After the fall of the Barnier government, Macron is once again looking for a miracle candidate. There have been a number of offers from both the right and the left so it will only be a matter of days—or even hours—before a new prime minister is appointed.

But for us, the workers, it will be the same story all over again. Even if the next prime minister is supported by some on the left, what will the new government focus on? The rising number of layoffs? Low wages and skyrocketing prices for basic goods? The fact that thousands of children are sleeping on the streets? No.

Its primary concern will be to reassure the financial markets. It will focus on reducing the state deficit, which means cutting public spending—always at the expense of healthcare, education, and the working class— while claiming to defend the “public interest”.

“Public interest” is the buzzword these days. Macron wants a “government of public interest.” On the left, the Socialist Party (PS), the Greens, and the Communist Party (PCF)—all open to making compromises with the Macronists and the right—are also using the same rhetoric. Some workers who are fed up with politicians’ fighting and their self-serving ambitions, might find this smooth talk appealing.

But all those politicians couldn’t care less about workers’ interests. Wouldn’t it be in the public interest to repeal the retirement age of 64, to let older workers, worn out from years of labor, retire and to hire younger generations instead? Wouldn’t taxing the 500 wealthiest families—whose fortunes have grown by 650 billion euros since 2017—to refill the state’s coffers be in the public interest?

Wouldn’t it be in the public interest to use the billions of euros in dividends that fuel speculation daily to invest in hospitals and the healthcare system? Wouldn’t it be to prioritize education and the youth, and to do everything in our power to stop global warming?

And what about Michelin? The company made 2 billion euros in profits and has decided to close down two factories. Is that public interest? What about the Mulliez dynasty when it cuts 2,400 jobs at Auchan while pocketing 1 billion euros in dividends from its Decathlon sporting goods chain?

Acting in the public interest would mean forbidding multinational corporations from closing down factories and laying workers off and forcing them to share out the work without cutting wages. It would mean stopping banks and powerful corporations from pushing smaller companies into bankruptcy, as is the case right now.

Acting in the public interest would mean prioritizing the jobs, wages and living conditions of those who make society run over the dividends and wealth of the parasitic and privileged few.

But we can’t expect that from any government—not from the one Macron is cobbling together nor from any other of those preparing to replace him in upcoming elections. All political leaders, even the most ostensibly anti-establishment ones, have no intention of challenging big capital, let alone of expropriating the capitalists should they come to power.

The fact that no true prospects can come out of elections shouldn’t make us give up but rather take action. We can expect nothing from politicians, so we must act on our own. We, the workers, can do so because we make up a crucial social force.

Everything in society stems from our collective labor. Sure Macron delights in all that was achieved for the Olympic Games and the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral, but he had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was the workers—thousands of laborers and craftsmen—who made it all possible.

Nothing is designed, manufactured or transported without us. So let’s come together, get organized and put forward working-class interests and our vision of what it means to act in the public interest!

Every time workers have massively mobilized—by striking, protesting and occupying their workplaces and instilling fear in the bosses—they have taken the lead in politics and decision-making. At such moments in history, they have won rights for everyone and driven society forward.

Today, as we are faced with mass layoffs and so many imposed setbacks, the fight against big business and its government lackeys, that is public interest!

Nathalie Arthaud