By Antonio Negri
Published at Verso on December 8, 2018; original Italian version here.
Let’s reflect on the goings on in France of these last few weeks. Can we call this an insurrection? The answer – of course – depends on what we mean by the word insurrection, yet whatever our understanding may be, something of the sort has taken place. And will probably continue. What tells us this is not so much the violent clashes that have occurred in Paris for the last two Saturdays. It is not the barricades or the cars burning on the streets of the city centre, or even the sporadic Jacqueries, or the road blocks stretching across the country. What tells us this is that two thirds of the population approve of the general movement provoked by the rise in petrol prices. And this approval has a far greater reach than any condemnation of disorder. In this respect it is interesting that in the behaviour of the fire and police officers we can observe hints of insubordination…
Read full article in English at Verso here.