French Communist Party hosts Hands Off Venezuela meeting in Paris
- 07 February 2006
The public meeting organised in Paris on January 30th by the Marxist journal La Riposte and the campaign Pas touche au Venezuela! attracted more than 110 people. The meeting took place in the headquarters of the Parisian Federation of the French Communist Party.
The main speaker was Alan Woods, the editor of the website of the International Marxist Tendency, In Defence of Marxism. Alan gave an outline of the impasse of world capitalism, emphasising the reactionary role of US imperialism, which is attempting to bully the peoples of the Middle East and of Latin America into submission. But this policy has its limits, Alan pointed out, as shown by the present situation in Iraq and in Latin America.
Alan then went on to explain the revolutionary process underway in Venezuela, and also in Bolivia. He emphasised the very real danger, however, in the event that the revolution is not carried forward to a decisive conclusion, that this great historic opportunity to put an end to capitalism could be lost.
Maria Antonieta Borjas, representing the Venezuelan Embassy in Paris, warmly thanked Alan Woods, La Riposte and Pas touche au Venezuela! for their work in solidarity with the Venezuelan revolution. “You will always be welcome in Venezuela”, she told Alan, “we consider you as a Venezuelan citizen!”
Greg Oxley, chairing the meeting, underlined the support given to the campaign in France by Maria Antonieta and the Embassy staff.
Many of the people in attendance were members or supporters of the Communist Party. The discussion and questions to the speaker showed the enthusiasm of workers and youth in France for the revolutionary movement in Venezuela.
One of the most memorable moments of the evening was at the beginning of the meeting, when the chairman announced the presence of Esteban Volkov, the grandson of Leon Trotsky. Esteban was warmly applauded by the meeting. This is a very significant illustration of the increasing acceptance, within the ranks of the Communist Party — in spite of decades of Stalinist lies and slander — of Leon Trotsky as an outstanding representative of Marxism and as the authentic leader, together with Lenin, of the Russian revolution of 1917.
The success of this meeting follows on from many other successes of the solidarity campaign promoted by La Riposte in France. Many other initiatives are planned by Pas Touche au Venezuela in the coming weeks and months.
February 7, 2006
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