On 13 June 2025 The Union de la Jeunesse Communiste (UJC) in France presented an ideological intervention on the topic of “Imperialism, The EU and France”. This event was attended by members of the Workers Party Youth and Communist Vanguard in Britain.
The Leninist Theory of Imperialism
The beginning of the intervention was dedicated to the topic of imperialism. In this section the Leninist approach to imperialism was clarified and separated from the understanding of imperialism as a set of diplomatic attitudes or foreign policy positions. The UJC correctly identified imperialism as a stage of capitalist development. However, Imperialism is not just a historical stage of capitalism, but is a world wide stage of capitalism. Imperialism is therefore not to be understood as a set of policies or limited to a handful of countries, but instead a world system which incorporates all capitalist countries.
Following on from this the UJC clarified that Lenin’s characteristics of the imperialist stage of capitalism is not designed to answer the question of who is imperialist, but rather to address where one’s own country stands in the international imperialist hierarchy. Emphasis was placed on the need for theoretical clarity on these important issues. Marxist-Leninst theory can never be limited to being an intellectual exercise but has to act as a guide to action for the socialist revolution.
The French Bourgeoisie and the EU
Once this theoretical foundation was discussed, the UJC began the discussion on the history of the French bourgeoisie in the imperialist world system. Special attention was given to the topic of French integration into the European Union. An overview was given of the efforts of Charles DeGaulle to use the machinery of the state in order to advance capitalist accumulation and concentration in the wake of the loss of the majority of the French colonies after the 1950s. This process of accumulation with the use of state intervention continued long after, resulting in an increased number of French monopolies.
The UJC states: “The niche policy chosen by French imperialism has resulted in the emergence of powerful international monopolies. In 2006, 10 French monopolies were among the top 100 super monopolies; by 2020, the number will have risen to 6, with many of these places taken by incoming Chinese monopolies. With 31 of the world’s 500 largest groups in 2020 (28 in 2017), France ranks 4th in the Fortune Global 500, behind the USA, China and Japan, but ahead of Germany and the UK. Paris is the third city in the world to host the most head offices of the 500 largest global groups, after Tokyo and Beijing.”
The Current Situation of the French Bourgeoisie
The UJC discussed the current political crisis of the French bourgeoisie, which is not to be separated from the economic crisis. The position of French monopolies since 2006 has been considerably weakened on the international stage. The way out of this crisis for the French bourgeoisie was through increased participation in the war effort against Russia. Regarding the French bourgeoisie participation in the EU the UJC conclude “The EU is therefore an alliance that enables the French monopolies, through compromises and internal contradictions within the various bourgeoisies, to rise up against other bourgeoisies.”
Lessons for the Anti-Imperialist Youth
In the final section, time was dedicated to the various opportunist distortions regarding the imperialist nature of the war in Ukraine. The UJC emphasised what they refer to as the “geopolitical” analysis of imperialism. This is a view which uses imperialism only as an adjective to describe certain states and therefore disconnects it from Lenin’s understanding. The UJC emphasised the importance of developing an independent class position, separate from any bourgeois influence. Importance was placed on taking an internationalist perspective which takes advantage of the weakening of the bourgeoisie through their own imperialist wars.
The last 30 minutes was dedicated to questions. These ranged from the recent coups in the Sahel region in Africa and the attitude of the French bourgeoisie towards them as well as their strategy in Africa in general. The New Popular Front was also discussed primarily in relation to their reformist demands for a Sixth French Republic and their erroneous attitude towards anti-fascist struggle.
We would like to thank the UJC once again for their time and hard work.