France: Alex’s speech upon leaving the courthouse

We publish here a transcript of the speech given by comrade Alex of the Ligue de la Jeunesse Révolutionnaire (LJR), as he left the Paris courtroom. It can be viewed here. Alex, who has been the victim of state repression for his support for Palestine, has had his trial postponed until January. This translation has been published by La Cause du Peuple.

Hello comrades,

First of all, I’d like to thank all the people who have mobilized here and all the supporters who have had my back since my arrest on March 4. There have been thousands of people and dozens of organizations, both in France and abroad, particularly in Palestine. So I’d like to send a special greeting to the Tanweer Center in Nablus, they have produced a video in support of me, and to Mariam Abbu Daqqa of the PFLP, who has sent us a message of support here, to me and to all the comrades under judicial investigation for supporting the Palestinian resistance.

So I’m going out free, there has been a referral which was postponed until January 13 next year. The main thing I wanted to say today is that, in fact, all our mobilization has paid off. It’s been paying off since I was arrested when I got off the plane on my way back from Morocco, and it’s still paying off today, as we can see.

There’s one thing I wanted to come back to, which is the principal thing: that is, why we have made this speech. Many people have asked us « Why have you publicly supported the armed struggle? », « What did you get out of it? What about the repression? »

There’s one thing I’d like to say: the Palestinian people don’t actually ask us for much. They’re not asking for a single drop of blood from anyone other than the Palestinians, they’re simply asking for clear support, firm support, constant support for the resistance they’re waging. And I think that today we can say that the communists haven’t looked away, they have dared to do their proletarian internationalist duty, they have shown up alongside the Palestinian people in the face of history.

Regarding repression, what do we risk? We can be fined, we can be deprived of our freedom, we can be suspended from our jobs; and the work, money and time of revolutionaries and communists will never be more valuable than the blood of the Palestinian masses.

Finally, I’d like to send a message of strong support once again to the Palestinian people, and to their glorious and invincible resistance.

What was October 7? Because we’re often asked what October 7 was all about. It was a battle cry, a challenge to imperialism. This war cry was answered worldwide, and we have responded by standing up alongside the Palestinian people. The Arab masses in the surrounding countries have mobilized their armed forces. Today we have mobilized, yesterday we had sworn to keep defending Georges Abdallah and to support the Palestinian people. We swear it today, we’ll continue to do it tomorrow, and we’ll do it until one thing, far from all the political bullshit there is, we’ll do it until one thing, and that’s for Palestine to be free from the river to the sea!

So now, comrades, it’s time to unite our forces in a great national movement in defense of Palestine. We must continue to support the United Campaign for the Liberation of Georges Abdallah, because Georges is the symbol of resistance who is locked up in France, in our country, and who we must free. And we’re approaching a decisive time for his release. So all those who are listening to me, we need to mobilize our forces in a united, combative, anti-opportunist way, grouped around the liberation of Georges. Because we’re going to free Georges from the jails of French imperialism, so comrades, Palestine will live, Palestine will win! Free Georges Abdallah!

(The crowd repeats the slogan in one voice.)

Comrades, in conclusion, I especially express my support for the Palestinian people, their fighters and their prisoners, and here in France we must remember that we have political prisoners. We have Georges Abdallah, there’s Ismaël who was arrested, just as he was on his way back from abroad a week ago, and there’s Mahdieh, a woman from Lyon, who was arrested, and we need to develop a campaign of support for all the people currently in prison. It’s important to support the victims of state repression, there are around 650 of us being prosecuted and there are people in prison today. So I give my full support to the people in prison whose only crime is to have fought against genocide. So comrades, supporting Palestine is not a crime! Palestine will live, Palestine will win! Free Georges Abdallah!

(The crowd repeats the slogans in one voice.)