France was once the heartland of revolution. Today, its left is battered, and its far right is rising. To understand why, we have to look at François Mitterrand’s socialist government’s turn from radical reform to neoliberal austerity in the 1980s.

By Grace Blakeley | Britain has not 'maxed out' its credit card, but it does have a government that wants working people to pay the cost of the pandemic crisis – that's what the new austerity measures are really about.

'Another, probably more severe pandemic has been predicted. Scientists know how to prepare, but someone must act. If we choose not to learn the lessons that are right before our eyes, the consequences will be dire.'