Cole Stangler is a journalist based in Marseille writing about labor and politics. A contributor to France 24, Cole has also published work in the Nation, the New York Times, and the Guardian.
On Tuesday, France’s National Assembly passed a bill effectively banning citizens from posting videos of police officers. Emmanuel Macron is trampling on historic press freedoms in order to prove himself as a “law-and-order” president — an authoritarian turn which makes a mockery of his claimed defense of liberal values.
Eighteen months ahead of France’s 2022 presidential election, candidates are already jockeying to be the main representative of the Left. Green Party leader Julien Bayou told Jacobin that the Left can only win if it puts the ecological transition at the forefront of its program — no matter who its candidate is.
In Sunday’s mayoral elections, a united slate of left-wingers and Greens is set to win France’s second-largest city for the first time in decades. Faced with this challenge, the conservative establishment has radicalized, accusing the broad left of planning a “Cuban-style putsch” on the streets of Marseille.
Cities across France are seeing a historic wave of protest against racism and the killing of young black people. The French revolt was sparked by the demonstrations in the United States — but it’s fueled by police brutality at home.
While most politicians quarantine in safety, La France Insoumise’s Caroline Fiat is risking her life on the front lines as a health worker.
Just months after emergency room staff went on strike to protest their lack of resources, Paris’s hospitals are having to skimp on masks and thermometers. We spoke to frontline health workers about how they’re coping with the pandemic — and how years of underinvestment is making their job harder.
Larry Sanders told Jacobin how his brother began a transformative movement — and why unlike him, its members aren’t “Bernie Bros.”
Amid the collapse of France’s historical parties, Emmanuel Macron is presiding over the most unstable political climate in decades. As municipal elections loom in March, the forces of the Left are showing rare signs of unity — feeding hopes they can turn social revolt into a challenge for the presidency itself.
A six-week strike has paralyzed France’s bus and rail networks, forcing Emmanuel Macron to water down his pension reform. The transit workers at the heart of the strike want to block the reform entirely — but their hopes of victory rely on other groups of workers joining them.
For years, divisions on France’s left have helped Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen dominate the political terrain. But in the country’s second city, grassroots pressure has forced them to put aside their differences — and ahead of March 2020’s elections, they’re promising to launch a “Marseille Spring.”
Emmanuel Macron’s many loyal outriders in the media are trying to paint the picture of a “comeback” in his fortunes. But rising labor disputes and challenges to his environmental record show that the French president is anything but popular.
Strikes have spread to more than 200 emergency rooms across France, as nurses and health-care assistants call out the neglect of public hospitals. The striking workers don’t want to disrupt vital services — they’re acting to stop Emmanuel Macron from running them into the ground.
France Insoumise’s future is in doubt. But disputes over its internal structures mask a bigger problem — the party isn’t tapping into popular anger.
The rise of the far right in post-industrial France has led many to declare the end of the old class politics. For CGT union leader Philippe Martinez, the battle isn’t over — organized labor just needs to adapt to new forms of employment.
Millions-strong demonstrations in Algeria have forced authoritarian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika from office. Independent labor unions are fighting to ensure workers — not military officers — decide what happens next.
After a steady decline in turnout, France’s Yellow Vest movement is on the rise again. Emmanuel Macron’s call for a “great national debate” lies dead in the water.
France is no stranger to disruptive mass protests. But the “Yellow Vests” movement that blocked its highways last weekend represents a new front of struggle against neoliberal president Emmanuel Macron.
Yesterday morning, French police raided the home of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The leftist leader was quick to point the blame at Emmanuel Macron.
One of Emmanuel Macron’s leading aides has been caught impersonating riot police to assault protesters. It’s a scandal that symbolizes a presidency.
Morocco saw only modest change during the Arab Spring. But a series of pro-democracy movements has shaken its repressive regime.