Main union confederations in France call on members to reject far right

France’s two main union confederations, the CGT and the CFDT, have called on their members and supporters to reject the extreme right in the national elections called for 30 June and 7 July.

The elections follow the surprise dissolution of the National Assembly by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, after the extreme-right Rassemblement National (RN) party won 31.4% of the vote in France in June’s European elections.

Both confederations, as well as three smaller ones, issued a joint appeal to take part in demonstrations against the far right on the weekend of 16-17 June, with Marylise Léon, general secretary of the CFDT describing it as “potentially a moment, where democracy is at a tipping point” and “absolutely everyone must mobilise”.

The confederations hold a similar view of the threat posed by an RN government. The CFDT describes the extreme right as “a danger to our democracy”. It points out that the RN wants to replace existing unions by “autonomous unions” at individual workplaces, while the CGT says, “a victory for the extreme right would be a catastrophe for democracy and public liberty”.

However, while the CGT seems likely to call for a vote for the left-wing “New Popular Front”, the CFDT has, in line with the policy adopted in 1988, so far not issued a specific recommendation on who to support, just who to oppose.