A-Infos (en) US, BRRN: The Platform at 100: Voices of Organized Anarchists Around the Globe (Vol. 2) II. UCL - France (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

1. UCL was formed in 2019 as a fusion of two existing organizations, 
Coordination des Groupes Anarchistes (CGA) and Alternative Libertaire 
(AL). Can you briefly explain what brought these two groups together and 
what the process of becoming one organization involved?
UCL: AL and CGA were two relatively small organisations. They didn't 
have the exact same background but they shared theoretical references 
and a similar intervention into the global struggle of the people.
The growth of both organizations was slowing. Both organizations got 
used to working together, and the election of Emmanuel Macron meant a 
strengthening of attacks against the working class. For our political 
tradition, the organization isn't the be-all and end-all of our 
political activity but a tool in the service of our movement. It felt 
natural to attempt a fusion.

AL being itself a fusion, there was some experience in the process. 
During the fusion, there was a constant attention to focus on the base 
level. Therefore, there was a year-long back-and-forth to democratically 
prepare a congress. This congress adopted our new organizational status 
and the Manifesto you can find (in English) on the website.

2. France has a special relationship with the history of the Dielo Truda 
Group and The Platform. Peter Arshinov, Nestor Makhno, and other members 
of the group took up residence in Paris-following their exile from 
Russia and Ukraine in the wake of the Bolshevik consolidation of 
power-where they reflected on the experience of the Russian Revolution 
and produced the Platform. In brief, what impact have the ideas of Dielo 
Truda's Platform had on the anarchist movement in France historically? 
What does UCL take from this history?

UCL: The debate between the people who supported "the platform," who 
advocate for a very coordinated anarcho-communist movement, and those 
who supported "the synthesis," who seek to gather all anarchists in a 
unique organisation, has shaped the political landscape of organized 
anarchism in France.

Just to give a few examples, after the second world war, young 
worker-oriented members took control of the Federation Anarchiste (FA) 
to build the Federation Communiste Libertaire (FCL), and the issue of 
"how to organise at a federal level" has been the main reason of the 
creation of the CGA, who rejected the FA for its inability to take 
decisive action at the federal level.

For the libertarian communist current, the platform has been a compass 
for decades, but has been put into practice to varying degrees by 
successive organisations. Today, direct references to the platform are 
mostly done to discuss our legacy. The content has been updated 
throughout the years at a theoretical level, for example by the 
publishing of the book "un projet de société communiste libertaire," but 
it's in our praxis that its spirit shines the brightest. We debate 
different tactics to use but we maintain a strategic unity in our 
action. UCL is firmly committed to having a strong federation with a 
shared theoretical background. The "ethic" between us is a centerpiece 
of our organization and a key part of our mandatory first formation 
alongside materialism.

3. How is UCL organized? How are decisions made at the branch level and 
at the national level?

UCL: UCL is a federation built on Local Groups ("GL" in French) in 
cities or areas all around France (and even in Belgium and Switzerland). 
The GL is the basis of the Federation. A GL starts with at least 3 
persons. It is responsible for becoming involved in social movements 
within its territory, following our federal guidelines. The organization 
within a GL is pretty free, whether in terms of frequency of meeting or 
way to take decisions, with some big GLs having subcommissions and many 
mandates. But not all GLs have this exact structure.

The GLs discuss politics internally and express themselves at the 
federal level as an entity, but they can express different points of 
view, reflecting the full view of its members. Therefore, political 
discussion within a Local Group is the basis of the democratic process.

In addition to the congress, where the global political orientations are 
voted every 3 years, there is a need to take political decisions. They 
are taken during Federal Coordinations (CF) that happen every 3 months 
where more "low level" political or administrative motions are 
discussed. The votes are not individual but proportional to the number 
of members in each local group.

At the federal level, we have two types of commissions:

Functional Commissions (Finance, Internal Relations, Newspaper, 
International Relations, Exterior Relations, Security, Communication, 
etc...) that are more "administrative" and "less political" in the sense 
that they don't elaborate positions (as they do in International 
Relations). To enter a Functional commission, you need to be voted in by 
the federation.
Intervention Commissions (Antipatriarchy, Labour, Ecology, Antifascism, 
Antiracism, Youth, etc...) that are free to enter for any member of the 
UCL. They elaborate positions to be proposed in Federal Coordination or 
congress, create material (leaflets, statements,...) and formations and 
coordinate our implication in this front. Members of those commissions 
can give their personal opinion and not necessarily their GLs although 
it is recommended to do both.
The Federal Secretariat is made of members from both types of 
commissions that have been voted in by the federation in Congress, or 
sometimes by a CF. They have a role to make the federation function, 
helping when needed, and making statements (or endorsing them). They 
implement decisions made at the CF or Congress level (along with the 
commissions) and do not have the power to decide the direction of the 
organization.

