[Marxism] The United Front in France -- 1934

[Administrator Shannon <brian_shannon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

From the ultraleftism of the "Third Period" and on the way to the  
Popular Front, there was a brief period of the United Front in  
France. The disasters in Germany and Austria, followed by a coup  
attempt in February brought the communist and socialist workers as  
well as their leaderships together, at least for a short time.

The first extract below describes the events in France and how it led  
to developments within the Trotskyist movement in France and elsewhere.

The second piece is an article from the NY Times giving some of the  
details of the United Front program. I came across it because of my  
interest in the subject of Proportional Representation (sometimes  
called Full Representation). PR is one of the points of the United  
Front. It would be useful to see how the CP and SP argued for PR  
during this period. From the article it appears to be linked to a  
demand for the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies.

Brian Shannon
________________________

[1]
That same February the fascist Croix de Feu staged a riot and attack  
on the French Chamber of Deputies in an attempt to exploit popular  
indignation at the government corruption, exposed by the Stavisky  
affair, to bring down the Daladier government and open up the road to  
a dictatorship. It’s near success provoked a general strike in Paris  
on 12 February in which Communist Party militants demonstrated  
alongside the “social fascists”. This action was soon followed by the  
abandonment of the Third Period’.

For in the face of the fascist offensive the French Communist Party  
leadership itself, with Moscow’s approval, dropped the theory of  
“social fascism” and resolved, at the Ivry Conference in June 1934.  
to press for a pact with the French Socialists (SFIO). The same  
conference expelled the Communist Mayor of Saint-Denis, Doriot, who  
had dared to advocate this policy “prematurely”. The new line was not  
to be accompanied by any democratisation of the now thoroughly  
stalinised communist parties. In July a pact was signed between the  
PCF and the SFIO for unity of action against fascism. The two parties  
agreed to refrain from attacking each other as long as the pact  
lasted. Soon similar proposals were made to other social-democratic  
parties. In France the pact produced an upsurge of working class  
activity and enthusiasm which was to be demonstrated on both the  
political and industrial fronts in the next few years.

The French Trotskyists were now totally without influence. Their main  
demand appeared to have been met and, although they sharply attacked  
the dangerous and unprincipled “mutual amnesty” of criticism between  
the bureaucracies, they could no longer get a hearing amongst even  
the most advanced workers. Pierre Frank recalls “the sympathetic  
response we had met with, [on the united front issue – DH] partly in  
the CP and much more in the SFIO, which had recruited a substantial  
number of workers, often former CP members – all this sympathetic  
response was lost to us”. [16]

In these circumstances Trotsky proposed the then radically new tactic  
of entry into the SFIO, the “French Turn”. It was not entirely  
without precedent. He had already advised the pioneer British  
Trotskyists, the Balham group, to enter the ILP. But they were a new  
and very small group – their appeal against expulsion to the 1932 CP  
Congress had only thirteen signatures – and the ILP was then an  
important section of the “New Zimmerwald” and had broken from the  
Labour Party to the left. Apparently, he had also advised the handful  
of Austrian Trotskyists to enter the social-democratic party. But  
these cases were regarded as exceptional and, in the British case at  
least, the precedent was not encouraging. The majority of the  
Communist League of Great Britain rejected the advice of the ICL and  
a split occurred – the first of the many that were to plague the  
Fourth Internationalist Movement in Britain.
http://www.marxists.de/trotism/hallas/against.htm


[2]
NY Times, July 29, 1934
FRENCH LEFT SIGNS MUTUAL AID PACT
Socialists and Communists in Formal Agreement for Joint War on Fascists
AIM TO DEFEND LIBERTIES
They Agree to Support Each Other in Case of Attacks—Seek More Democracy

PARIS, July 28 – Representatives of the French Socialist and  
Communist parties signed a compact here today pledging their  
organizations to join forces in common action to combat fascism.

The proposal, made originally by the Communists and accepted by the  
Socialist party two weeks ago, has been framed in written terms. It  
stipulates that each part in all respects maintains its independence  
and agrees to refrain from disputes or controversies with each other  
over matters of doctrine.

Its chief interest from the viewpoint of French politics as a whole  
lies in whether it will ultimately result in divorcing the Socialists  
from their passive support of the Radical-Socialists and whether it  
will achieve a political union of the two extremist Left parties.

The aim of the compact, it states, is to organize a campaign for the  
purpose of mobilizing the whole working population against Fascist  
organizations, so that they will be disarmed and dissolved; to defend  
democratic liberties, obtain proportional representation and  
dissolution of the chamber of Deputies; to combat preparations for  
war; to oppose decree laws, and, finally, to combat Fascist terror in  
Germany and obtain the release of Ernest Thaelmann, Communist, in  
Austria and of Karl Seitz, Socialist.

The proposed campaign will be in the form of repeated meetings and  
street manifestations and the organizing of counter-demonstrations  
whenever Fascist meetings take place.

The compact stipulates that in case either a Socialist or Communist  
group during these demonstrations should come to blows with Fascists  
the other Left group will come to its assistance.

 
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