"Give us back the money!": at the Fête de l'Humanité, Fabien Roussel takes aim at the ultra-rich

Fabien Roussel spoke at his annual meeting at the Fête de l'Humanité this Saturday, September 13. As he did at a press luncheon held on Friday , the national secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF) wanted to be part of this social back-to-school period, between the pivotal dates of September 10 and 18. "The awareness that the rich are picking our pockets, a class consciousness I would dare say, is growing in the country, " he declared from the platform of the PCF's national stand. " We've given enough! Give the money back!" he declared, while since 2017 the wealth of the richest people has doubled.

Faced with these inequalities that are widening a little more each day, what response does the left have? For the mayor of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux (Nord), this lies in the social movement, both in its union form and in its more heterogeneous and spontaneous form, as he was able to express himself on September 10. The communist took the opportunity to pay tribute to the "beautiful young, joyful and creative mobilization" that was the "Block Everything" movement . "There were more than 1,000 strikes ," he rejoiced. "Shame on Bruno Retailleau, and on the police provocation that took place in the country. The chief blocker, the engineer of chaos, is Emmanuel Macron."

The PCF leader subsequently invited his activists to respond en masse to the call from the inter-union, whose mobilization is planned for September 18 , and which should mobilize even more people.

On the more institutional front, Fabien Roussel had already presented his red lines to the new Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, on Friday. He took advantage of his speech to reiterate them: ⁠the abandonment of the Bayrou budget , a general increase in salaries, the repeal of pension reform, and the taxation of the richest and large companies. Under penalty of censorship for the man he considers a pale copy of Emmanuel Macron and a facsimile of François Bayrou: "Bayrou and Lecornu are green cabbage and green cabbage!"

"Without a clear and frank break, the same causes will produce the same effects ," Fabien Roussel believes. "We are not afraid of censorship. And if that means dissolution , then we are not afraid to return to the people."

Hence, according to him, "the need for a stronger, strategic, social State, which plays its role, which carries out ecological planning, which nationalizes when necessary." Fabien Roussel cited as an example the situation of French universities, of which he met several presidents. "They are almost all bankrupt ," warns the communist elected official. "I repeat to young people: we will not abandon our students, nor science and our researchers."

The same goes, according to him, for the associative movement, particularly threatened by the austerity budget pushed by the Macronist camp. He finally returned to the much-maligned pension reform , which is at the origin of a large-scale social movement. "When pensions increase, they don't go to tax havens ," he reminds us. " Retirees consume. We need to give workers and boomers some breathing space."

"It is possible to adopt the Zucman tax , to reinstate the wealth tax, to hold large companies that receive 211 billion in public aid to account! " lists Fabien Roussel, as examples. Other countries like Germany do not hesitate to bring out the budgetary bazooka to make massive investments. This is the path that France must take.

This is why the French Communist Party supports a “pact for France” in the form of a five-year, €100 billion annual recovery plan: “We will lower the price of trains, electricity, and housing through investment and infrastructure development.”

This is when the priorities of the Élysée, whose militaristic ambitions continue to be prioritized, must be questioned. "I prefer that we put money into schools rather than into bombs ," says Fabien Roussel. "It's better to fill heads than to cut heads."

To counter the stranglehold of the European Union (EU) – itself subject to the will of the United States – the national secretary of the French Communist Party (PCF) is proposing a referendum. The goal: to escape this "submissive" agreement concluded between the EU and the White House.

Still on the international scene, Fabien Roussel drew applause for Palestine, the victim of a "genocide" and the "terrorist" policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . "He, like Hamas, will have to answer to all of humanity," declared Fabien Roussel, before donning a keffiyeh offered by a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PCF leader then relayed the call to demonstrate on September 21 in tribute to the Palestinian people.

Fabien Roussel concluded his speech by looking ahead to the future. The brown wave sweeping France, as it has across Europe, should be a wake-up call, the Communist leader believes. "To fight the far right , the entire left must be there," he announced, as several representatives of left-wing parties, including Socialist Olivier Faure, were present in the crowd.

" We communists will do everything we can to be in tune with the broadest, most effective, and most grassroots rallies." Fabien Roussel assures us: "Our disagreements are a source of wealth. Let's not make elections a casting call, and let's debate among ourselves, but also with you." The national secretary of the PCF, who for the moment prefers to sidestep the question of the presidential election, had already declared on Friday that the 2024 agreement of the New Popular Front would not be renewed in the event of early legislative elections, but that a " new agreement" is needed with negotiations by department.