Revolutionary Anarchist Organization Explained

Revolutionary Anarchist Organization
Native Name:Organisation révolutionnaire anarchiste
Native Name Lang:fr
Colorcode:red
Abbreviation:ORA
Chairman:-->
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Split:Anarchist Federation
Successor:, UTCL
Headquarters:13th arrondissement of Paris
Newspaper:L'Insurgé
Ideology:Libertarian communism
Position:Far-left
Regional Affiliation:-->
Continental Affiliation:-->
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Seats11 Title:-->
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Country:France

The Revolutionary Anarchist Organization (French: link=no|Organisation révolutionnaire anarchiste, ORA) was a French libertarian communist organization that was active during the 1970s.[1]

History

In 1967, young libertarian communists began to coalesce within the Anarchist Federation (FA) and created within it a new organized tendency: the Revolutionary Anarchist Organization (ORA), which published the sheet, L'Insurgé. Not long after its foundation, the ORA participated in the events of May 68, with their members distributing leaflets and some even fighting on the barricades, but its activities were largely disorganized and lacking in strategy.[2]

From November 1968, the ORA gradually began to separate itself from the Anarchist Federation to become a specific organization, driven by the generational divide between the ORA's younger members and the FA's older membership, many of whom were exiles from Spain and Bulgaria. The ORA eventually withdrew from the International of Anarchist Federations (IFA), leaving the FA to become the IFA's French section. With a certain amount of international coordination, they quickly established branches in the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark and Germany.[2] They also formed links with former Red Guards that had fled China following their suppression during the Cultural Revolution, which brought the ORA into conflict with French Maoists.[2]

In 1971, the ORA attempted a rapprochement with the Libertarian Communist Movement (MCL) led by Georges Fontenis, but this failed. A group from the MCL, led by Daniel Guérin, then joined the ORA, while other ORA groups left to join the MCL and gave birth to the first (OCL-1). Some activists also left the ORA to join the, while the FACO split from the ORA after disagreements relating to the question of nationality.[2]

By this time, most of the founding members of the ORA had left and been replaced with a new generation of activists.[2] Under the influence of Guérin, the ORA began to move towards libertarian Marxism and started to advocate for participation in trade unions. In 1974, the ORA reestablished the Parisian section of International Antifascist Solidarity, to support Iberian anarcho-syndicalists through the Portuguese and Spanish transition to democracy.[3]

Finally, in April 1976, the ORA's Orleans congress resulted in its transformation into the (OCL), while others split off to establish the Union of Libertarian Communist Workers (UTCL).[3]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Le courant anarchiste. 3 April 1970. Le Monde. Rédaction. fr. 1 May 2022. 1950-6244. 1010530483.
  2. Web site: Dossier 68 : Rolf Dupuy et Guy Malouvier: " Chacun de ces mots comptait : organisation; révolutionnaire; anarchiste ". Guillaume. Davranche. Grégoire. Mariman. AL, le mensuel. 173. Union communiste libertaire. 30 June 2008. 1 May 2022. fr. 1165447845.
  3. Web site: Être anarchistes et révolutionnaires à Orléans dans les années 68 . Théo. Roumier. 1 February 2018. Mediapart. 1 May 2022. fr. 424512459.