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The French Socialist Party in 1973: Performance and Prospects*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2014

Vincent Wright  and
Howard Machin
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Extract

IN JUNE 1971, FRANÇOIS MITTERRAND WAS NARROWLY ELECTED, after a bitter contest, to the leadership of the French Socialist Party. By the end of 1973 he was in command of the party. There is nothing new about an ambitious politician taking over and attempting to transform an existing party. Mendts France in the 1950s and Servan-Schreiber, more recently, tried to reshape a weak and divided Radical Party. They failed as a result of their own tactlessness and because of the perverse obduracy of the party's opportunistic notables who saw little virtue in ideological purity and disciplined organization. Nor is there anything new about a party of the left being dominated by a strong personality. No study of the French Communist Party would be complete without an analysis of the commanding roles played by the tight-lipped Thorez, the jovial Waldeck-Rochet or the circumspect Marchais. The Socialist Party has been no less immune to the cult of personality; it would be impossible to write the history of the party without constant reference to the dynamism of Jaures, the moral persuasiveness of Blum and the organizational genius of Mollet, three men who dominated long periods of the party's history.

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Articles
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Government and Opposition , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , 01 April 1974 , pp. 123 - 145
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Copyright © Government and Opposition Ltd 1974

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References

1 Wilson, Frank L., The French Democratic Left 1963–1969, Stanford, 1971, p. 89.Google Scholar

2 Kérivel, Christian, ‘Le basculement de l’opinion électorale’, Politique, 02 1973, pp. 60–1Google Scholar; Noonan, L. G., France: the Politics of Continuity in Change, pp. 455–6.Google Scholar

3 See, for example, the declaration of Georges Marchais quoted in L’Humanlté, 18 May 1972.

4 Wincock, Notably Michel, ‘Un pas en avant’, Esprit, 09 1973, pp. 290–1Google Scholar, and Ranger, Jean and Bon, Frédéric, ‘Aprés les élections législatives: débat’, Politique Aujourd’bui, 04–05 1973, pp. 50–64.Google Scholar

5 For details see Borella, F., Les partis politiques dans la France d’aujourd’bui, Paris, 1972, p. 157 Google Scholar; see also Le Monde, 15 June 1971.

6 Le Monde, 11 March 1972.

7 Bulletin Socialiste, 22 September 1971.

8 Le Monde, 29 June 1971, La Croix, 25 November 1971, Le Monde, 24 May 1972. See also Cotta, Michele, ‘F. Mitterrand voit plus loin’, L’Express, 25 06‐1 07 1973 Google Scholar.

9 See, for example, the opinion polls published in Le Nouvel Observateur, 12 February 1973, and in Le Figaro, 19 September 1973.

10 Le Monde, 28 and 30 January and 13 February 1973; see also Le Nouvel Observateur, 19 February 1973.

11 See L’Unifé, no. 54, 2–8 March 1973.

12 It was pointed out in November 1972 that of the 348 candidates already designated by the UGSD for the March 1973 elections 205 had never before been candidates; see the article by Molho, Danièle, Le Point, 27 11 1972.Google Scholar For descriptions of some of the new men, see Le Monde, 10 March 1973 (on Bernard Parmentier and Akin Vivien), L’Express, 12–18 March 1973 (on Haesebroeck, Cot, Josselin, Chevènement and Forni), L’Express, 27 December 1972–2 January 1973 (on Chevènement), Le Point, 29 January 1973 (on Mauroy), Le Monde, 21 March 1973 (on Forni and Chevènement), Le Point, 26 March 1973 (on Claude Michel).

13 Simmons, Harvey G., French Socialists in Search of a Role, London 1970, p. 267 Google Scholar. Simmons’s book is a mine of information on many aspects of the SFIO during the period 1956–67. There is a good summary of many of his arguments in his article ‘The French Socialist Opposition in 1969’, Government and Opposition, Vol. 4, No. 3, 1969, pp. 294–307.

14 Irène Allièer, ‘Un nouveau déepart’, L’Express, 27 June 1971.

15 For example, Pierre Métayer, ex‐minister and ex‐deputy, who had been secretary of the Yvelines Socialist Federation since the Liberation, was ousted in November 1971; see Le Monde, 14 November 1971; see also, ‘Le renouveau socialiste’, L’Uniié, 22–8 December 1972.

