July 18, 2018

Dear Friends,
French railroad workers have been on a rolling strike to prevent the Macron government from privatizing the public rail system, thereby launching an attack on all French public and  private workers. The French  rail workers  are  among the strongest sections of the French union movement.  If they win,  Macron’s austerity drive can be defeated.
We have received an appeal for funds to support the strikers from Matthieu Bolle Reddat, <matt_bolle@yahoo.fr> , a young train driver well known to his US comrades. He  drives the bullet train. His brief appeal is at the bottom of this email in French. I have supplied a rough English translation.
You can help these workers by sending a check, or international postal money order (available at any post office).
Make your check payable to:

Syndicat CGT des cheminots de Versailles
Account Number: 21025546201
 
and mail directly to the union’s bank (please be sure the account # is on your check)
Crédit Coopératif
5 rue Maréchal Foch
If you have any questions you can email Matthieu.  Please do not hesitate to send this information to your own list of friends.
Sincerely,
Walter Tillow
for the MLT Editors
Les cheminots de France sont en grève depuis 38 jours contre la privatisation du rail en France, que veut imposer le président Macron.
Le Syndicat CGT des cheminots de Versailles, affilié à la WFTU, a ouvert un fond de solidarité pour aider les grévistes.
Grâce à l aide financière nationale et internationale  (Italie, Portugal, Monaco, Belgique, Chypre, Grèce), nous avons pu aider les grévistes en difficulté financière pour pouvoir continuer la lutte.
Nous lançons un nouvel appel à la solidarité de classe pour soutenir notre fond de solidarité afin de pouvoir aider les grévistes et leur permettre de continuer la lutte !
Vive la solidarité ouvrière internationale !
Vive le syndicalisme de lutte de classe !
Translation:
French railway workers have been on strike for 38 days against the privatisation of rail in France, which President Macron wants to impose.
The CGT union of railway workers in Versailles, affiliated to the WFTU, has opened a solidarity fund to help strikers.
Thanks to national and international financial aid ( from Italy, Portugal, Monaco, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece), we were able to help those strikers in financial difficulty to continue the struggle.
We launch a new appeal for class solidarity to support our solidarity fund in order to help the strikers and allow them to continue the struggle!
Long live international workers solidarity!
Long live class-struggle unionism!