UITBB participates in WFTU’s 80-year anniversary in Paris

Tonight, we are all here to fulfil a debt of honour to a rich and proud historical journey. To properly honour the 80 years of life and action of the World Federation of Trade Unions, which with unity, solidarity, and international class camaraderie, has united under its banner millions of workers from all corners of the earth in a tough but wonderful struggle for a better world. Allow me to extend a special welcome to the more than 300 trade union leaders who have travelled from all over the world, overcoming many difficulties and problems, to honour this event with their presence. I am sure that they will take the militant message of this event back to their countries. There is no doubt that today this international delegation would be much larger if the French authorities had shown more respect for this event and had not refused to issue visas to hundreds of trade unionists who expressed a willingness to participate. Allow me to especially note the presence of a delegation from the Chinese trade unions. WFTU has a long-standing relationship with the ACFTU, based on shared principles and values, built on our sincere cooperation and joint action. It is with pleasure and pride that I also welcome the presence of a large group of French trade unionists representing the affiliates of WFTU in France. Their presence and this event here in Paris today constitute a clear statement that WFTU has never left France, and its roots here in this country are deep and strong because they are nourished by the heroic tradition of the relentless class struggles of this country. Dear colleagues, The founding of WFTU did not occur out of the blue. On the contrary, the preceding decades were one of the most turbulent periods in human history, marked by significant economic and social processes and world-historical events. Undoubtedly, the most important of these was the Great October Revolution of 1917, which changed the course of history and brought the working class to the forefront of history. The Great Depression that broke out in 1929 highlighted the economic limits and inherent constraints of capitalism, creating unprecedented misery and poverty among workers and the popular strata. The rise of fascism and Nazism in the 1930s revealed the most brutal version of this system, and World War II highlighted its dead ends in the most inhumane and destructive way. This year, in addition to the 80th anniversary of WFTU, we also celebrated 80 years since the great victory of the peoples against the fascist-Nazi horror. We paid tribute, as we should, to the decisive and leading role of the Soviet Union and the heroic Red Army in this great and historic victory. It is certainly no coincidence that these two glorious anniversaries coincide. From the ashes of the most destructive war in human history, the