Amid mass protests, bill introduced to return France to universal military service

[TexasTowelie]

Note: This article is from the Worldwide Socialist Web Site. I haven't seen any other mention of this news on DU and the other sites carrying this story are from right wing sites. While the analysis is socialist, I believe that the news about France returning to universal military service merits reporting.


Yesterday, after hundreds of thousands of people across France donned yellow vests and blockaded roads and intersections to oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s fuel tax hike and his social attacks on working people, the French government announced the return to universal military service. In an interview yesterday with Le Parisien, Junior Minister for Youth Gabriel Attal, who is presenting the bill, said: “My objective is to have the first draftees as early as June” of 2019.

The timing of this announcement underscored the close link between the ruling elite’s attempts to put entire generations of youth under military discipline, and its attempts to suppress social anger that is erupting among youth and workers in France and across Europe.

As it announced the return to the draft, the government was threatening a new, violent police crackdown against continuing “Yellow Vest” protesters’ blockades Monday. Some 27,000 protesters were involved, blockading highways in the northeast and near the western coast of France, as well as strategic Total oil refineries in the south.

With 183 protesters still in preventive detention after a heavy police crackdown on the weekend’s protests, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner threatened that Yellow Vest protesters would be “thrown out systematically, methodically” from their blockades during the week.

Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/11/20/fran-n20.html

[wasupaloopa]

1. Wouldn't a story like that be world news.?

It is a bill that is being presented. The title is misleading.

[TexasTowelie]

2. You are correct.

I changed the title of the thread accordingly.

[rogerashton]

3. BBC News reported it --

not quite as the wsws did:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44625625