A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #361 - A May 8th protest against the war in Saint-Nazaire (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

A thousand people marched on May 8, 2026, against war and militarism in 
the port city. This mobilization, of national significance, comes at a 
time when the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard is tasked with building 
a "new generation aircraft carrier." ---- PANG on the budget ---- In 
2020, Florence Parly, then Minister of the Armed Forces, announced that 
the future flagship of the French Navy would be built at the Chantiers 
de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, under the aegis of Naval 
Group - of which the French state is the majority shareholder - which 
would provide its nuclear propulsion from the Indret Arsenal, upstream 
on the Loire River, near Nantes. Displacing 78,000 tons, measuring 310 
meters in length, with a crew of 2,000 and a capacity for 30 combat 
aircraft, the first steel cutting is scheduled for 2031, the 
installation of the nuclear engines for 2036, and commissioning in 2038. 
This new-generation aircraft carrier (PANG) is expected to be larger and 
faster than the current Charles de Gaulle and to bear the name 
"France-Libre" (Free France), as desired by President Macron. Its 
construction is expected to involve 800 companies in the fields of naval 
architecture, combat systems, digital technology and cyber defense, 
information and communication systems, nuclear propulsion, carrier-based 
aviation, sensors and weaponry.

Its strategic justification would be to equip French imperialism with a 
tool indispensable for external operations (OPEX) across the globe. But 
it's difficult to understand whether the project's priority is military 
or economic, as the operation resembles dumping with both domestic aims: 
filling the order books of arms dealers; and external aims: showcasing 
national expertise to the death industry. And thus, consolidating 
France's position as the world's second-largest arms exporter, which has 
translated into annual orders exceeding EUR20 billion for the past few 
years. Hooray!

While the 2024-2030 military spending law already allocated EUR413 
billion to the armed forces, the EUR5 billion budgeted at the time for 
the PANG (Naval Aviation Support Platform) barely covers half of the 
sums needed for its construction, currently estimated at EUR10 billion. 
Thus, as early as 2023, the Minister of Defense, a certain Sébastien 
Lecornu, warned of the insufficient funds available to his ministry to 
build his new aircraft carrier. It is therefore not surprising that, 
having become Prime Minister, he is now having the National Assembly 
approve a EUR36 billion update to this law, which includes many other 
aspects besides arms procurement (a new national service, the creation 
of a national alert state that deviates from the ordinary legal 
framework, etc.) and should, unsurprisingly, be upheld by the Senate in 
June.

Lifeguards in action on Saint-Nazaire beach on May 8th
PANG right in the face
It is in a context of general rearmament and militarization of minds 
that an anti-militarist collective "Down with War" was formed in 
Saint-Nazaire in the wake of the collective against the universal 
national service (SNU) which became obsolete after the cessation of this 
project.

In a spirit of unity, the "Down with War" movement managed to transcend 
the usual far-left structures to bring together the local unions CGT, 
FO, Solidaires, and FSU, even though the "realistic" argument of job 
creation for local industry often clashes with pacifist principles and 
internationalist solidarity. The idea of a "pacifist" demonstration on 
May 8th was therefore adopted. This was achieved without the 
participation of the CFDT, which, for its part, explained that being for 
peace, it supported deterrence and therefore the construction of the 
aircraft carrier, which, moreover, would bring in significant local revenue.

The initiative quickly gained a regional audience, with the support of 
the "War on War Grand Ouest" coalition (GALAG-GO), which called for the 
demonstration in Saint-Nazaire on the 8th, as well as a rally in Indre 
on May 9th, where Naval Group will build the nuclear propulsion systems 
for the PANG (Patrol Boat), and also those for four new so-called 3rd 
generation nuclear submarines... This will require the construction of 
new industrial infrastructure, including buildings covering nearly 8,000 
m2 and a new quay on the Loire River measuring 45 m long by 20 m wide...

GALAG's arrival on the scene wasn't to everyone's liking and sparked 
some controversy, rehashing old resentments accumulated at the 
Notre-Dame-des-Landes ZAD (Zone to Defend). Nevertheless, on the 
appointed day, around a thousand people gathered at Place de l'Amérique 
Latine, far exceeding the usual activist circles in Saint-Nazaire, 
including many comrades from Nantes, Rennes, Caen, and even Paris. While 
these welcome reinforcements were certainly welcome, it's clear that the 
Saint-Nazaire mobilization was far from reaching its full potential 
locally, and much work remains to be done to build a movement 
commensurate with the challenges. It's also worth noting that the 
presence of libertarians was significant, even though they were 
scattered among the various CNT (National Confederation of Labor), UCL 
(Union of Libertarians), and OCL (Organization of Libertarians), and 
unaffiliated with any party, but without any shared projects.

The demonstration took place, therefore, in front of a large police 
presence, under the pretext of ensuring the peace and quiet of the 
official May 8th celebrations being held nearby. At 11 a.m., after an 
oppressive bag and ID check of anyone under 40 years old near the 
gathering, the police began hostilities by attacking people listening to 
the speeches in order to seize a dragon in the process of being 
assembled, bearing the likeness of Macron.

The model of the PANG is being assembled at Place de l'Amérique Latine.
Minor scuffles ensued, and two people were nonetheless taken into 
custody. The demonstration, which had been partially banned, then 
proceeded with the aim of reaching the central beach where they planned 
to set up a food stall and burn a model of the aircraft carrier. These 
objectives were achieved by managing to overwhelm the police presence on 
the seafront.

This demonstration addressed issues of armaments, militarism, peace, 
nuclear weapons, international solidarity, Palestine, and 
colonialism-all themes that must be brought back to the forefront and 
collectively addressed in these troubled times. It also raised the 
question of alliances to build momentum that would finally allow us to 
regain the offensive. Let us hope that this mobilization will mark a 
starting point toward greater political clarity, and that past 
sensitivities and controversies can be overcome to collectively respond 
to the terrible threats we face here and, even more so, beyond the 
borders of Europe.

Let us also hope that the prospects to follow will avoid getting bogged 
down soon in the quagmire of empty electoral promises.

Saint-Nazaire,
May 19, 2026.

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4725
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