French housing project, once a symbol of the future, is. The communist party in france has still not recovered. It originated when a majority of members resigned from the socialist french section of the workers international sfio party to set up the french section of the communist international. A recounting of the stages of french communist resistance. Many western european countries including italy, france, spain. Arguably the strongest communist party in the advanced capitalist world at the beginning of this period, the pcf has. The reasons for the decline of the french communist party. A considerable literature has explored the rise of the french communist party pcf, and a growing literature is examining its decline. French communist party simple english wikipedia, the. Cpusa through the rise and fall of browder, the party s general secretary in 193045. Go to previous content download this content share this content add this content to favorites go to next content. Georges marchaiss long tenure as the leader of the french communist party pcf witnessed a sharp decline in the party s electoral performance.
In this chapter, i argue that the two are linked, that the party was constructed in different ways in different places, and that its decline is related to the bases on which it was originally built. Decline of the french communist party table 1 communist vote in legislative and other national elections percentage percentage % of poll % of electorate i v republic legislative 1945 26. By the time he left office, the party s share of the vote had dropped to less than 10. Both conservatives and socialists are struggling even to make the second round of the presidential election. Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the pcf retains a strong influence in french politics, especially at the local level. Intellectuals and the french communist party sudhir. For decades, the french communist party pcf was among the strongest left parties in western europe. French communists ponder partys decline the new york times.
It was founded following the tours congress in december 1920. Sudhir hazareesingh this work examines the emergence and subsequent demise of intellectual identification with the french communist party, arguing that after 1978, political conflicts between the communist leadership. Maurice thorez archive 19001964 the resistance 194045 the algerian war 195462 mayjune 1968. For nearly all of its seventy years, the pcf was dedicated to further the interests of the soviet communist party and the ussrs foreign policies. Party decline and changing party systems france and the french communist party george ross france has produced numerous surprises in recent years, but few have been greater than the major change of its party system. It will outline the position of the french communist party pcf in three different and distinctive periods. The decline of the french communist party pcf was a key feature in french politics in the 1980s, one which was analysed in a number of scholarly studies. Organization and strategy in the decline of french communism george ross introduction the history of the parti communiste francais since the mid1960s is profoundly disturbing. The french communist newspaper lhumanite appealed to readers on monday to save it from bankruptcy. The french communist party headquarters is probably the most unusual building in paris. The bipolarized multiparty system of the gaullist 1960s. With the slow, gradual destruction of the soviet unions credibility in the west, the pcf tightly linked to the ussr reached a. According to hazareesingh, some of the reasons for the breakdown of the party include the increasing ineffectiveness of the party s organization, the difficulty of functioning within a. The french communist party has been accused of allowing these communist resisters to fall into the hands of the nazis.
The full, longversion, directors cut version is a very long and complicated story. The french communists and their italian comrades, studies in comparative communism, 8 1973, 184 95. Georges marchais and the decline of french communism. The french communist party is a communist party in france. French communist party political party, france britannica. His stewardship spanned fdrs new deal, hitlers rise to power, the stalin era in the ussr, the hitlerstalin pact, world war ii, and the first days of the cold war. It will suggest a link between the communist party s position in the popular front government of the mid. Founded in 1920, it had a large influence in the xxth century, especially after the second world war, and is still important in the french political life, though it declined over years its national secretary is pierre laurent, since june 2010. The decline of the french communist party cambridge core.
The varying positions taken by the french communist party towards the war in indochina have provided a striking example of the difficulties and contradictions which a party encounters when it tries to conciliate its local political objectives with the overall grand design of proletarian revolution woven by the soviet union. The iconic italian party abolished itself in 1989 despite being the original eurocommunist party with no r. The rise and fall of american communism, by philip j. Macridis, the immobility of the french communist party, the journal of politics, 20 april 1958. French communist party drops hammer and sickle france 24. The implications of this decision will be considerable. Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the pcf retains a strong influence in. Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the pcf retains a strong influence in french.
