Since October 7, the French government has attempted to censor and criminalize pro-Palestine speech and protests in the name of combating antisemitism and terrorism. The repression has not stopped demonstrations of solidarity with Palestine.
The police killing of a 17-year-old in a Paris suburb has sparked a revolt against state violence across France. But powerful police unions have closed ranks behind the killer, in a backlash that shows French cops’ refusal to accept even basic accountability.
The war in Gaza has again shown the West’s capacity for selective indignation. France Insoumise MP Arnaud Le Gall told Jacobin why it’s time to end the "clash of civilizations" narrative — and adopt an internationalist foreign policy.
Recent years have seen growing calls for more accountable law enforcement in France — and an intense backlash from police unions. As the country votes in parliamentary elections, police leaders are openly refusing to accept the Left’s legitimacy.
France’s snap elections are widely seen as an opportunity for Marine Le Pen’s far right. But the left-wing parties’ Nouveau Front Populaire has a real possibility of stopping her — and it’s laid out a radical program to rebuild France’s dilapidated democracy.
In France’s parliamentary election, left-wing parties more than doubled their number of MPs, helping to deny Emmanuel Macron a majority. Yet the smaller forces who backed Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s coalition are already pulling back from any longer-term pact.
A new poll found that 80% of French people believe the class struggle is a reality. While workers are seeing their pensions cut back, the superrich are wealthier than ever — and it’s because of their success in capturing the Republic’s institutions.
Nabila Ramdani cuts through the self-congratulatory myths of French politics to deliver a damning picture of France under Macron. But she doesn’t give enough credit to the left-wing forces working to transform this broken system.
On June 27, French police murdered Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old boy of Algerian and Moroccan descent. Rather than treating the incident as an opportunity for introspection, French police have rebelled against all attempts to be held accountable.
France’s neoliberal government is expected to lose a confidence vote on Monday. For its opponents, the aim isn’t just to topple the current cabinet but to kill off President Emmanuel Macron’s whole austerity agenda.
France was paralyzed by strikes on Friday, as workers from train drivers to teachers revolted against Emmanuel Macron’s attack on pensions. While the liberal president fancies himself as a French “Thatcher,” his bid to tear up France’s welfare state now faces its most powerful opposition yet.
France Insoumise wants to change the face of parliament — including by turning hotel cleaners and bus drivers into MPs. Building a left rooted in the working class also means ensuring our parties aren’t just represented by professional politicians.
Last summer, left-wing French MP Danièle Obono was portrayed in a nationalist magazine as a slave in chains. She told Jacobin about how the far right is taking over French media — and how Emmanuel Macron’s supporters are adopting its reactionary agenda.
Forged in the best traditions of American radicalism, historian Tyler Stovall remained loyal to the struggle for a better world throughout an illustrious academic career.
Now under siege, France’s state-run pension system has delivered a decent standard of living to millions — a reality that retired telecom workers in Marseille have experienced firsthand.
Emmanuel Macron’s governments keep failing because of their unpopular austerity plans. The one move they’ve refused to consider: imposing a wealth tax on the superrich who’ve benefited most from Macron’s agenda.
After years of media attempts to cast him as “divisive” and “soft on Islamism,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon took a historic high vote in France’s election. Leftist MP Danièle Obono told Jacobin how his campaign defied the smears — and saved the Left from collapse.
In the name of constructive opposition, Marine Le Pen has issued her conditions for tolerating new prime minister Michel Barnier. Her party wants to show it’s ready for high office — but is vaguer about its stance on Barnier’s austerity plans.
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.
French workers vote for the far-right Rassemblement National more than for other parties, but more often, they don’t vote at all. Rather than laying down roots like the old workers' parties, Marine Le Pen’s party has exploited the vacuum left by their decline.