Thank You, Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Jean-Luc Mélenchon narrowly failed to make the runoff in France’s presidential election. But there are signs that the French left can come back stronger than ever.
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The Case for Haitian Reparations
Haitians are asking the French government to return some of what was stolen.
Filippo Buonarroti Was a Jacobin and a Revolutionary Conspirator
Filippo Buonarroti was one of the radicals who sought to turn the French Revolution into a profound transformation of society. A theorist of the secret revolutionary conspiracy, his example inspired the rising labor movement of the 19th century.
The Unity Trap
In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, a renewed movement against racism in Europe is desperately needed.
“The Aid from Europe Is Conditional on Fresh Austerity Measures”
Faced with the mounting economic crisis, European leaders have promised aid to the hardest-hit member states. But there’s always strings attached. For France Insoumise MEP Manuel Bompard, the proposals for loans and grants ignore the real scale of the crisis — because they all put debt repayment above the needs of average Europeans.
The Anti-Communism That Fueled Jean-Marie Le Pen
After the Axis powers’ defeat in World War II, many former Nazis and Vichyites recycled themselves as anti-communists. Jean-Marie Le Pen sought to rally such forces with radicalized conservatives in a common front against the red peril.
Up All Night
France's Nuit Debout movement is mobilizing anger at austerity outside of traditional channels.
Breaking the Blockade of Gaza
A member of the European Parliament, Rima Hassan was detained by Israel in June after she joined the aid flotilla to Gaza. She told Jacobin about her experience — and why another aid mission is setting off this Sunday.
French Labor Derailed
Emmanuel Macron looks to have defeated France’s militant rail unions — where next for the movement against his reforms?
Rediscovering Europe’s Lost Revolution
Cold War stereotypes have blocked our understanding of European politics after 1945. On both sides of the future Iron Curtain, liberation from Nazism unleashed a spirit of radical democracy that might have led Europe down a very different path if not for superpower intervention.
The Mélenchon Economy
Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s senior economic advisor explains his proposals to grow the economy and carry out an ecological transition.
Can There Be a Left Populism?
The European debate on populism brings the Left’s fundamental identity into question.
How Emmanuel Macron Fell in Love With Africa’s Last Colony
Morocco is increasingly a focus of European alliance-building and investment, including in illegally occupied Western Sahara. French president Emmanuel Macron is leading moves to normalize the colony, despite rulings by the EU’s own courts.
Striking Against Macron
French unions will strike today against Macron’s anti-labor reforms. It is likely to be the beginning of a long battle.
There Could Be Power in a Union
The gilets jaunes’ street demonstrations arose outside of trade-union structures. Yet their mobilization offers a historic opportunity to renew the labor movement.
In Marseille, the French Left is Finally Uniting
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 Presidency Has Nurtured Racism and the Far Right
France’s mainstream conservative party is in meltdown, while the far right is stronger than ever. Only a united and resurgent French left can prevent Marine Le Pen from capitalizing on Macron’s authoritarian, neoliberal presidency.
Édouard Louis’s Latest Book Offers an Unsparing Critique of Capitalism and Patriarchy
Édouard Louis is one of the fiercest critics of the social harms caused by France's turn to neoliberalism. His latest book, A Woman’s Battles and Transformations, is a damning indictment of the brutalizing effects of poverty on the working class.
Ridley Scott’s Napoleon Is Mediocre Filmmaking in the Service of Centrist Politics
Ridley Scott’s Napoleon takes one of the most interesting, complex eras in modern history — the French Revolution and its long aftermath — and delivers a morality tale about the dangers of the mob. Even worse, it’s not even compelling viewing.
Socialists Invented Summer Vacation
Summer at work is unbearable when we can’t look forward to some time off. In 1930s France, the labor movement made the fight for vacation a top priority — and forced bosses to pay for our time at the beach.