Shortly after marchais took over, the pcf received more than 20 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections. Wright, rural revolution in france the peasantry in the twentieth century. A recounting of the stages of french communist resistance during. A mysterious white dome and an undulating glass facade. His first, intellectuals and the french communist party, published in 1991, outlines the decline of the french communist party pcf, beginning in the mid1970s. The french communist party and britain in the second world. Some moderate and conservative lawmakers considered favorable to macron have also announced they wont attend, and figures on both sides of the aisle have criticized macrons decision. French controversy flares over role of communist party in resistance. In this work, the author examines the emergence and demise of intellectual identification with the french communist party between 1945 to 1989. The collapse of the soviet union was a shock for communists in western europe.
Ehrmann, the decline of the socialist party, in barte ed. French communist party has become a great communist party and that it effected its electoral campaign with an intran. Its demolition reveals the changes that led to the party s decline. Different from anything you can see in the city of lights, this architectural pearl, is situated in northeast paris, in 19th district, on the colonel fabien square, between the butteschaumont park, the canal villette and the canal saint martin. In france, as in the rest of the advanced capitalist world, the womens.
The french communist party and britain in the second world war gavin bowd the french communist party pcf is not normally associated with britain. The french communist party was a major force in twentiethcentury french political life. The french communist party faced its greatest crisis with the fall of communism in eastern europe and the soviet union at the end of the 1980s and 1990s. The decline of the long tradition of french intellectual identification with the pcf started in the 1980s. After years of retreat and opportunism and consequent loss of support and influence, the french communist party pcf is showing signs of life. The troubled daily said it was placing itself under the protection of the people, and that it.
Without it, all things considered, the liberation of paris by itself, as in the formulation of. He argues that, after 1978 political conflicts between the party leadership and intellectuals led to an erosion of support, sharpened by wider ideological changes. The decline of the french communist party portsmouth research. These conflicts were sharpened by the party s institutional decline during the 1980s. The french resistance, for the french communist party, will be a peoples battle, on french soil. From vacillation to resolve tells the littleknown story of the french communist party s role in the resistance movement against the nazis during world war ii. French communist daily fights bankruptcy world the. Its clear the french communist party is in decline from a peak of 500,000 members in 1981 it slumped to 120,000 in 2018 60,000 of them paidup. The promotion of eurocommunism seemed to coincide with the stagnation or decline of many european communist parties. The french communists and their italian comrades, studies in comparative communism, 8 1973. After 1956, the french communists entered a slow decline. According to the accusation, denied vehemently by the party, the communist leaders wanted their comrades out of the way to make sure that, as liberation approached, the communist wing of the resistance would be controlled by. Notably, in france the oncepowerful french communist party, which in the early postwar era was able to command about a third of the french popular vote, experienced a severe decline in later years.
The french communist party pcf has decided to drop the emblematic hammer and sickle from its. Sudhir hazareesingh examines the emergence and subsequent demise of intellectual identification with the french communist party, arguing that, after 1978, political conflicts between the communist leadership and party. If it didnt exert the same intellectual influence abroad as its italian counterpart, it still commanded the loyalty of millions of workers winning over 20 percent of the vote as late as 1978 and dictated many of the terms on which the more moderate french. French controversy flares over role of communist party in. The reasons for the decline of the french communist party since the 1980s and its enlightenment article january 2015 with 10 reads how we measure reads. I am neither knowledgeable enough, nor a good enough writer to render it vividly.
Frances two big parties face longterm decline politico. Examining the emergence and subsequent demise of intellectual identification with the french communist party between 1945 and 1989, this book argues that, after 1978, political conflicts between the communist leadership and party intellectuals led to an erosion of support. During the congress the majority of french socialists left the french section of the workers international sfio and joined the communist international set up by lenin in moscow in 1919. The french communist party chapter 25 the cambridge history. This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the origins of the growing political marginalization of the french communist party pcf, particularly the decline in intellectual affiliation to the party. Communist party, 196165 pcc cuban communist party pce spanish communist party pcf french communist party pci italian communist party pdpa peoples democratic party of afghanistan perestroika reconstruction or restructuring pki communist party of indonesia pla peoples liberation army china. The french communist party parti communiste francais, pcf experienced a most striking evolution in the period spanning the 1940s to the. What happened to the french and italian communist parties.