Workers' Struggle (Lutte Ouvrière) is the usual name under which the Communist Union (Trotskyist) (Union Communiste (Trotskyste)), a French Trotskyist political party, is known (technically, it is the name of the weekly paper edited by the party). Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ... A political party is a political organization that subscribes to a certain ideology and seeks to attain political power within a government. ...

Arlette Laguiller is its spokeswoman. Arlette Laguiller (born March 18, 1940) is the spokeswoman and by far the best known leader of the Lutte Ouvrière French Trotskyist political party. ...

Its origins lie in a tiny group called the Trotskyist Group founded in 1939 by David Korner (Barta). This developed factory work throughout the war and was instrumental in the Renault strike of 1947. The group was exhausted by this effort and collapsed in 1952. 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... David Korner, also known as Barta, was a Romanian Trotskyist militant. ... Renault S.A. is a French vehicle manufacturer producing small to upper-midsize cars, vans, buses and trucks. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

After various attempts to revive the Trotskyist Group, Voix Ouvrière was founded in 1956 by Robert Barcia, better known as Hardy and the group's preminent leader, and by Pierre Bois, a leading militant in the Renault plant. It would seem that some effort was made to involve Barta but disputes between him, Hardy and Bois prevented this from happening. 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday. ... Robert Barcia is a leader of the Union Communiste Internationaliste (UCI), a Trotskyist organisation that is better known by the name of its weekly paper Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle). ... The word militant can refer to any individual engaged in warfare, a fight, combat, or generally serving as a soldier. ...

VO established itself through the 1960s by producing a series of factory bulletins on a regular, usually weekly, basis which were mass distributed. This activity could be dangerous as this was still a period when the Communist Party of France (PCF) retained its hegemonic position within the workers movement in France and they would at times make eforts to physically prevent the distribution by VO of its bulletins. In part this explains the continued use of a level of semi-clandestine operation within VO and in LO even today. The French Communist Party (Parti communiste français or PCF) was founded in 1920. ...

After being banned due to its support for the revolt of 1968, the group became Lutte Ouvrière. 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

While denouncing the undemocratic Communist regimes of the former Eastern Bloc, Lutte Ouvrière advocates the replacement of the current political and economic regime of France (and the World) through a Communist revolution. Nevertheless, it still fields candidates in political elections. Its main goal is public ownership of the means of production through the expropriation of the capitalist corporations. Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) comprised the following Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Albania (until the early 1960s, see below), the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. ... The Chinese Civil War was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang (the Nationalist Party; KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). ... An election is a process in which a vote is held to choose amongst candidates to fill an office, or amongst political parties offering a slate of potential office holders for a house of representatives. ... In law, eminent domain is the power of the state to appropriate private property for its own use without the owners consent. ... A corporation is a legal entity (distinct from a natural person) that often has similar rights in law to those of a Civil law systems may refer to corporations as moral persons; they may also go by the name AS (anonymous society) or something similar, depending on language (see below). ...

For long, the internal organizations of the party were largely unknown to the general public, the spokeswoman and regular presidential candidate Arlette Laguiller being the only party leader appearing in public. Even to party members, some leaders were known only code names. Such measures of secrecy were justified by the possibility that the party may have to go into hiding, should there be opportunities for a Communist revolution. For the same reason, marriages and children were discouraged. Lutte Ouvrière was thus often cricitized as being sectarian or akin to a cult. A spokesperson (person could be replaced with the gender of the person), or spokesmodel is a person who speaks on behalf of others, but is understood not to be necessarily part of the others (e. ... Arlette Laguiller (born March 18, 1940) is the spokeswoman and by far the best known leader of the Lutte Ouvrière French Trotskyist political party. ... The Chinese Civil War was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang (the Nationalist Party; KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). ... Sectarianism is an adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination, it also usually involves a rejection of those not a member of ones sect. ... In religion and sociology, a cult is a group of people devoted to beliefs and goals which are not held by the majority of society, often religious in nature. ...

In part this strict disciplinary attitude has enabled LO to be a very stable organisation in contrast to the instability that characterises so many other left groups. In fact LO is a difficult organisation to actually join and after becoming a member individuals are expected to conform to a code of conduct which is rather old fashioned. However this rigidity has been breached a few times most notably in the early 1970s when a group left influenced by a various ideas to form the short lived Union Ouvriere grouping. A year later another smaller group left expecting to join UO, which had dissolved in the meantime, and formed the group Combat Communiste. This in turn dissolved although some of its supporters later formed the Socialisme International grouping.

Another more recent breakaway developed after Arlette Laguiller's relatively high electoral results in the 1990s and LO's statement that this meant that a new workers' party was a possibility. This statement, as well as a dispute over the personal code members were expected to abide by, led to the departure of over 100 members to form the Voix des Travailleurs grouping. This later fused with another smaller group but has more recently joined the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire as a recognised faction. Meanwhile a minority tendency continues to exist within LO and appears publicly, although its supporters are segregated in their own cells.

An ongoing issue is the possibility and conditions of an electoral alliance with fellow Trotskyist party the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire.

See also

• Politics of France
• Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire
• Parti des Travailleurs

This article discusses political groups and tendencies in France; for information on the political and administrative structures of France, see Government of France. ... The Party of the Workers (Parti des Travailleurs or PT), is a French political party which was formed by the Trotskyist Internationalist Communist Party (PCI) led by Pierre Boussel better known by his pseudonym Pierre Lambert (it was customary for senior leaders of the party to be known under pseudonyms...

External link

• Lutte Ouvrière's official site (http://www.lutte-ouvriere.org)
• Revue Socialisme International (http://www.revue-socialisme.org)