We don’t believe that the Greek people are guilty of the doubling of its sovereign debt within less than 10 years [1]. Neither that it has to pay this debt which has been artificially inflated through the slashing of its social rights, through the sinking of its democracy. For years the national and supranational powers controlling the European Union have been imposing austerity measures accompanied by „structural reforms“ on the Greek people which ruin the Greek economy and push the people into increasing misery.
Today, in a burst of dignity and lucidity the Greek people have voted for a far-left majority that is radically opposed to corruption and concessions, that has established a government holding the mandate of repelling the Troika’s (IMF, ECB, European Commission) diktat and of enforcing a policy of a break with this criminal austerity.
The goal of the European ruling class is not to oblige the Greek people to pay a debt; the repayment of which everybody knows is impossible, and which only has the function of draining public funds towards the banks. It’s goal is to compel the government of Alexis Trispras and Syriza to capitulation. This allows them to continue strangling the Greek people, who are condemned to indefinitely beg for increasingly costly credits and to show to all European peoples that it’s impossible to tackle the banks, to challenge the absolute power of the ruling class, to pave the way for an alternative to austerity.
It’s unacceptable that those who pretend to be speaking „in the name of Europe“ seek to break the Greek government - chosen by the Greek people -, to prevent the government from fulfilling its most basic commitments. They even dared to „forbid“ it to implement the minimal humanitarian measures in favor of those in greatest need (housing allowance, food aid, restoration of electricity)!
Today they claim that the government lowers pensions below the poverty line and increases the VAT on staple products. And they assert that they are ready to let Greece go bankrupt and expel it from the Euro zone, thus sooner or later from the European Union, facing the risk of a crisis with unpredictable consequences.
We support the Greek people in their mobilisation and determination to roll back this despotic and reactionary operation.
The struggle of the Greek people is the struggle of all European democrats, of all those who believe in human progress . In the case of a potential defeat all European peoples would pay the price. In the case of a potential victory, as limited as it may be, all European peoples would benefit. That’s why it is necessary for those French and European forces who have hope in the renewal of democracy to positively answer the calls of Syriza to build European solidarity around Greece and the Greek people. The perspective of a referendum urgently requires the reinforcement of this solidarity [2].
To the Greek people we say that we are on their side. Because their struggle is ours
FIRST SIGNATORIES
Antoine Artous
Etienne Balibar
Sophie Bessis
Jacques Bidet
Luc Boltanski
Gilles Bounoure
Marie-Pierre Boursier
Claude Calame
Patrick Chamoiseau
Patrice Cohen Seat
Jean-Numa Ducange
Jean-Louis Fabiani
Michel Husson
Michael Löwy
Marie-José Malis
Jean-Louis Martinelli
Gus Massiah
Jean-Claude Petit
Philippe Pignarre
Michèle Riot-Sarcey
Pierre Salama
Denis Sieffert
Patrick Silberstein
Francis Sitel
Bernard Stiegler
Hervé Télémaque
Jacques Testart
Eleni Varikas
Pierre Zarka
as well as:
Patrick Apen-Muller,
Nils Anderson,
Nicolas Béniès,
Boccara Paul,
Patrick Braouezec,
Nicole Borvo,
Marie-George Buffet,
Paul Bouffartigue,
Pierre Cours-Salies,
Alexis Cukier, Juan Cedrón,
Christophe Charle,
Christine Delphy,
Bernard Defaix,
Annie Ernaux,
Didier Epsztajn,
Bernard Friot,
Eric Fassin,
Roland Gori,
Frédéric Genevée,
Alain Hayot,
Jean-Marie Harribey,
Janette Habel,
Anne Jollet,
Samy Johsua,
Alain Joxe
Danièle Kergoat,
Pierre Khalfa,
Sophie Klimis,
Jean-Marc Lachaud,
Thomas Lacoste,
Francette Lazare,
Christian Laval,
Frédéric Lebaron,
Jacques Lerichomme,
Christiane Marti,
Claude Mazauric,
Gérard Mauger,
Edgar Morin,
Mariana Otero,
Aline Pailler,
Pignon-Ernest Ernest
Roland Pfefferkorn,
Yvon Quiniou, P
ierre Rolle,
Abdellak Serhane,
Jan Spurk,
Dan Sperber,
Michel Suret-Canale,
Susan George,
Bruno Théret,
André Tosel,
Marie-Christine Vergiat
… (more than 780 as of today)