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Unified Socialist Party (France)
Encyclopedia
The Unified Socialist Party was a socialist
political party
in France
, founded on April 3, 1960. It was originally led by Édouard Depreux
(from its creation to 1967), and by Michel Rocard
(1967-1973).
(PCF), which had left after the 1956 inner conflict caused by the Soviet invasion of Hungary
. The PSA and the UGS was a splinter-group of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) party, which had left in due to the repressive policy of the SFIO Prime Minister Guy Mollet
during the Algerian War of Independence
and his support to General Charles de Gaulle
's return and the advent of the Fifth Republic
under the military pressure. The three groups were closely linked from 1958. In 1961, the newly-formed party was joined by Pierre Mendès-France
, after he had left the Radical Party, and by Alain Savary
, a former SFIO member as opposed as Mendès-France was to Charles de Gaulle
's return to power in the turmoil of the May 1958 crisis
.
In 1965, the PSU aligned with the SFIO and the PCF in supporting the candidacy of François Mitterrand
in the presidential election
. In contrast with the established socialist parties, the PSU also supported the student riots of May 1968; it subsequently moved away from cooperation with the Socialist Party
(PS) which succeeded to the SFIO after 1969, and developed its own program, based on autogestion (workers' self-management
).
Michel Rocard was the PSU candidate for the 1969 presidential elections
, obtaining 3.61% of the vote in the first round.
The party again campaigned for Mitterrand in the 1974 presidential elections
— a move which encountered the opposition of the PSU's own supporters at grassroots
level; the PSU did not sign Mitterrand's Common programme of the Left (agreed with the Communists), and a sizeable section of the party activists, led by Michel Rocard and Robert Chapuis, left to join the renewed Socialist Party
(believing that they could better function as a leftist tendency with the PS). The PSU supported the self-managed
Lip factory.
PSU introduced Huguette Bouchardeau
as its candidate for the 1981 presidential elections
; she obtained 1.1% of the vote in the first round. In the 1988 presidential elections
, the PSU supported the communist dissident candidate Pierre Juquin
, who obtained 2.1% of the votes in the first round. In 1989, PSU merged with the New Left for Socialism, Ecology and Self-management (Juquin's movement), and formed the Red and Green Alternatives (nowadays integrated in the group Les Alternatifs).
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,...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, founded on April 3, 1960. It was originally led by Édouard Depreux
Édouard Depreux
Édouard Depreux was a French socialist journalist, essayist, and politician of the French Fourth Republic; he was born in Viesly and died in Paris.- Early career :...
(from its creation to 1967), and by Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard
Michel Rocard is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party . He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion , a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords regarding the status...
(1967-1973).
History
PSU was born through the fusion of the Autonomous Socialist Party (PSA), the Socialist Left Union (UGS), and the group around the journal Tribune du Communisme. The latter was a splinter-group of the French Communist PartyFrench Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
(PCF), which had left after the 1956 inner conflict caused by the Soviet invasion of Hungary
1956 Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956....
. The PSA and the UGS was a splinter-group of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) party, which had left in due to the repressive policy of the SFIO Prime Minister Guy Mollet
Guy Mollet
Guy Mollet was a French Socialist politician. He led the French Section of the Workers' International party from 1946 to 1969 and was Prime Minister in 1956–1957.-Early life and World War II:...
during the Algerian War of Independence
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
and his support to General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
's return and the advent of the Fifth Republic
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
under the military pressure. The three groups were closely linked from 1958. In 1961, the newly-formed party was joined by Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre Mendès France was a French politician. He descended from a Portuguese Jewish family that moved to France in the sixteenth century.-Third Republic and World War II:...
, after he had left the Radical Party, and by Alain Savary
Alain Savary
Alain Savary was a French Socialist politician, deputy to the National Assembly of France during the Fourth and Fifth Republic, chairman of the Socialist Party and a government minister in the 1950s and in 1981, when he was nominated by President François Mitterrand as Minister of National...
