Strike Mobilizes Parents, Students, Activists and Teachers in Toulouse, France
Featured image: Demonstration in Mirail, Toulouse, gathers parents, students, activists and teachers.
On Monday, May 4, following the call from the coordinator Mirail Schools in Struggle, a strike took place which gathered parents and mothers, neighbors, students of the Mirail campus, activity coordinators, teaching assistants and teachers, as reported by La Cause du Peuple (LCDP).
In all educational centers in the Mirail neighborhood, a struggle has been going on for a month against austerity measures against the people, such as lack of funding, lack of staff and class closures. Although this is a generalized situation in France, it particularly affects popular neighborhoods like Mirail, in Toulouse.
Intense agitation was carried out, going door to door to speak with neighbors, distributing leaflets and hanging posters throughout the neighborhood, as well as in businesses. In the distribution of leaflets and home visits, activists from the FSE and CPES, teachers and parents participated jointly.
During the distribution of leaflets, parents and mothers were invited to attend a meeting of Mirail Schools in Struggle. At this meeting, various common demands were agreed upon, which were:
- Against class closures.
- Against the lack of teaching assistants.
- Against the lack of activity coordinators.
- Against the lack of resources in Mirail schools.
- Against the Defense Class Option and against militarization (firearms training and driving. Reserved spaces for reservists in daycares).
Before the May 4 strike, there were already occupations and protests carried out by teachers, as well as parents.
LCDP reports that the unity achieved in the struggle is “the result of a conscious and organized work carried out by the residents of the neighborhood, sympathizers or members of the Popular Mutual Aid and Solidarity Committee (CPES) of Mirail, to which students from the Student Union Federation (FSE) of the Mirail Faculty and revolutionaries of the recently reconstituted Communist Youth” joined. In addition, LCDP reports that this struggle “serves as an example of how the Communist Youth should act among the struggling masses, learning from them, developing their skills, and proving themselves to be capable organizers (through planned work) and reliable people.
The May 4 demonstration was reinforced by the presence of the FSE, CPES, Communist Youth and also the local section of the CGT of Mirail. Leaflets were distributed, an information stand was installed, and soon, dozens of students, parents, and teachers with posters joined, reaching a total of 60 people, including the participation of children who helped create agitational material.
LCDP explains that “what is at stake goes far beyond the school system.” After numerous anti-popular attacks and increasing militarization, the goal is to build “an ideological consensus around imperialist war, so that the masses accept everything this will entail in terms of reorganization of production, restrictions on freedoms and necessary sacrifices.” LCDP concludes by explaining that “There is only one way to overcome this process: organizing collectively to stand united in the workplace and in working-class neighborhoods, and to take the struggle there. Furthermore, “In Mirail, on May 4, a clear, united, and combative message was sent to the Rectorate and the City Hall. This is just the beginning of the struggle, which will continue until victory!”
The full report can be read below:
The source of all images in this article is La Cause du Peuple
