France: Exclusive Interview with the National Leadership of the Communist Youth

We hereby share a translation that we received of the interview published by La Cause du Peuple on the 14th of April.

Cause du Peuple (Cdp): Dear comrades, you have just concluded the proceedings of the Congress “for the Reconstitution of the Communist Youth.” In September 2025, during the “Fête de l’Humanité” [Translator’s Note: Humanity’s Festival], we shared the Committee for the Reconstitution of the Communist Youth’s call to this effect. We would like to thank you for granting us this first public statement as the elected national leadership. Having been able to attend all of your proceedings during this weekend’s congress, we would also like to congratulate you on the success of this event. First of all, are you satisfied with how this Congress went? Were the delegates able to agree on a common foundation of ideological and political principles?

Jeunesse Communiste (JC): We are very pleased with how the Congress was held and how it unfolded. The delegates were able to agree on all the texts presented to the attendees, with a strong spirit of camaraderie and an exemplary attitude. The debates were carried through to the end, and every comrade was committed to ensuring that what was right prevailed, without succumbing to any factionalism. Some delegations had quite different perspectives, but we managed to find common ground on all issues. The presidium had expected to face some points of tension, but all the delegates came with the firm intention of building the Communist Youth and prioritized their desire to move forward.

Cdp: Regarding the Reconstitution of the Communist Youth in 2026, what are the prioritized political tasks for such an organization regarding the youth of France? How do you envision organizing this diverse youth?

JC: We quite regularly refer to Lenin’s quote about the Communist Youth’s role as a “shock force.” Youth occupy a special place on the front lines in all struggles. We know, however, that youth cannot stand alone; they cannot claim to lead the proletariat or be its vanguard, but rather its shock troops. As we conceive it today, the role of a consistent organization is twofold: (1) educating youth on Marxism, to forge young people ready to rebuild the Communist Party, and (2) driving the class struggle wherever we are, establishing neighborhood committees and high school groups, and mobilizing our colleagues and classmates around us. The role of the Communist Youth is to create revolutionaries ready to start a prairie fire. France is currently experiencing a regime crisis and accelerating its reactionarization, relentlessly attacking all democratic rights. We must not be fooled: attacks on individual activists or groups serve to establish legal precedents for dismantling democratic rights when it becomes necessary for the bourgeoisie. One of the youth’s important tasks is to fight to defend the democratic rights that our predecessors won through struggle, but also to win new ones. When it comes to the diversity of the youth, we may indeed view the term “youth” as a broad and abstract concept, but in reality, it is a very simple matter. No matter how different we may be, one simple thing unites us: our class, the proletariat.

Cdp: The reconstitution of the Communist Youth raises the broader question of the topicality of the Socialist Revolution in France, and thus of the Communist Party—an issue addressed in one of your points of unity. What is the Communist Youth’s position on the reconstitution of the Communist Party of France? How does it intend to contribute to this effort?

JC: The reconstitution of the Communist Party as the leadership and vanguard of the Revolution must be the primary objective of every revolutionary. All the experiences of our class demonstrate the absolute necessity of the Party. Our role as the Communist Youth is not to magically transform ourselves into the Communist Party when we grow old. Our role is to educate the youth on Marxism and develop the class struggle; to bring forth revolutionary cadres who will be capable of rebuilding a Party and mobilizing, politicizing, and organizing the masses around us for this purpose. This is not a task that falls solely to the youth; it is a task that the entire revolutionary movement must take up—all organizations, committees, and groups that sincerely desire revolution. To contribute to this, as we have said, we will expand the training of our members on Marxism and promote spaces for broad mobilizations; but also—and this point is crucial—we will fight for the unity of communists wherever they may be. Unity is the apple of our eye, and there is only one way to achieve it: the two-line struggle. To this end, in all our work, we put forward the following slogan: for the struggle over political lines and against factional infighting. For us, it is not a matter of competition, but of differences of opinion that can only be resolved through political debate and an honest assessment of our actions. Based on these criteria, we can work with everyone, achieve greater unity, and work toward the Reconstitution of the Communist Party of France.