4. What areas of mass organizing are members of UCL engaged in?

UCL: Mainly in unions. We have a significant history of mass organizing 
in unions and as a vast majority of our members are also union members. 
Unions do not all function the same way in France. There are two main 
general class-struggle unions in France, Solidaires and CGT. The CGT is 
one of the two strongest unions in France, though its power is 
declining. As it is still the theater of political struggle among 
different left-wing organizations, we try to influence it by seeking to 
implement our practice at a local level. We put an emphasis on building 
industry unions instead of company unions and bring life to "union 
locale" (local chapters) in order to adapt the CGT to the ever greater 
precarity of the working class.

Solidaires is a smaller union that was created by the union left (gauche 
syndicale), which regrouped diverse anti-authoritarian communist 
currents into the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (Cfdt). 
During the 1980s, the Cfdt expelled its left-wing elements and they went 
to create the Solidarity, Unity, Democracy (SUD) unions, which became 
Solidaires. The libertarian communist movement had a deep influence in 
some federations. As the principle of industrial unionism and 
self-management are better implemented, the task at hand for our members 
is to continue building the union.

All of our union members try to build working-class unity through 
alliances when possible between class-struggle unions at the local level.

We are also present in some collectives, associations, and other 
struggle organisations, but it is not uniform and depends on what is 
relevant in members' territory and according to each member's ability.

There is a strong tradition of militant and autonomous sections of 
Planning Familial in France. Some of our comrades are invested in those 
organizations that organize women and the feminist struggle. Sometimes 
local Planning Familial groups are too bureaucratic and our members act 
through their union or more local organisations.

A UCL campaign called "for a trans counter-offensive" was launched in 
2023 so some of our comrades have been taking part in the effort to 
build a federal trans mass organization.

While some comrades are part of antifascist local organizations, some 
others have been very active in the building of Vigilance et Initiative 
Syndicale Antifasciste (VISA) which is a union-based coordination across 
different unions against fascism.

5. UCL works closely with other European platformist/especifista 
organizations via the European Coordination of Organized Anarchism 
(ECOA). Can you describe the joint campaigns you have undertaken together?

UCL: For now, there are few. There was a mutual campaign with Die 
Plattform and Embat about the European Election with a common poster in 
2024. Other campaigns have been at a more local level or between only a 
few organizations, but we are gearing toward more. Cross-border 
relations exist between local groups and this year a common formation 
took place in Strasbourg, at the border between France and Germany.

We try to attend each other's summer camps and to coordinate during big 
European demonstrations, most notably during the yearly demonstration 
with the Kurdish left in Paris.

6. What is UCL's Summer Days camp? What purpose does it serve?

UCL: The Summer Camp (JE in French) is a week each year in which all 
members of UCL, sympathizers, and subscribers of our newspaper are 
invited to participate. In general, a third of the organisation 
participates. It is a camp site where all-day workshops, conferences, 
etc. are held. At night activities (like militant karaoke, game nights, 
parties or others) are held.

The week is a time when people from all around the country can see each 
other and discuss politics, but also learn through the workshops and 
conferences. No organizational decisions are made there, as no mandate 
is given to participants. It is also seen as a sort of holiday, with 
many breaks between activities to engage in communal life. We try to 
apply self-management all week, with 95% of the work (kitchen, cleaning, 
administration, etc.) done by participants. The purpose is to apply 
self-management in a controlled place without too much outside 
interaction, to strengthen our bonds, to learn on new topics, to take a 
break and have fun.

7. Organized anarchism appears to be a quickly growing tendency in 
Europe and around the world. Why do you believe this is?

We all feel the need for a coordinated response against the ever 
stronger attacks of the bourgeoisie and the rise of fascism. There is a 
real need to regroup, act, and build alliances at a larger scale.

In France, the creation of the UCL was a big boost to our current but 
there was also a big turnover in membership. It has been decades since 
our current didn't face those problems of rapid growth and we definitely 
made some mistakes. Our organization is trying to develop itself at a 
steadier pace now.

We welcome the formation of new libertarian communist organisations in 
Spain and Germany, where it has been decades since our current has tried 
to build there. Some comrades are starting to organize in other 
countries like the Netherlands and Greece as well.

In some other places in Europe, there is a lack of generational renewal 
and we have yet to build our current in Northern Europe. UCL has some 
role to play as one of the biggest organizations of our current 
globally. We try to share our experiences, our successes, and the 
mistakes we have made. But each organisation has to find its own answers 
through practice, as the material conditions are different from one 
country to another. There is still an enormous amount of work to be done

https://www.blackrosefed.org/platform-interviews-vol-2/#union-communiste-libertaire-france
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