Arsène Tchakarian (1916–2018)

Arsène Tchakarian was the last surviving member of a Communist military unit in the French Resistance. Mainly Jews and immigrants, they risked everything to fight the Nazi occupation.

The Left Under Macron

Newly-elected Communist MP Elsa Faucillon on France's divided Left and the way forward in the fight against Macron.

Zeev Sternhell, 1935–2020

Zeev Sternhell was a historian of nationalism who demolished the myth of French “immunity” to fascism. His focus on the history of ideas allowed him to trace the genealogy of France’s home-grown far right — yet proved less able to understand the social forces that powered fascist movements across the continent.

The Gilets Noirs Are in the Building

Paris’s tourist economy relies on a hidden army of undocumented migrants. But these workers are no longer happy to remain in the shadows — and their protests for regular status are drawing inspiration from the gilets jaunes.

Food and Pharm WikiLeaks

How “Social Europe” Became the Alibi for a Neoliberal EU

During the 1970s, left parties and unions promoted the idea of a “Social Europe” as a response to the crisis of capitalism. The term later served as a rhetorical distraction from the EU’s ongoing embrace of neoliberal dogma.

The Macron Phenomenon

Emmanuel Macron’s strong polling in the French election signals a political realignment destined to consolidate elite control.

Frantz Fanon and the Revolution Against Racism

Frantz Fanon was one of the most influential revolutionary thinkers of the last century. His work, produced in the heat of anti-colonial revolution, is full of insights for the struggle against racism and capitalism today.

Emmanuel Macron Takes a Stand: No Tax Increases for the Rich

New French prime minister Michel Barnier wants to cut the budget deficit, but the president and his allies are resisting all talk of tax increases. They’re dead set on spending cuts — and to pass them, they’ll likely need the far right’s support.

The Communists and the Colonized

The French Communist Party left a checkered record on anti-imperialism.

In New Caledonia, Kanak People Are Defending Their Autonomy

Nouméa in the French territory of New Caledonia has emerged partially destroyed after two weeks of rioting against constitutional change. The French state claims to be expanding voting rights to all — but Kanak populations see it as a colonial power grab.

The Left Can’t Cede Patriotism to the Right

Instead of allowing the Right to dominate discussions of patriotism, socialists should emulate past successful left projects that wed national belonging to an inclusive, progressive politics.

To Plan the Green Transition, We Need to Democratize the State

France’s election campaign has seen growing calls for greater ecological planning. But if the green transition is not to impose austerity by other means, it has to be planned by working people themselves.

Thomas Sankara Gave His Life Fighting Neocolonialism

Anti-colonial revolutionary Thomas Sankara struggled to free his country, Burkina Faso, from the domination of foreign corporations and neoliberal economic institutions. And in 1987, he was assassinated for it.

Kowtowing to Egypt’s Military Regime Is Letting It Get Away With Murder

Italian prosecutors have called for four Egyptian security agents to be tried for the 2016 kidnapping and murder of labor researcher Giulio Regeni in Cairo. Their appeal follows years in which Egyptian authorities have frustrated efforts to find the killers — and the Italian government has turned a blind eye, for the sake of good relations with Al-Sisi's military regime.