16 On the ageing of the SFIO, see Derville, J., La federation socialiste S.F.I.O. du Pas‐de‐Calais, doctoral thesis, University of Paris, Chapter 4Google Scholar; Frank L. Wilson, op. cit., p. 200, Philip, M. Williams, Crisis and Compromise, London 1964, pp. 95–6Google Scholar, and Harvey G. Simmons, op. cit., pp. 202–3.

17 Many unsuccessful socialist candidates in 1973 were even younger. The average age of UGSD candidates was 45; half of them were under 45 years of age, and a quarter were under 35. The youngest candidates were J‐L. Sylvestre, aged 23, and Mme Soubraune, aged 24; Le Monde, 27 February 1973.

18 The figures are based on details culled from Le Monde, L’Express, Le Nouvel Observateur, L’Unitée, and Who’s Who in France, 1973–1974.

19 J. Derville, op. cit., Ch. 4 (section 1), and Harvey G. Simmons, op. cit., pp. 253–4.

20 Le Nouvel Observateur, 12 February 1973.

21 On the Pas‐de‐Calais, see Le Monde, 11 March 1972; on the Isère, Le Nouvel Observateur, 5 February 1973; on the Aude and the Gard, Le Monde, 27 December 1972; on Meurthe‐et‐Moselle, Le Monde, 1 February 1973.

22 F. Borella, op. cit., pp. 160–1, gives a brief (although now rather dated) account of the complexity of the situation.

23 On the tendencies within the Socialist Party at, and immediately after, Epinay, see: Témoignage chrétien, 17 June 1971 and 24 February 1972; Le Monde, 3, 5 and 13 February 1972; Combat, 6 February 1972; and, M. Padovani, ‘Les courants socialistes’, Le Nouvel Observateur, 21 February 1972.

24 Geoffrey, J. and Padovani, M., ‘Mitterrand à l’heure de Besançon’, Le Nouvel Observateur, 25 06 1973 Google Scholar; see also L’Unité, No. 70, 22–8, June 1973, and Guy Claisse, ‘Et revoici M. Guy Mollet’, L’Express, 7–13 May 1973.

25 Pfister, Thierry, ‘Le parti socialiste: de l’émiettement à l’unité’, Le Monde, 24. 02 1973 Google Scholar. For the composition of the leading party organs, see Le Poing et la Rose, July 1973, p. 2.

26 There have been frequent consultations of the departmental federations, and proportional representation has been reintroduced for elections to the Comité directeur and Bureau exécutif. In the SFIO proportional representation had been used until shortly after the Liberation, when it was abolished on the initiative of Léon Blum and Daniel Mayer who thought that it encouraged the growth of factions. On this question, see Harvey G. Simmons, op. tit., pp. 170–200.

27 Le Monde, 30 March 1973.

28 Les Echos, 1 April 1973.

29 J. Geoffrey and M. Padovani, op. cit.

30 Frank L. Wilson, op. cit., pp. 63–6; Hurtig, C., De la SFIO au nouveau parti socialiste, Paris 1970, pp. 25–6Google Scholar, F. Borella (op. cit., p. 59) quotes the figure of 350,000 for 1945.

31 At its National Convention in January 1972, the party claimed a total membership of only 80,700, but also stated that since Epinay the membership had grown by a total of 25 per cent, and in 72 of its 97 departmental federations; see de Pierre Mauroy, Rapport, Le Poing et la Rose, 01 1973, p. 4.Google Scholar La Croix, 12 March 1972, Le Monde, 13 March 1972, Combat, 17 January 1972. F. Borella estimated total membership in June 1971 at 54,000 (pp. cit., p. 159).

32 Le Monde, 30 November 1971. In the Hauts‐de‐Seine, where the socialist federation had almost disappeared, 100 new members joined between June and December 1972; Le Monde, 11 December 1972. See also Le Monde, 23 February 1973 (on the federation of the Loire).

33 On the growth of Party membership, see C. H. Loo, Rapport de la trésorerie et état des fédérations, Congrès National du Parti socialiste, Grenoble 22–4 June 1973, published in Le Poing et la Rose, May 1973, pp. 12–13, 23.

34 On the Essonne, for example, see the article by M. Padovani in Le Nouvel Observateur, 19 February 1973.

35 Belfort, Saône‐et‐Loire and the Tam are three such examples; see Le Point, 19 February 1973, Le Nouvel Observateur, 5 and 19 February 1973.