, a former SFIO member as opposed as Mendès-France was to Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
's return to power in the turmoil of the May 1958 crisis
May 1958 crisis
The May 1958 crisis was a political crisis in France during the turmoil of the Algerian War of Independence which led to the return of Charles de Gaulle to political responsibilities after a ten year absence...
.
In 1965, the PSU aligned with the SFIO and the PCF in supporting the candidacy of François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
in the presidential election
French presidential election, 1965
The 1965 French presidential election was the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage of the Fifth Republic. It was also the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage since the Second Republic in 1848. It was won by incumbent president Charles de Gaulle who resigned...
. In contrast with the established socialist parties, the PSU also supported the student riots of May 1968; it subsequently moved away from cooperation with the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
(PS) which succeeded to the SFIO after 1969, and developed its own program, based on autogestion (workers' self-management
Workers' self-management
Worker self-management is a form of workplace decision-making in which the workers themselves agree on choices instead of an owner or traditional supervisor telling workers what to do, how to do it and where to do it...
).
Michel Rocard was the PSU candidate for the 1969 presidential elections
French presidential election, 1969
The 1969 French presidential election took place on 1 June and 15 June 1969. It occurred due to the resignation of President Charles de Gaulle on 28 April 1969. Indeed, De Gaulle had decided to consult the voters by referendum about regionalisation and the reform of the Senate, and he had announced...
, obtaining 3.61% of the vote in the first round.
The party again campaigned for Mitterrand in the 1974 presidential elections
French presidential election, 1974
Presidential elections were held in :France in 1974, following the death of President Georges Pompidou. They went to a second round, and were won by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing by a margin of 1.6%...
— a move which encountered the opposition of the PSU's own supporters at grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
level; the PSU did not sign Mitterrand's Common programme of the Left (agreed with the Communists), and a sizeable section of the party activists, led by Michel Rocard and Robert Chapuis, left to join the renewed Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
(believing that they could better function as a leftist tendency with the PS). The PSU supported the self-managed
Workers' self-management
Worker self-management is a form of workplace decision-making in which the workers themselves agree on choices instead of an owner or traditional supervisor telling workers what to do, how to do it and where to do it...
Lip factory.
PSU introduced Huguette Bouchardeau
Huguette Bouchardeau
Huguette Bouchardeau is a French socialist politician, as well as a publisher , essayist, and biographer.-Political career:...
as its candidate for the 1981 presidential elections
French presidential election, 1981
The French presidential election of 1981 took place on 10 May 1981, giving the presidency of France to François Mitterrand, the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic....
; she obtained 1.1% of the vote in the first round. In the 1988 presidential elections
French presidential election, 1988
Presidential elections were held in France on 24 April and 8 May 1988.In 1981, the Socialist Party leader, François Mitterrand, was elected President of France and the Left won the legislative election. However, in 1986, the Right regained a parliamentary majority. President Mitterrand was forced...
, the PSU supported the communist dissident candidate Pierre Juquin
Pierre Juquin
Pierre Juquin is a French communist politician and trade unionist.-Early life and PCF politics:...
, who obtained 2.1% of the votes in the first round. In 1989, PSU merged with the New Left for Socialism, Ecology and Self-management (Juquin's movement), and formed the Red and Green Alternatives (nowadays integrated in the group Les Alternatifs).
National Secretaries of the PSU
- 1960 - 1967 : Édouard DepreuxÉdouard DepreuxÉdouard Depreux was a French socialist journalist, essayist, and politician of the French Fourth Republic; he was born in Viesly and died in Paris.- Early career :...
- 1967 - 1973 : Michel RocardMichel RocardMichel Rocard is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party . He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion , a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords regarding the status...
- 1973 - 1974 : Robert Chapuis
- 1974 - 1979 : Michel Mousel
- 1979 - 1981 : Huguette BouchardeauHuguette BouchardeauHuguette Bouchardeau is a French socialist politician, as well as a publisher , essayist, and biographer.-Political career:...
- 1981 - 1983 : Jacques Salvator
- 1983 - 1984 : Serge Depaquit
- 1984 - 1989 : Jean-Claude Le Scornet