement its trade union federation, the CGT, on the one side, and the Socialist Party and the trade union federation it supports, CFDT, on the other.

Ever since the break-up of the CP-SP 'Union of the Left', tions in 1978, the split has become more Union ruined the possibility of the left coming to power in the elections, and it was followed by a period of stunned shock during workers.

- the Communist Party and on the eve of the elecThe termination of the Left which it was possible for the government to buy off major workers' struggles, such as that of the Lorraine steel workers.

Yet over the past few months there has been a big rise in the combativity of the School teachers came out on massive demonstrations, calling for a general strike run by local committees. There has been a growing movement among health, rail and postal workers. In all these movements the French section of the Fourth International has been active.

Immigrants The struggle which won most sympathy, and had a profound effect on May Day, was the victorious strike by immigrant workers who sweep the Paris metro. Their demands were for f45 a week and the right to use the same showers as French workers. bourgeois Le Monde said: 'How can one contest the legitimacy of such demands, which one is even ashamed to mention..

Yet it required a bitter six week strike for the immigrant workers to win against the state owned RAPT transport company. Through this struggle immigrant workers began to discover their strength. A large part of May Day. belonged to them.

May Day this year was paradoxical. The various union federations held their own marMEETING 10r MAI MARCHE POUR L'UNITE BEAUBOURG Even the ICR 28 AVRII 1er MAI unions and workers' parties for 'Unity in Ac.