February 9, 2026 editorial of the New Anticapitalist Party-Revolutionaries (NPA-R) in France, translated from French.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s continued release of documents on the Epstein case, a billionaire who, in addition to his business dealings, ran a prostitution ring involving young women, some as young as 14, and who died while in custody, continues to rock the world of global leaders.
The ramifications of the bourgeois world
Not all of the defendants are involved in the sordid prostitution affairs linked to the Epstein case, but all had friendly or financial ties with him, or both. What is obvious is the relationships these powerful figures, billionaires, royals, and politicians have with one another. They all belong to that inner circle, where only those who control the exploitative system of capitalism, whether it be through their capital or political positions, are welcome. A small world where everyone knows each other, helps each other out, turns a blind eye to each other’s escapades and controversial affairs, and where political labels are ultimately secondary. Epstein had personal ties to the fascist Elon Musk as well as to the “socialist” (center-left) Jack Lang. What brings them together is belonging to the bourgeois class for whom juggling millions in tax haven accounts is commonplace.
These capitalists, and the rulers who serve them, spew their poison and describe those whom poverty or war has driven from ravaged countries, who barely make do and shiver in tents in France, as freeloaders. They do the same when it’s displaced workers, or young people deprived of employment. These are the same people who drag the workers that dare resist, raise their heads, before the courts. As we’ve seen recently, dozens of trade unionists are currently being repressed at La Poste (the French postal service), the SNCF (the French rail company), in hospitals… even Sophie Binet, the general secretary of the CGT (large French labor union), was indicted for qualifying bosses as rats jumping ship!
Fighting back against the capitalists’ offensive against workers
The bourgeoisie is on the offensive against the working world. Patrick Martin, the head of the MEDEF (French Business Confederation), as far as we know, is not a sexual predator abusing young minors, but that does not prevent him from taking advantage of the plight of young people deprived of employment to propose the resurrection of the “youth minimum wage” and “first job” contracts with cut-price salaries. A proposition similar to that of the CPE (First Employment Contract) law that was swept away exactly 20 years ago after the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of young people and their parents.
But the bourgeoisie is not content with provocative projects. Bosses are keeping wages well below what is needed while food prices skyrocket. And they are using the weapon of unemployment to do so. In January alone, 2,400 layoffs were announced at Capgemini-Sogeti, and 1,800 at Société Générale. ArcelorMittal, which has seen its shares climb 25% since the beginning of the year thanks to the prospect of lower steel imports in Europe, is nonetheless announcing 5,600 layoffs in Europe, including nearly 1,700 in France. All three of these companies are in the 40 richest French companies!
This offensive by the bourgeoisie is supported and encouraged by the French government, which is seeking by all means to reduce spending on health, education, and public services in order to free up money for subsidies and defense spending.
We must respond to this offensive with a counter-offensive if we do not want to see our living and working conditions deteriorate even further. We have the means to launch such a counter-offensive because, without our labor, they are nothing.
