The "May 1st Eve party" is a plan for a new collective appointment, which will gather, each year at a same date, citizens of both rich and poor countries, during the night of April 30th to May 1st, for a civic celebration. This party-carnival takes place, as a symbol, in the open air in front of the headquarters of the Stock Exchange of each capital-city.
This night party gathers people without distinction of sex, age, opinion, religion, ethnic group, or social condition, to celebrate together, on the basis of a free-of-charge happening, of nonviolence and brotherhood.
The method consists in kindly offering something to drink or eat to unknown people, or to suggest an artistic entertainment, and after that "do whatever you want". The night party is entirely self-managed by the guests, on the basis of a "good behaviour code", making sure that nobody can take over this public appointment for any other cause. Three minimal norms are suggested for the self-management of this free-of-charge and nonviolent rendezvous:- the party site is entirely public with free access for everyone,without any profitable interests (except call for financial solidarity). - no group or individual (whether militant or commercial) can impose a too loud claim to the detriment of the identity of other people, who are also attending. - the guests always speak with respect to unconcerned or opposed people, all around the site, and offer them spontaneously something to drink, including (and especially) to police forces.
This night party denounces the monetarist dictatorship of speculative money markets - blind and impersonal powers which lead the world to its fall like a plane without pilot. The party further denounces indirect results : international unemployment and inflexible crisis of indebted social budgets, strangled by the interest rates. Recession brings poverty, precariousness and segregative town planning, which, in turn, generate frustration and violence, great fear of exclusion and overall insecurity, gap of social tie, racism, nationalism, fundamentalism, bribery, gangs and war. It is therefore a case of placing oneself, relatively speaking, in an anti fascist logic to resist rising danger.
This night party demands, as an emergency, the reforms of financial transactions, and particularly, of the tax system which rules them, such as Nobel prize for economy James Tobin proposes in his tax project. These reforms will allow to restore the real free market, and will give back to public powers their political and economical sovereignty, which was given up for two decades to the benefit of the foresaid speculative dictatorship (these demanded reforms will have to be specified, in a collective way, before the 1998 party).
During each party, and as a symbol, the guests place a spray of flowers in front of the Stock Exchange in tribute to the countless victims of the financial dictatorship.
The first international appointment for the "May 1st Eve party" is scheduled in 1998. But the " zero " issue is proposed on the April 30th 1997 in front of the Palais Brongniart, headquarters of Paris Stock Exchange, at midnight, by the local association for citizenship and culture : "Nantes est une fête" (N.E.U.F.!), in English : " Nantes is a celebration ! ".
We friendly invite you to join us in front of Paris Stock Exchange, on the night of next April 30th. Or better: organise, on the same evening, a party against the dictatorship of financial markets in front of the Stock Exchange building in your country.
Whatever your continent may be, even if you are only a few individuals, please freely join the association for initiative coordination: "Nantes est une fête!" <[email protected]>. We will keep you informed about developments of this project.
Luc Douillard