36 On this new found vigour of the party, see the reports of Mauroy, Chevènement, and Joxe, published in Le Poing et la Rose, May 1973, pp. 3 and 9–10. On the sections d’entreprises, see Témoignage Chrétien, 9 March 1972, Le Monde, 20 September 1971, 2 and 9 October 1971, 12 and 16 January 1973; Backmann, M., ‘Bilan dans les entreprises’, L’Unité, No. 48, 19–25 01 1973 Google Scholar; report of Sarre, Georges in Le Poing et la Rose, 05 1973, p. 11 Google Scholar; Sitbon, G., ‘Les mousque‐taires de Villeurbanne’, Le Nouvel Observateur, 11 12 1972 Google Scholar; and Georges Valance, ‘Les partis à 1’usine’, L’Express, 13–19 December 1971. On the youth movement, see Le Monde, 5, 8, and 13 September 1971; on demonstrations, Le Monde, 20 and 24 July and 28 August 1971, and 8 March 1972. Contacts with the CFDT are facilitated by the fact that E. Descamps and other CFDT leaders are now party members. See also F. Borella, op. cit., pp. 161–2.

37 Le Monde, 21 January 1972, 9 September 1972 and 24 February 1973.

38 Le Nouvel Observateur, 9 April 1973.

39 Whilst the Communist Party has a full‐time staff of 350 at its palatial headquarters, the socialists have only 20; see J. Geoffroy and M. Padovani, op. cit.; and C. Hurtig, op. cit., p. 97.

40 Report of Pierre Mauroy, quoted in Le Monde, 10 April 1973.

41 Jean‐Pierre Aubert, ‘Le Parti et l’argent’, La Revue Socialiste, May 1973, pp. 231 and 235–6. It is calculated that the Communists have an annual budget of about $pD4,000,000. On socialist finances see C. Hurtig, op. cit., pp. 97, 113; Philip M. Williams, op. cit., p. 92, and on the present detailed state of party finances, Rapport de Trésorerie, Congrèes National du Parti socialiste, Grenoble, 22–4 June 1973.

42 For details of the socialist provincial newspapers and their circulation see C. Hurtig, op. cit., p. 97. L’Unité first appeared on 28 January 1972; its circulation greatly increased during the 1973 election campaign, but by June 1973 its total weekly circulation was still only 45,000–50,000. See Estier, Claude, ‘La presse du parti’, Le Poing et la Rose, 05 1973, p. 14.Google Scholar

43 See particularly, Chariot, Jean, ‘Faut‐il garder le centre en réserve?’, Le Point, 19 03 1973 Google Scholar; ‘Lectures d’une consultation électorale’, La Nouvelle Critique, April 1973, p. 40; Jean Rous, ‘Le combat continue’, Combat, 13 March 1973; Lancelot, Alain, ‘La France de M. Bourgeois‐République? Les élections législatives de mars 1973’, Projet, 06 1973, p. 676 Google Scholar, and Ysmal, Colette, ‘Des élections sans surprise mais non sans changements’, Revue Politique et Parlementaire, 04 1973, pp. 8–9 Google Scholar. Duverger, Maurice, (‘Le “décollage” du socialisme français’, Le Monde, 27 01 1973)Google Scholar made much the same point during the election campaign.

44 Le Monde, 8 March 1973.

45 Mitterrand, François, ‘La fin du gaullisme’, Le Monde, 10 03 1973.Google Scholar

46 Les forces polltiques et les élections législatives de mars 1973, (Le Monde) p. 45.

47 Sondages, 1968, No. 2, p. 101; Le Monde, 24 February 1973.

48 Duhamel, Alain, ‘La composition sociologique des électorats à la veille du scrutin’, Le Monde, 10 03 1973 Google Scholar; Chariot, Jean, ‘Comment s’explique la poussée socialiste’, Le Point, 19 02 1973 Google Scholar; Gomez del Junco, S. and G., ‘Elections législatives des 4 et 11 mars 1973’, La Revue Socialiste, 04 1973, pp. 315–44Google Scholar; ‘Portrait de l’électeur socialiste’, L’Unité, No. 67, 1–7 June 1973; and the contributions of Didier Motchane to the discussion published in Politique Aujourd’bui, April‐May 1973.

