A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/47143 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications ‘March Separately but Strike Together’ ‘March Separately but Strike Together’ The use of the united front tactic by Trotskyists in French trade unions by Christopher David Blakey A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in French Studies University of Warwick, Department of French Studies June 2011 Contents Page Illustrations and Tables vi Acknowledgements vii Declaration ix Abstract x Abbreviations xi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: The united front tactic: an overview 34 The emergence of the united front tactic 36 The united front tactic is formalised 41 The united front and the ‘French question’ 49 The Left Opposition 58 The Popular Front 65 The united front: towards a working definition 71 Chapter 3: The 1936 Hotchkiss strike: the united front tested in practice 76 The early development of the Hotchkiss Strike Committee 80 Trotskyist unity and the Parti ouvrier internationaliste 84 Strikes in Levallois and the further development of the Hotchkiss Strike Committee 88 Reactions to the Hotchkiss Strike Committee 96 Evaluation 107 Chapter 4: 1944 -1948: the united front at Caudron and Renault 121 Workplace workers’ committees 124 iii The Caudron workers’ committee 127 Achievements at Caudron 144 The Renault strike 149 Consequences of the strike 167 Evaluation 172 Chapter 5: Coordinations: a modern form of united front? 183 A contemporary adaptation 186 The re-emergence of Trotskyism 192 The LCR and autogestion 197 Coordinations: from 1986 to 1989 201 The formation of the SUD unions 218 1995: Coordinations officially sanctioned 221 Trotskyist involvement in the coordinations 228 Evaluation 236 Chapter 6: Conclusion 242 The united front: a summary 243 The case studies 246 Common features 257 An effective tactic? 269 Continued relevance of the united front tactic 276 Bibliography: 287 Appendices: 1. Interviewees 324 2. La Charte d’Amiens 326 iv 3. Works by Trotsky after 1927 referring to the united front 328 4. Theses on the conditions of admission to the Communist International 329 5. Archives and Libraries consulted 334 v Illustrations and Tables The Hotchkiss factory in Levallois circa 1936 83 Strike statistics for France 1969 to 1994 216 vi Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the contribution made towards the completion of this study by the following activists and militants from the trade union and social movements both in France and Britain. In the true spirit of the united front, some are Trotskyists, some are in the PCF and some are not affiliated to any political party. I am most grateful for their comments and generous responses to my questions, requests for information and interviews: Christophe Aguiton, Denis Aguiton, Josiane Baudoin, Ronan le Berre, Ian Birchall, Isabelle Borne, Sylviane Charles, Jean-René Chauvin (1918-2011), Bernard Douzil, Françoise Goissede, Nick Grant, Ross Harrold, Alain Krivine, Yvan Lemaitre, Aline Marti, Elsa Petit-Hassan, Anne-Marie Poupon, Claude Rousset, Tony Telford, Giles Ungpakorn, Philippe and Franck. I acknowledge also the fraternal welcomes given to me, and the contributions made by numerous other activists and participants whilst at meetings of LO, LCR, and the NPA. Similarly, I value the many productive conversations I have had, whilst on frequent demonstrations and protests in Paris, with rank and file members from the CGT, CFDT and SUD trade unions. In addition, I would like to acknowledge the assistance and time made available to me by the following archivists, librarians and researchers, some of whom are also political and trade union activists: Pierre Boidu (Archives du PCF), Pascal Carreau (Archives du PCF), Marie- Pierre Cordier (Institut CGT d’Histoire Sociale), Marie-Laure Debayle vii (Bibliothèque centrale de l’Université Paris Diderot), Jean-Pierre Elbaz (IHS CGT Métallurgie), Thérèse Guillaume (Archives de la Mairie des Lilas), Florence Joshua (CEVIPOF), Pierre Levasseur (1937-2010) (CERMTRI), Anthony Lorry (CEDIAS-Musée social), Aurélie Mazet (Institut CGT d’Histoire Sociale), Evelyne Morel (CERMTRI), Olivier Accarie Pierson, (Archives de la Préfecture de Police, Paris), Michel Prat (CEDIAS-Musée social), Claude Pennetier (Centre national de la recherche scientifique), Anna Rosenschild-Paulin (Library of the Maison Française d'Oxford), Fred Speelman (Association RADAR), Xavier Théret (Archives Municipales de Levallois), Georges Ubbiali (l’Université de Bourgogne), Rossana Vaccaro (CHS Bibliothèque Jean Maitron), Franck Veyron (BDIC). I would like to express gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Nick Hewlett from the Department of French studies at the University of Warwick. His positive and critical assistance ensured the completion of this study. Finally, I thank my family, Brigitte, Emma and Jean-Luc. Without their continuing support and encouragement this study would have remained an unfulfilled ambition. viii Declaration I confirm that this thesis is entirely my own work, does not contain work already submitted for another degree and has not been submitted for a degree at another university. C.D.Blakey June 2011. ix Abstract. This study is an attempt to fill the lacuna left by the lack of detailed research into the use, by French Trotskyist trade union militants, of the agitational tactic known as the united front. I analyse the manner in which the tactic has been used, evaluate its success or otherwise and assess whether it continues to be of relevance for Trotskyists in the present day. I make use of a range of sources, including archived primary materials and documented memoirs of participants, contemporary media reports, academic research and interviews with Trotskyist activists. An examination of the theory and development of the united front is undertaken, followed by an evaluation of its practical implementation, through consideration of a number of case studies from different periods in the twentieth century. These are, firstly, the short-lived Hotchkiss strike committee, established during the 1936 Popular Front period. Secondly, I evaluate two examples from the immediate post-war period, the Caudron factory workers’ council between 1944 and 1948, and the strike committee established during the Renault factory strike of 1947. Thirdly, I consider the united fronts, in the form of workers’ coordinations, during the period between 1986 and 1995. I draw out and highlight common features between the united fronts, and assess whether or not the tactic made an effective contribution to the winning of industrial disputes by workers and whether, in the process, it enabled Trotskyist activists to generate a receptive audience for their wider political and social ideas. Finally, I consider whether the building of united fronts continues to be a realistic, relevant, practical tactic for Trotskyists in the French trade unions, and one which assists them to effectively pursue their stated longer-term goal of a revolutionary transformation of society. x Abbreviations AG Assemblées générales AMR Alliance marxiste révolutionnaire BDIC Bibliothèque de documentation internationale contemporaine CAP Commissions administratives paritaires CCI Comité communiste internationaliste CCP Commission consultative paritaire CDL Comité départemental de la libération CEC Commission exécutive centrale CEDIAS Centre d'études, de documentation, d'information et d'action sociales CERMTRI Centre d’études et de recherches sur les mouvements trotskyste et révolutionnaires internationaux CEVIPOF Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po CFDT Confédération française démocratique du travail CFE-CGC Confédération française de l’encadrement - Confédération générale des cadres CFTC Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens CGT Confédération générale du travail CGT-FO Confédération générale du travail - Force ouvrière CGTU Confédération générale du travail unitaire CHS Centre d'histoire sociale CNAC Coordination nationale des agents de conduite CNIC Coordination nationale intercatégories des cheminots CNT Confédération nationale du travail xi CRC Coordonner Rassembler Construire CSR Comités syndicalistes révolutionnaires ECCI Enlarged Executive of the Communist International FSU Fédération syndicale unitaire GBL Groupe bolshevik-léniniste GC Gauche communiste KPD Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands LC Ligue communiste LCR Ligue communiste révolutionnaire LO Lutte ouvrière MPPT Mouvement pour un parti des travailleurs MRP Mouvement républicain populaire NPA Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste OCI Organisation communiste internationale OU Opposition unitaire PCF Parti communiste français PCI Parti communiste internationaliste POI Parti ouvrier internationaliste POIn Parti ouvrier indépendant POUM Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista PRS Parti républicain, radical et radical-socialiste PS Parti socialiste PSOP Parti socialiste ouvrier et paysan xii PSU Parti socialiste unifié PT Parti des travailleurs RADAR Rassembler, diffuser les archives de révolutionnaires RDR Rassemblement démocratique révolutionnaire