International

You could not take your eyes off it. Today one-and-a-half million people demonstrated in the streets of Paris, demonstrated for freedom. This was impressive. It’s Europe’s best side, the Europe of values that we hold in common and that we will not allow to be taken away by extremists, whatever their plumage. Unfortunately there’s another side to Europe: unrelenting neoliberalism, commercialisation, the decline of solidarity with those who have less than others. What would be good would be millions of people protesting in Brussels to demand an end to an icy cold, neoliberal society. That’s what I call freedom.

Many people tried to hijack the Paris protest: government leaders joined in the march, but even in their own countries journalists sought out right-wing extremists who could only call for ‘war’ and Europhiles who gloated about the truly European feeling which the demonstration would express.

Nothing could be done to stop people with all kinds of different agendas joining the march. The protest remained, despite them, a fine demonstration, precisely because it radiated a feeling of unity around the theme of freedom. If I might sound a critical note, this concerns not the credibility of the protest as such, but rather the absence of any social dimension.

For true freedom what’s needed is for the atmosphere of the protest to be translated into social terms. It’s a fine thing that on 11th January so many people came together, but was there still talk of solidarity when 12th January dawned? Did government leaders call a halt to the destruction of our social and public services? Will everyone now be given the opportunity to get a good education, good health care, and sound provision for their old age? Will we permit ourselves to be led less by commercial considerations and more by our common humanity? Will decent employment be once again available?

Most of the media are now also commercialised. There is little room available, let alone money, for a critical spirit. Admittedly, the social media are accessible, but the Internet too is increasingly dominated by major corporations such as Facebook and Google. And try to get a critical voice on TV. If you succeed, it will often be at an hour when no-one’s watching. For a truly free press, we need a less commercially-oriented and more socially-minded society.

Challenges enough. Today was a day which gave one hope for free speech. Tomorrow we must force the European Union to take a different line, no longer acting as the prisoner of corporate capital but listening to what people on the street are calling for. True freedom cannot exist without solidarity. I hope in the time to come we will see its return.