Federation of the Socialist Workers of France
Encyclopedia
France's first socialist party, the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (Fédération des travailleurs socialistes de France or FTSF), was founded in 1879. It was characterised as "possibilist
" because it promoted gradual reforms.
(1871), French socialism
was beheaded. Its leaders were dead or exiled. In 1879, during the Marseille Congress, workers' associations created the FTSF. However, three years later, Jules Guesde
and Paul Lafargue
(the son-in-law of Karl Marx
) left the federation, which they considered too moderate, and founded the French Workers' Party
(Parti ouvrier français or POF). The FTSF, led by Paul Brousse
, was defined as "possibilist" because it advocated gradual reforms, whereas the POF promoted Marxism
.
In the same time, Édouard Vaillant
and the heirs of Louis Auguste Blanqui
founded the Central Revolutionary Committee
(Comité révolutionnaire central or CRC), which represented the French revolutionary tradition.
and some FTSF members criticized the focus on electoral goals. In 1890, they split and created the Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (Parti ouvrier socialiste révolutionnaire or POSR), which advocated the revolutionary "general strike
". Additionally, some deputies identified as socialists without being members of any party. These mostly advocated moderation and reform
.
divided the country, a debate opposed the Socialists organizations about the alliance with the other left-wing forces in the struggle for the defense of Alfred Dreyfus
and against the nationalism and the clericalism
. Contrary to Jean Jaurès
, Jules Guesde
thought the Socialists should not ally with groups which supported the "bourgeois democracy". In 1899, a debate raged among Socialist groups about the participation of Alexandre Millerand
in Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet, which included the Marquis de Gallifet, best known for having directed the bloody repression during the Paris Commune.
In 1902, the FTSF, the POSR and Jaurès's followers merged into the French Socialist Party
. This one merged three years later with the Socialist Party of France
of Guesde in the French Section of the Workers' International.
Possibilism (French Socialist)
The Possibilists was a trend in the French socialist movement led by Paul Brousse, Benoît Malon and others who brought about a split in the French Workers' Party in 1882...
" because it promoted gradual reforms.
Formation
After the failure of the Paris communeParis Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
(1871), French socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
was beheaded. Its leaders were dead or exiled. In 1879, during the Marseille Congress, workers' associations created the FTSF. However, three years later, Jules Guesde
Jules Guesde
Jules Basile Guesde was a French socialist journalist and politician.Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by Karl Marx. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter to Guesde and Paul Lafargue, both of whom already claimed to represent "Marxist" principles...
and Paul Lafargue
Paul Lafargue
Paul Lafargue was a French revolutionary Marxist socialist journalist, literary critic, political writer and activist; he was Karl Marx's son-in-law, having married his second daughter Laura. His best known work is The Right to Be Lazy...
(the son-in-law of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
) left the federation, which they considered too moderate, and founded the French Workers' Party
French Workers' Party
The Parti Ouvrier Français was the first Marxist party in France, created in 1880 by Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue, Marx's son-in-law...
(Parti ouvrier français or POF). The FTSF, led by Paul Brousse
Paul Brousse
Paul Brousse was a French socialist, leader of the possibilistes group. He was active in the Jura Federation, a section of the International Working Men's Association , from the northwestern part of Switzerland and the Alsace. He helped edit the Bulletin de la Fédération Jurassienne, along with...
, was defined as "possibilist" because it advocated gradual reforms, whereas the POF promoted Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
.
In the same time, Édouard Vaillant
Édouard Vaillant
Marie Édouard Vaillant was a French politician.Born in Vierzon, Cher, son of a lawyer, Édouard Vaillant studied engineering at the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, graduating in 1862, and then law at the Sorbonne. In Paris he knew Charles Longuet, Louis-Auguste Rogeard, and Jules Vallès...
and the heirs of Louis Auguste Blanqui
Louis Auguste Blanqui
Louis Auguste Blanqui was a French political activist, notable for the revolutionary theory of Blanquism, attributed to him....
founded the Central Revolutionary Committee
Central Revolutionary Committee
The Central Revolutionary Committee was a French Blanquist political party founded in 1881 and dissolved in 1898.The CRC was founded by Édouard Vaillant to continue the political struggle of Auguste Blanqui...
(Comité révolutionnaire central or CRC), which represented the French revolutionary tradition.
Electoralism and split
In the 1880s, the Socialists knew their first electoral success, conquering some municipalities. Jean AllemaneJean Allemane
Jean Allemane was a French socialist politician, veteran of the Paris Commune of 1871, pioneer of syndicalism, leader of the Socialist-Revolutionary Workers' Party and co-founder of the unified French Section of the Workers' International in 1905...
and some FTSF members criticized the focus on electoral goals. In 1890, they split and created the Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (Parti ouvrier socialiste révolutionnaire or POSR), which advocated the revolutionary "general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
". Additionally, some deputies identified as socialists without being members of any party. These mostly advocated moderation and reform
Reformism
Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures...
.
End of the FTSF
In the 1890s, while the Dreyfus AffairDreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
divided the country, a debate opposed the Socialists organizations about the alliance with the other left-wing forces in the struggle for the defense of Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most tense political dramas in modern French and European history...
and against the nationalism and the clericalism
Clericalism
Clericalism is the application of the formal, church-based, leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of either the church or broader political and sociocultural import...
. Contrary to Jean Jaurès
Jean Jaurès
Jean Léon Jaurès was a French Socialist leader. Initially an Opportunist Republican, he evolved into one of the first social democrats, becoming the leader, in 1902, of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. Both parties merged in 1905 in...
, Jules Guesde
Jules Guesde
Jules Basile Guesde was a French socialist journalist and politician.Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by Karl Marx. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter to Guesde and Paul Lafargue, both of whom already claimed to represent "Marxist" principles...
thought the Socialists should not ally with groups which supported the "bourgeois democracy". In 1899, a debate raged among Socialist groups about the participation of Alexandre Millerand
Alexandre Millerand
Alexandre Millerand was a French socialist politician. He was President of France from 23 September 1920 to 11 June 1924 and Prime Minister of France 20 January to 23 September 1920...
in Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet, which included the Marquis de Gallifet, best known for having directed the bloody repression during the Paris Commune.
In 1902, the FTSF, the POSR and Jaurès's followers merged into the French Socialist Party
French Socialist Party (1902)
The French Socialist Party was founded in 1902. It came from the merger of the "possibilist" Federation of the Socialist Workers of France , Jean Allemane's Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party and some independent socialist politicians like Jean Jaurès...
. This one merged three years later with the Socialist Party of France
Socialist Party of France (1902)
The Socialist Party of France was founded in 1902, during a congress in Commentry, by the merger of the Marxist French Workers' Party led by Jules Guesde and the Blanquist Central Revolutionary Committee of Édouard Vaillant....
of Guesde in the French Section of the Workers' International.
See also
- French Section of the Workers' International 1905-1969
- French Socialist Party 1969-
- History of communismHistory of communismThe history of the political ideology of communism hypothetically stretches all the way from the Palaeolithic up until the present day. However, most modern forms of communism are based upon Marxism, a variant of the ideology formed by the sociologist Karl Marx in the 1840s...
- History of socialismHistory of socialismThe history of socialism has its origins in the French Revolution of 1789 and the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, although it has precedents in earlier movements and ideas. The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in 1848 just before the Revolutions...
- History of the Left in FranceHistory of the Left in FranceThe Left in France at the beginning of the 20th century was represented by two main political parties, the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party and the French Section of the Workers' International , created in 1905 as a merger of various Marxist parties...