49 Le Monde, 10 March 1973; Casanova, A., ‘L’électorat catholique: les transformations qualitatives’, La Nouvelle Critique, 04 1973 Google Scholar.

50 Hayward, Jack and Wright, Vincent, ‘Presidential Supremacy and the French General Elections of March 1973’, Part I, Parliamentary Affairs, Autumn 1973, p. 297.Google Scholar

51 L’Express, 27 June 1971; Témoignage chrétien, 17 June 1971.

52 Le Nouvel Observateur, 6 March 1973.

53 Colette Ysmal, op. cit., p. 4. Gazelles, E., ‘Nécessité des analyses rigoureuses’, La Bataille Socialiste, 05 1973 Google Scholar.

54 See particularly the declaration of Marchais, Georges quoted in Le Monde, 6 03 1973.Google Scholar

55 See the very interesting article by Le Gall, Gérard and Riglet, Marc, ‘La gauche a‐t‐elle été rééquilibréé’, Etudes, 06 1973, pp. 854–7Google Scholar.

56 A point made very forcibly by Ranger, Jean, ‘Aprèes les élections législatives: débat’, Politique Aujourd’bui, 04‐05 1973, pp. 54–6Google Scholar.

57 Opinion polls suggested that barely a fifth of those who voted for the reformist movement at the first ballot would vote socialist at the second; see Lancelot, Alain and Weill, Pierre, ‘Les intentions de vote d’octobre 1972 à mars 1973’, Projet, No. 76, 06 1973, pp. 666–9Google Scholar.

58 Mitterrand, François, Un socialisme du possible, Paris 1973, p. 34 Google Scholar; ‘François Mitterrand répond à Jean‐François Revel’, L’Express, 1–7 January 1973.

59 Fuzier, Claude, ‘Un argument ridicule’, Bulletin Socialiste, 19 06 1971 Google Scholar.

60 Le Monde, 11 July 1972; Le Nouvel Observateur, 17 July 1972.

61 Opinion polls showed that many of the socialist voters themselves were unhappy about the 1972 agreements: one poll indicated that 14 per cent of ‘faithful’ and 25 per cent of ‘occasional’ socialist voters believed that their party had been wrong to agree to the Common Programme; see Jean Charlot, ‘Comment s’explique…’, op. cit.; and Alain Lancelot and Pierre Weill, op. cit., p. 663.

62 See Revel, Jean‐François, ‘L’union sans l’entente’, L’Express, 26 06‐2 07 1972 Google Scholar; Allier, Irène, ‘P.C.‐P.S.: en passant par Prague’, L’Express, 28 02‐5 03 1972 Google Scholar; Izard, G., ‘Audace et prudence des socialistes’, Le Monde, 23 01 1973 Google Scholar. For socialist leaders, however, such problems were not insurmountable, and Mitterrand himself stressed that a government composed of socialists and communists was a very practical proposition; see Mitterrand, François, ‘Gouverner avec les Communistes’, Le Nouvel Observateur, 11 12 1972 Google Scholar. See also Robert, Fernand, ‘Méditation sur le 11 mars’, La Revue socialists, 03‐04 1973, pp. 103–4Google Scholar. For the communist position on this question, see Martin, Henri, ‘Le parti socialiste un an après la signature du programme commun’, Cabiers du communisme, 08‐09 1973, pp. 28–9Google Scholar.

63 Jaffré, J., ‘La concurrence au sein de la gauche en 1967 et en 1968’, Revue française de science politique, Vol. XXIII, 02 1973, p. 110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

64 This argument has been presented by several journalists sympathetic to the socialists; see Uri, Pierre, ‘Deux stratégies’, L’Express, 31 07‐6 08 1972 Google Scholar; Revel, Jean-François, ‘La loi des centres’, L’Express, 5–11 03 1973 Google Scholar, and ‘Le mur invisible’, L’Express, 12–18 March 1973; Valle, M., ‘Lauriers postiches’, Combat, 19 03 1973 Google Scholar. Those hostile to the socialists also stressed the importance of the anti‐communism of the electorate; see, for example, Griot, J., ‘Le parti socialiste dans l’impasse’, Le Figaro, 13 03 1973.Google Scholar

65 See, for example, the declaration of Mitterrand, quoted in Le Monde, 16 March 1973.