Jacobin Radio: Crises in France and Israel

Suzi talks to Sebastian Budgen and Yoav Peled about two existential crises rocking the social order. First in France, where President Macron used constitutional powers to bypass parliament and impose deeply unpopular pension reform. This move has provoked one of the largest waves of continuous popular mobilization since May 1968. The second crisis is in Israel, where half the population has taken to the streets and shut down their workplaces in a spontaneous protest over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s moves to destroy judicial independence and the sacking of his defense minister. A large chunk of the military stopped their training in protest. Public outrage on the streets has compelled Netanyahu to put his anti-democratic moves on hold, whereas in France, Macron is intransigent in the face of a united trade union front and ever more people hitting the streets. In response, he has unleashed unprecedented security measures, meaning more police violence against peaceful demonstrators. We get the big picture with analyses from Sebastian Budgen in France and Yoav Peled in Israel.

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.