Communism was the immense hope of seeing a new world born, a world in harmony. Its greatness lay in the fact that it promised earthly salvation during life, rather than celestial salvation after death.
The misfortune of communism is that we could see that it failed to keep its promise, and we had to acknowledge its failure.
Edgar Morin: Thinking Globally. Man and His Universe (ch. 2)
The measures we present in this text are those put forward in recent weeks by the French Communist Party (PCF), its parliamentarians, local elected officials, and activists.
Many of them are emergency measures, adapted to the current stage of the epidemic, which foreshadow profound economic, social, ecological, and democratic transformations.
Health First
• Mobilization of all industrial sectors of the country that can contribute to the production of sanitary protection equipment and materials.
• Weekly information on the production and delivery of masks and on needs.
• Nationalization of strategic companies.
• Systematic screening campaign.
• Total mobilization of private clinics and the national army service.
• Increase of up to 20% in salaries and wages of health personnel and essential sector workers.
• Cancellation of hospital debt and +5% to the National Objective for Health Insurance Spending (Excluding ongoing health expenditures).
• A massive hiring plan for hospitals and nursing homes.
• Drafting a public health law.
Protecting Employees
• Halt of non-essential economic activities.
• Partial unemployment financed at 100% of the salary.
• Ban on all layoffs and the distribution of dividends.
• For companies in difficulty: deferment of credit deadlines, rent freezes, exceptional direct aid under conditions.
• Maintenance of the rights of the unemployed and continuity of benefits.
• Immediate repeal of derogatory measures to labor law (working hours, leave, reduced working time).
• Repeal of pension and unemployment insurance reforms and the establishment of a job security training system.
Equality
• Freezing the prices of water, gas, electricity, telecommunications, and insurance.
• Elimination of VAT on essential goods.
• Free public transport.
• Rent and loan repayment freeze based on income conditions.
• Payment of an exceptional allowance for the most struggling households.
• Requisition of hotel rooms and tourist accommodation for the homeless, families living in substandard housing, women and children victims of violence, refugees. Reevaluation of subsidies to associations.
• Rearrangement of baccalaureate exams and suspension of Parcoursup.
• An exceptional subsidy to the regional and national press.
• Support fund for culture.
• For intermittent workers: reduction of the minimum hour quota and freeze of calculation for the period of canceled shows.
Mobilize funds to respond to the health and economic emergency.
• Creation of an emergency health and security fund of 50 billion euros funded by:
◆ loans from the Caisse des Dépôts and the European Central Bank (ECB)
◆ re-establishment of the Wealth Tax and the repeal of the flat tax
◆ modulating corporate tax on profits
◆ a tax on GAFAM and NATU.
• Creation of a European, ecological, social, and solidarity fund to finance public services, notably hospitals and a European public pharmaceutical sector.
Strengthen Democracy
• Installation of a national emergency committee, bringing together the government, the scientific committee, unions, parties, and elected officials’ associations.
• Continuous parliamentary session in the form of a standing committee.
• Exit from the state of emergency at the end of two months.
• New powers for workers.
Increase Solidarity and Cooperation
IN EUROPE:
• Pooling resources, especially in the production of sanitary equipment.
• Abandonment of the budgetary pact and opening debate on a new social and democratic pact between peoples.
INTERNATIONALLY:
• Increase in the political and financial means of the World Health Organization (WHO).
• End of blockades and financial sanctions, ceasefire in all world regions.
• Acceptance of health aid from Cuba.
• Strengthening of France’s health solidarities and cooperation.
• New international political and monetary institutions for a world of sharing and cooperation.
