Popular Front (France)
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The Popular Front was an alliance of left-wing political parties (the Communists, the Socialists and the Radicals), which was in government in France from 1936 to 1938.
The origins of the Popular Front
The Communist leader Maurice Thorez was the first to call for the formation of a "popular front", first in the Communist newspaper L'Humanité and subsequently in the Chamber of Deputies. The Radicals were at the time the largest party in the Chamber and were part of the governing right-wing coalition.
The Popular Front won the general election of May 3, 1936, with 376 seats out of 618. For the first time, the Socialists won more seats than the Radicals, and the Socialist leader Léon Blum became France's first Socialist Prime Minister. The first Popular Front cabinet consisted of twenty Socialists, thirteen Radicals and two Socialist Republicans (there were no Communist Ministers) and, for the first time, included three women (women were not able to vote in France at that time).
There are various reasons for the formation of the Popular Front and its subsequent electoral victory; they include economic crisis, financial scandals and the instability of the Chamber elected in 1932 which had weakened the ruling parties, and the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany, the growth of violent far-right leagues in France, and the anti-parliamentary riots in Paris of February 6 1934, which had brought the left-wing parties together.
The Popular Front in government
The Popular Front:
- enacted the law mandating 12 days (2 weeks) each year of paid vacations for workers
- enacted the law limiting to 40 hours the workweek (outside of overtime)
The Popular Front was actively fought by right-wing and far-right movements, which often used antisemitic slurs against Blum and other ministers.
Popular Front ministers
- Léon Blum, President of the Council
- Marx Dormoy, Minister of the Interior
- Léo Lagrange, under-secretary for leisure and sports