On Saturday July 20, television channels showed 3,000 riot police charging at about 10,000 protesters gathered near the harbor in La Rochelle to oppose the use of mega water reservoirs for farm irrigation.

Even though Macron and his government had just suffered an electoral defeat, it was his interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, who ordered the police to fire tear gas at protesters and push them back. Darmanin boasted about the number of arrests, saying, "It's hard to see the connection with defending the environment," and deliberately taking the majority of protesters for the black blocs who had specifically come to clash with the police. But Darmanin is the first to hide the real causes behind the mass discontent and large-scale police intervention.

The minister and the media tried to pit the environmentalists against the farmers who need to ensure the water supply for their crops. But they’re not enemies. When it comes to farming, small farmers are opposed to big farmers because their interests are not the same. And, as for the protesters, that very morning, small farmers, supported by the Confédération paysanne (Peasant Confederation), outsmarted the police using about ten tractors to set up a “peasant blockade” on a site belonging to Soufflet, one of France’s largest wheat exporters.

The real problem behind the water reservoir issue is the monopolization of water by big grain companies. As one farmer participating in the blockade put it, "The mega reservoirs are for only a few privileged people who will have access to the water for irrigation".

The protesters chose the commercial port of La Pallice in La Rochelle because it is the second largest commercial grain port in France, after Rouen. The most powerful speculators, such as Soufflet, own giant silos there. These agribusiness financiers export millions of tons of grain worldwide each year, which they get from the surrounding region. And with the mega reservoirs, they are seeking to gain control over the water supply in order to ensure the irrigation of the wealthiest grain farms with which they have ties. This would make access to water much more difficult for small farmers.

The young people who have been protesting against the mega reservoirs for several years are rightly opposed to a predatory capitalist system which is destroying the environment and human lives. And Darmanin along with the police commissioners in the region have used a great deal of force against them in order to protect the interests of big grain companies.

Another farmers’ organization, the Coordination rurale (Rural Coordination), which is very close to the far right, opposed the anti-reservoir protesters. This clearly shows that they side with the wealthiest farmers and agribusiness.

In this struggle between the rich on one side and small farmers on the other, our working-class solidarity lies with the small farmers who aren’t seeking to accumulate billions but are defending their right to make a decent living through their work. Our solidarity with other exploited people is part of the legitimate struggle for our own interests. The working class is the most exploited class in society. It is the workers who keep the factories, transportation, administrations and services running. As the economic crisis continues and worsens, workers will be the first to suffer blows from the government and the capitalists, just as the small farmers do today.

We have the strength to defend ourselves! Our role in the economy is far greater than that of any other class. If millions of workers from all sectors went on strike together, occupying their workplaces, they would be a considerable force. They would be capable of instilling fear in both big business and the government. They could represent hope for those oppressed by capitalism, that is to say the vast majority of the world’s population.

The conclusion to be drawn is that we are in urgent need of a new revolutionary communist workers' party which would bring together workers from all backgrounds, represent their everyday interests and advocate for the overthrow of capitalism. The future of society depends on it.

Nathalie Arthaud