Cdp: Since the death of the fascist activist Quentin Deranque, we have witnessed a new attempt to rehabilitate fascism within the bourgeois political sphere—a deepening manifestation of the process of the State reactionarization that has been underway for several years. Does the Communist Youth define itself as an anti-fascist organization? How do you view this struggle?

JC: Among our heroes are Guy Môquet, Colonel Fabien, and Danielle Casanova. We could name the thousands of other Francs-Tireurs-Partisans [Translator’s Note: Resistance fighters against the fascist-nazi occupation of France during World War II] who gave their lives during the great anti-fascist war, and we intend to be the worst nightmare of the fascist scourge. We understand fascism as what it is: an integral part of capitalism, just like war and poverty. Faced with the crisis and worsening living conditions, two paths open up for the masses: that of fascism or that of revolution. The attempt to rehabilitate and normalize the actions of fascist groups makes the 1990s model of antifascism—based on inter-group conflict—increasingly secondary, while making the work of education, agitation, and propaganda among the broad masses increasingly central. Antifascism must not be the concern of small groups, but must deeply penetrate the masses. We must relearn to hate fascism in all its forms and fight those who pave the way for it. Fascist ideology makes extensive use of “populist” rhetoric to win over the hearts of the masses. We must work within our own class to uproot this rhetoric and win the proletariat over to a simple fact: our only interest is the revolution, and fascism serves only the interests of the bourgeoisie.

Cdp: Much of your debates have focused on understanding the role of French imperialism in the world, as well as the class forces involved in the World Proletarian Revolution. How do you view the place of the anti-imperialist struggle among the tasks of revolutionaries in France today?

JC: As revolutionaries in an imperialist country, we must resolutely fight against our own imperialism and develop internationalism at all costs. We are in a relatively comfortable position, which allows us to develop substantial international solidarity; however, the best support we can and must provide to oppressed peoples is to overthrow our own imperialism.

Cdp: The success of this Congress is a significant milestone of our time, particularly in terms of the dividing lines that are emerging in the face of revisionism and opportunism. What do you think these dividing lines are today?

JC: As we have seen throughout the debates, conferences, and film, the question underlying all others is that of power—of conquering and maintaining it. When we speak of anti-imperialism, it is clear that as long as imperialist monopolies persist, oppressed peoples will know nothing but misery, and we will be heading toward war. When we speak of youth work, it is clear that as long as imperialist monopolies control state policy, young people will always face increasing precariousness. When we speak of anti-fascism, it is clear that it is inevitable for the bourgeoisie to resort to the fascist scourge to maintain its position. Whatever subject we address, the result is the same: the State is the bourgeoisie’s tool of domination; the army and the police are its backbone. This fact implies another simple one: the Party is the proletariat’s tool of struggle for the conquest of power. On this subject, we would like to quote the theses of the Sixth Congress of the Communist International, adopted on August 29, 1928, and reprinted in L’Humanité (then underground) on November 16, 1939:

« War is inseparable from capitalism. From this it follows that the “abolition” of war is possible only through the abolition of capitalism, i.e. through the overthrow of the bourgeois class of exploiters, through the proletarian dictatorship, the building of Socialism, and the elimination of classes. All other theories and proposals, however “realistic” they may claim to be, are nothing but a deception calculated to perpetuate exploitation and war. »

Cdp: Regarding youth organizations, this December we will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Union des Jeunes Filles de France (UJFF), a women’s organization affiliated with the Communist Youth, which was led by none other than Danielle Casanova. What is the role of women in your organization?

JC: More than ever, women play an important role, not only in the Communist Youth—there were many of them this weekend—but in the class struggle as a whole. We consider it essential to develop organizations specifically dedicated to mobilizing women in the future, based on women’s concrete demands regarding their daily lives.

Cdp: Which young people can join the Communist Youth today?

JC: All young people, without distinction, who wish to fight against the old world can join the Communist Youth. The bourgeoisie would like to see a docile class, an apathetic and inactive youth. We wish to emphasize this: nothing is impossible for those who struggle. Any young person who wishes to do so can start a Communist Youth section or join an existing one. Any young person, without distinction, who wishes to fight can do so. The class struggle is a fight to the death, and we invite every young person reading this to choose life!

Cdp: Thank you, comrades.