Paule Djiane and André Fadda | Union for Communist Reconstruction (URC, France)
On September 25, 2025, at the Majestic Passy Cinema in Paris, a screening took place of the documentary by Thierry Deronne and Victor Hugo Rivera, “How Venezuela Moved a Mountain”, which focuses on the communal self-governments at the heart of Venezuela’s participatory democracy.
The event, which gathered around fifty people, was attended by Mr. Rodulfo Humberto Pérez Hernández, Ambassador of Venezuela to UNESCO in France, along with his wife (Consultant for the Permanent Delegation of Venezuela to UNESCO), representatives of the Venezuelan Embassy, and members of several associations—including the Friends of the Paris Commune (Les Amis de la Commune de Paris).
The screening was followed by a lively and warm off-media discussion with Maurice Lemoine, former editor-in-chief of Le Monde Diplomatique, journalist, and writer, who has been traveling across Latin America—particularly Venezuela—for more than fifty years.
This initiative met with real success, one that calls for further similar events in the near future. The discussion was politically rich and highly instructive, especially since many of the participants were not previously aware of the existence of the Comunas in Venezuela.
Several attendees expressed a desire to organize another screening under similar conditions, this time of another film by Thierry Deronne, “Nostalgiques du futur” (Nostalgic for the Future), which highlights the role of women in the communes of Venezuela.
This Parisian initiative came to life thanks to the dedication and involvement of Paule Djiane, militant of the Union for Communist Reconstruction (URC), and, together with comrade André Fadda, in charge of relations with Latin America for the URC.
The screening of the documentary by Deronne and Rivera generated particular interest, as the Paris Commune remains deeply rooted in collective memory. In this regard, Paule—a long-time member of the Friends of the Paris Commune association—has been working with its members to introduce and promote the innovative experience of participatory democracy represented by the Venezuelan Comunas, made possible by Commander Hugo Chávez and President Nicolás Maduro, so that this example may become known in Paris and throughout France.
Today, thanks to Venezuela, the Paris Commune of 1871 is not dead—it is, in a sense, reborn from its ashes, though in a different form, since this new project is driven by the Bolivarian government “for the people and by the people.”
In this same spirit, the anniversary of the Commune, celebrated on Sunday, September 28, 2025, in the historic working-class neighborhood of La Butte aux Cailles in Paris, provided another meaningful opportunity to introduce this commemorative and festive event to representatives of the Venezuelan Embassy in France.
During this celebration, discussions between leaders of the Friends of the Paris Commune and the Venezuelan ambassador to UNESCO, his wife, and other guests made it possible to outline promising perspectives regarding the historical and political connections between the legacy of the Paris Commune and the “Comuna o Nada” experience initiated by Commander Hugo Chávez.
This outreach effort toward the Friends of the Paris Commune is all the more relevant because it helps to highlight the legacy of the Communards while linking it to the construction of socialism in present-day Venezuela.
Aware of the importance of this convergence, the URC team responsible for relations with Latin America has included, in its action plan, the strategic objective of publicizing and popularizing in France the vibrant and innovative Venezuelan experience of Popular Power, in order to compare it with other efforts that have existed or are currently emerging, in diverse forms, across Latin America and other parts of the world.
Hasta la Victoria siempre
¡Venceremos!