A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #365 - Antifascism - Antifascist Victory: When Union and Autonomous Struggles Join Forces, Antifascism Triumphs (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Faced with the Night of the Common Good, the union and antifascist 
mobilization pushed back the far right. A look back at the struggles 
that have animated southeastern France in recent weeks. ---- On October 
6, a date of the Night of the Common Good tour, produced and financed by 
Pierre-Édouard Stérin, a far-right billionaire, was scheduled to take 
place in Aix-en-Provence. These fundraising events bring together a 
sphere of far-right investors on one side, and hand-picked associations 
on the other. The objective is to allow the former to benefit from 
philanthropic tax breaks, and the latter to finance reactionary 
political actions.

While Pierre-Édouard Stérin is known for his PERICLES project[1], he is 
less frequently associated with La Nuit du bien commun (The Night of the 
Common Good), despite being supported by his company Obole. This 
endowment fund provides a gateway to the dissemination of far-right 
ideas, the flourishing development of associations implementing these 
policies, and the normalization of fascist movements.

The La Nuit du bien commun tour was scheduled to stop at 6MIC, a venue 
in Aix-en-Provence. From the moment the event was announced, activists 
launched an information campaign about the reality of the evening, 
raising awareness among the venue's staff and the city's residents. This 
broad mobilization (associations, unions, activist committees, political 
organizations) revealed the underlying nature of the agreement: under 
the delegated authority of the city of Aix-en-Provence, the venue is 
rented by the city. Faced with the silence of the mayor's office, and 
despite the commitment of 6MIC employees to the mobilization, the 
campaign against the event, despite its massive mobilization, failed to 
get the date cancelled. The message had been clear: we would be there on 
the day if the event went ahead.

Initially, the strike
For many months now, the cultural sector has been mobilized against its 
increasingly difficult working conditions: subsidy cuts, ministerial 
reforms, precarious contracts, reduced unemployment benefits, etc. The 
lack of resources opens the door to a new wave of far-right patronage. 
The numerous millionaires who support this movement can thus exert 
growing influence: the money is on their side, and it is now essential 
for the sector's survival. The acquisition of television channels (CNews 
and Canal+), newspapers (JDD, but also the entire Relay chain), and 
publishing houses (the Hachette group: Fayard, Grasset, Larousse, etc.), 
controlled labels (Les Plus Belles Fêtes de France), and showcase 
festivals under the guise of heritage (the Joan of Arc Festival in 
Orléans)-the far right's involvement in cultural spheres is expanding 
its influence and the reach of its rhetoric. The commitment of workers 
is therefore all the greater to curb its control over associations, and 
this entails demanding public funding to end their dependence on private 
sponsorship.

UCL was present at the rally against the reactionary billionaire 
Pierre-Édouard Stérin on October 6 in Aix-en-Provence. Freelance 
performing arts workers are particularly affected. Several emblematic 
strikes have already taken place recently to raise awareness of the 
deterioration of their working conditions[2]. Those hired for the 
evening by a subcontractor for La Nuit du bien commun (The Night of the 
Common Good) responded to the national call from the CGT Spectacle union 
and declared the start of their strike on the morning of October 6th. 
Supported by the inter-union group for the arts and entertainment sector 
(CGT Spectacle, CNT-SO, Sud Culture), they held a twelve-hour strike 
under pressure from the organizers.

A picket line was set up outside the building, under police 
surveillance, and was joined in the evening by the local anti-fascist 
mobilization against the event.

Uniting our forces
After contacting various local stakeholders and attempting to cancel the 
event for several weeks, the mobilization decided to gather in front of 
the 6MIC on the night of La Nuit du bien commun. Two hundred people 
converged on Aix-en-Provence from across the metropolitan area, while 
support rallies were organized in surrounding towns. The objective was 
twofold: to support the strikers and to combat the influence of the far 
right in community and cultural organizations. Despite the dozen police 
vans deployed for the occasion and the few fascist activists outside the 
building, the march managed to reach the picket line, and anti-fascist 
and union slogans rang out in unison.

On October 6th, unity was strength, and no political differences 
separated our flags: unions, LGBTQ+ associations, and anti-fascist 
groups. The announcement of the event's cancellation was the highlight 
of the evening and a well-deserved opportunity to applaud the strikers.

While we still hope for the fulfillment of the roadies' demands[3], the 
mobilization of our collective forces has already shaken the far-right 
machine, which we too often consider unstoppable.

Rethinking our digital struggles
Cancelled at 6MIC, the event was moved to a videoconference, where, 
despite a small audience, donations still reached over EUR260,000.

While the reduced reach of this alternative solution is already a 
victory, it is nevertheless important to examine our tools of struggle 
in light of the digital platforms now being used by reactionary forces. 
What tools are we building to combat fascist propaganda online? How can 
we oppose live streams that connect far-right movements and work towards 
their rise to power? Are boycott strategies still sufficient in our 
fight against their media coverage?

Our communities are working to solidify alternatives to Big Tech and 
other digital giants serving capitalism. More than just circumventing 
them, it is also up to us to fight them. It is impossible today to 
ignore the stranglehold of far-right billionaires on our digital 
communication tools (Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Bolloré, etc.). Finding 
other sources of information is essential; attacking the content 
disseminated through them is equally crucial.

As we write these lines, we encourage the other cities along the route 
of the Night of the Common Good to also stand up against these far-right 
charity galas. We will not let fascism prevail. One lesson to be learned 
from October 6th: we fought together, and we won together!

UCL Marseille

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[1]See "PERICLES Project: Stérin Takes Control of Southern 
Loir-et-Cher," Alternative libertaire no. 363, September 2025, 
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Projet-PERICLES-Sterin-met-la-main-sur-le-sud-Loir-et-Cher.

[2]"Culture Mobilizations," Cgt-culture.fr, 
https://cgt-culture.fr/mobilisations-culture/.

[3]See the strikers' press release, available on the websites of the 
unions mentioned in the article.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Victoire-antifasciste-Quand-les-luttes-syndicales-et-autonomes-s-epaulent-l
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