Statement by Fausto Bertinotti,ELChairman        
On the 4th of April Frenchstudents, young people, working people representing a large majority of theFrench population will be on the street to demonstrate, once again, against theCPE (First Employment Contract), and therefore against the precarisation oflabour and of people’s life and future. As it occurred last year on May 29th when the French people rejected the constitutional treaty, they are now raising their voices against the challenge to their rights, precarisation and neoliberalism. The huge demonstrations prove the failure of neoliberalism that, far from fulfilling its promise of a wonderful future, leads to a socialcatastrophe, against which the youth fight. Their struggle is our struggle,because the deregulation of the labour market contained in the CPE, does notonly affect France. It is, rather, a piece of a joint strategy as decided duringthe 20002 Lisbon EU summit, which aims at dismantling working people’s rightsand paving the way for a future with no rights. So we have to fight against thispolicy everywhere. The European Left Party supports the struggles of the youth,students and the French people and demands the withdrawal of the CPE.
3rd April 2006