workforce. Rather than defend them, Stalinists are attacking them.
Over Christmas, an immigrant hostel in the Paris suburb of Vitry was the target of a vicious racist attack. Using clubs, wire-cutters and bulldozers, the attackers The attack was not launched, however, by ultra-right goons. It was led by the mayor of Vitry - Paul Mercieca member of the French Communist Party, and backed up by 50 CP members.
Mercieca justified the attack by saying: "The people of Vitry are fed up. Out of Immigrant workers in France - the most exploited and badly treated section of the every 10 inhabitants, 2 are immigrants". DENIAL Did the French CP leadership denounce such an altack ana expel tuese memocis for whipping up racist feeling? On the contrary, Cr leader George Marchais told a rally a few weeks later that "... it is ininto France when we have two million French and immigrant workers on the dole"
The fact that the French CP was on immigrant workers - and then de Stalinist screw.
ration into Britain.
UNREST tensions among the population..."
immigrants and other workers. But what is the cause of these tensions? Isn't it the inability of capitalism to provide decent jobs and housing and rants the scapegoat of any discontent that might arise?
fight tooth and nail against racists attempts to whip up reactionary hysteria against the most oppressed layers of the labour movement? HYPOCRISY racist gutter? Quite simply - they have responsible for launching a goon attack fended it - represents a new turn of the merely Make no bones about it, the argument used by the CP leaders are identical to France" those used by right-wing racists such as Enoch Powell to justify curbing immigIn words that could almost have been taken from Powell's "rivers of blood" speech 10 years ago, Marchais explains that too many immigrants "could create It is certainly true that. at times or re positions? cession, tensions can develop between STALINISM the attempt by racists to make immig ultra-right And isn't it the task of socialists to ism". Oniv too true.
Just how has the British CP explained away their French allies' descent into the on immigrant workers is the logical outdefended it. Glossing over the goon attack. Harrv Samson in the CP pape Morning Star says the French CP is See or a r co moao! in the mutual interests of workers in If the French CP is right, however, then why isn't the Brirish CP calling for a halt to Black immigration into Britain? Instead of opposing Thatcher's racist laws, why isn't it defending them?
And instead of opposing goon attacks by the ultra-right on immigrant areas such as soutnan, wny doesn t it baci them? Isn't that the logical consequence of defending the French CP's racist No amount of word-juggling can hide the French Communist Party is a racist campaign in the traditions of the As a leading member of the French Socialist Party exclaimed, that campaign is "unworthy of a party which proclaims workers' solidarity and internationalBut the Stalinist parties abandoned workers solenty nematon decades ago. Organising goon attacks come of their chauvinist outlook.
SOCIALIST ACTION