On Saturday, October 16, more than 3 million people took the streets of France in hundreds of demonstrations in cities and towns throughout the country in the latest national day of action against the proposed counter-reform of the pensions system. The number was on a similar scale as October 2, the last time the trade unions called a day of action on a Saturday but the movement has certainly developed further. The demonstrations were another show of strength of this movement which has lasted for months and seen 5 national days of action since the end of the summer holidays.

The magnificent movement of the French workers is an inspiration to the workers of all Europe. It shows the real face of the French working class. Yesterday strikers were continuing their action for a second day running, following an impressive day of action on Tuesday.

A new national day of action against the pensions reform brought 3.5 million demonstrators to the streets of France on October 12, the largest number so far in this movement. The massive character of the demonstrations can only be compared with the strikes of 1995/96 when the government attempted to cut social security and pension rights of some sections of workers.

The Sunday Independent carried several articles in its October 10^th edition leaving absolutely no room for doubt that the knives are being sharpened and the target is the Croke Park Agreement. Such is the venom for the trade unions and the working class that even James Connolly was dragged into the argument – on the side of the bosses! Here we outline some of the arguments from the Sunday Independent and we also let James Connolly speak for himself.

News that Green Party Leader John Gormley would like to see a National Government to sort out the crisis in the economy has now been replaced with the revelation that he believes it’s “too early” to talk about such things. However, it appears that moves are afoot on behalf of the Green Party to draw the opposition parties into cross party talks around plans for the €7bn super budget which will be presented by Brian Lenihan to cover the next four years.

Overnight the world has woken up to intimate knowledge of the process of extracting aluminium from bauxite and its by-product the red mud, which devastated several villages, including Kolontár and Devecser, in the SouthWest of Hungary on Monday, 4^th October 2010, bringing with it a long term threat of environmental pollution in several countries.

Hungary is not normally a place with a lot of strike action, not nowadays at least. However, one firm down in the Southern sandy parts of the country is facing a courageous fight by its workforce.

The struggle against the attacks on pensions in France is perhaps moving onto a higher stage. After mass demonstrations mobilising between two and three million workers, on 7^th and 23^rd September and on the 2^nd October, a new demonstration is planned for the 12^th. The national leadership of the trade unions intends to limit the action to “days of action” of this kind, but rank-and-file pressure is growing in favour of indefinite strike action.

Last week several days running the government in Romania faced stiff opposition on the streets to its package of austerity measures. So much so that the interior minister was forced to resign, while the prime minister was also called on to resign. So tense was the situation that the police held emergency talks with the president.

Very rarely does one venture into the “personal finance” section of the business papers. Maybe it is because advice on how to invest your million pound fortune doesn't seem that relevant to your life situation. Sometimes, however, it pays off.

It was announced last week on Thursday [September 30, 2010] that the cost of bailing out AIB has reached €29.5 billion, which might in fact be €34 billion; and that the total cost of the bailout could be €46 billion, some 32% of Gross Domestic Product. The implications of this are a recipe for class struggle and massive turbulence within the state.

The last few days have seen a flurry of activity, the AIB bill has been presented, the polls show Labour miles ahead of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The economy is faltering and there is a four year budget plan on the way, although it is unlikely to be delivered to Leinster House via a cement lorry. But what are the prospects for the main parties and how do the trade union struggles over the last two years fit into the equation?

On September 29 more than 100,000 trade unionists from 27 different countries marched through Brussels in protest against the austerity measures being imposed by governments across the whole of Europe. The turnout was far greater than the trade union organisers had expected and it reveals the seething anger that is spreading throughout the whole of the European working class.

In Spain the workers responded massively to the unions’ call of for a general strike on September 29. In addition to the two main trade union confederations, the UGT and CCOO, the strike was supported by many smaller unions: CGT, SOC / SAT (Andalusia), IGC (Galicia), CSI (Asturias), STEs (teachers) and others. Many members of Left parties, especially the Communist Parties and United Left participated actively in many areas of Spain. [The following report has been compiled from reports sent from Spain]

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Europe as strikes and demonstrations caused widespread disruption. The main action came in Belgium, Greece, and Spain with trade unions fighting against austerity measures that will have devastating consequences for the jobs and lives of working people. Strikes or protests took place in 37 countries, including Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia and Lithuania.