Charlie Hebdo, fear and world war: two questions for Toni Negri

By Mike Watson / 21 January 2015

In a recent interview Antonio Negri takes a longer view of actions and reactions in Paris
and addresses the possibilities for the future.
What have been the repercussions, in France, of the events beginning with the Charlie
Hebdo massacre and ending for now with the Republican march?
The repercussions of the 7 January attack are the same as they are with all terrorist
attacks of this kind. Now we know the score: paeans to security, apologias for the police
and security services, hatred toward the enemy, everyone warning how dangerous they
are, etc. And, moreover, in this case, demonisation of the Islamic threat. We dont yet
know what the repercussions of the 11 January march will be. To be more precise: many
will think that the four million French people of all colours and religions who marched
in the name of fraternit were just deluded, and that they wont be able to make their
democratic passion prevail in the face of the strength of state racism and the ruling
powers tricks. But I think that this demonstration could be the beginning of the
overturning of that scenario, and that it could block or at least begin to put an end to
the growth cycle of the fascist and chauvinist Right in Europe. The demo had a positive
spirit: it really didnt look like the fascists and Catholic fundamentalists protests in the
autumn. And it seems to have gone beyond what the political class wanted. Lets see
what happens. Well see if it has the political strength (and good sense) to reopen the
dialogue with the banlieue thats been on hold ever since 2005; well see if it manages
to foil the mindless instrumentalisation of the crisis that can only lead to chauvinism
and fascism. Only in this sense will it be possible to block the rise of national, rightwing forces. France needs the banlieues, the 11 January demonstration wants them, and
it said so to whoever was willing to listen.
Do you think that we might be facing a third world war, as many argue not only on the
Islamophobic Right
No, I dont believe there will be a world war. Neither was the Islamist attack of 7
January a new Sarajevo, nor are the Charlie Hebdo comrades Archduke Ferdinand.
Moreover, the wars that have been waged in that part of the world already dont seem to
have ended particularly well. The greater problems are somewhere else: the China Seas.
That is at the heart of things, where everything could kick off whereas only Netanyahu
wants war with the Arabs (even against the Americans wishes) as well as a few
imbecile followers of the fanatic Oriana Fallaci (an Islamophobic journalist and writer).
No, there wont be another war a real, big one and if our masters do wage such a
war they will lose, first of all within their own fine countries, and then abroad, in the
globalised world. But they want to strike fear into our hearts. In this situation, and its us
that Im thinking about, we need to understand that its really urgent that we organise
politically. That we bring a political vertical out of the horizontality of the movements:
one thats able to express strength and political programmes. That is urgent, if we dont
want to be afraid any more, and we feel (as many did on the 11 January demo) that we
in our poverty and fraternity can win.

Translated by David Broder.

See the original piece here.