A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #372 - Politics - Western France: A Thousand Flotillas Rather Than "Free France"! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Announced with great fanfare by Emmanuel Macron, the construction of a 
new aircraft carrier was met with a large anti-militarist mobilization 
in Saint-Nazaire. --- On the beach, the aircraft carrier was set ablaze, 
while the flotillas sailed away accompanied by the chants of activists: 
"Zero aircraft carriers, and a thousand flotillas!" Nearly 1,600 people 
marched through the streets of Saint-Nazaire on May 8th against the 
construction of the new aircraft carrier, the "Free France," at the call 
of the "War on War Western France" coalition. Leading the march were 
banners from the towns that had responded to the call, followed by union 
contingents from Sud and the CGT 44, and then by joyful and assertive 
groups from the towns. At the rear of the demonstration, a few political 
organizations sought their place outside the unified front. A first 
massive and successful show of force for the anti-militarist movement in 
western France.

The coalition achieved its objective by bringing together several 
political, civic, and labor organizations under the banners of mobilized 
cities.

UCL Rennes
The date, prepared for many months within regional general assemblies, 
provides a solid foundation for the continued building of the coalition. 
Despite a demonstration that was announced and planned as a 
family-friendly and festive event, the prefecture opted for repression, 
carrying out checks and arrests even before the first speeches. The lack 
of collective protection was keenly felt and remains a challenge to 
address within a movement clearly targeted by a state undergoing 
militarization.

This event demonstrates the coalition's capacity to build a large-scale 
anti-militarist movement. It also shows that the existence of functional 
anti-militarist structures is a necessary foundation for amplifying the 
movement: only cities with these local structures (Rennes, Nantes, 
Saint-Nazaire, etc.) were able to provide a strong presence on this key 
date. As such, their development and structuring must be a priority for 
revolutionary activists, especially since, while unity is a consensual 
slogan, its actual implementation is still in its infancy. The coalition 
still needs to prove itself and reassure people in order to transform 
anxieties about the rise of militarism into a capacity for unified 
action. This is particularly true with regard to the largest 
organizations, primarily the labor unions.

Against war, unity is the order of the day!

Faced with the ongoing march to war, and with the election period 
beginning, the UCL has defined the fight against war against the people 
as a priority. Against delegationism, we must have faith in the capacity 
of our class and our tools to steer its destiny away from the trenches 
and death. The War on War coalition has already been seized by several 
political forces, and our self-management practices can make decisive 
contributions. To build a mass anti-militarist movement, we have no 
other choice but to get our hands dirty: against war, let's strive for 
unity!

LuLu and Malo (UCL Rennes)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Grand-Ouest-Mille-flottilles-plutot-que-le-France-libre
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