Le Travail Movement
Encyclopedia
The Le Travail Movement was an anti-French-colonialism
movement led by the intellectuals of Vietnam
in 1936 by means of "Le Travail" newspaper. The movement lasted only 7 months, from Sept 1936 to April 1937. However, many participants of this movement went on to fulfil their historical oaths and some had actually written the Vietnamese history during this phase.
was having a lot of social problems
. From 1890 to 1914, vagabonds
were banished to colonial
prisons, unemployed people and labouring poor and rural migrants to cities were an overwhelming problems. Many important social
reforms were introduced and was appreciated by the French, among them were the socialist and communist parties.
In 1936, the French communist party and socialist party became the two among the Front Populaire
. Vo Nguyen Giap
, then was a student of the lycée Albert Sarraut
in Hanoi
, North Vietnam
, viewed this as an opportunity to use it as a political tool for the Vietnamese anticolonialist-movement.
"Le Travail" was a socialist newspaper written in French
published by the students of the Lycée Albert Sarraut
in Hanoi
, North Vietnam
, during the French colonial period. The first issue was published on September 16, 1936. Vo Nguyen Giap
was the editor in chief. Trường Chinh
joined in when he was released from jail late 1936. By then Truong Chinh had been a longtime member of the Politburo
and a communist functionary. Soon thereafter Phạm Văn Đồng also came to work at Le Travail (Dong was also a Politburo
member and long time communist functionary).
Vo Nguyên Giap stated that the paper had to be written in French to get around the colonial administrative difficulties.
, to claim amnesty
for political prisoner
s, and to approve of the French Front Populaire.
Vo Nguyên Giap had found out from a news bulletin that in May 1936, the French "Front Populaire" composed of ten political organizations, among them the communist and socialist parties, forming the nucleus of the Front, had won general elections.
Vo Nguyên Giap, then was preoccupied with how to fight the anticolonialist war, immediately thought of taking advantage of this situation for his movement. The news paper was used as a political tool.
"Hon Tre Tap Moi" was practically the first newspaper in Vietnam to promote democracy, and demand amnesty for the political prisoners. It was published on June 6, 1936, two days after Leon Blum, then the new French prime minister came to power. The paper was a success until the French closed it down on the fifth issue.
To get around the problems, Vo Nguyên Giap had decided to publish a newspaper in French. Thus "Le Travail" was born on September 16, 1936. Vo Nguyên Giap became the editor in chief. Truong Chinh
joined in when he was released from jail in late 1936. [Chinh was already a longtime member of the Politburo
and a communist functionary]. Soon thereafter Phạm Văn Đồng also came to work at Le Travail (Dong was also a Politburo
member and long time communist functionary).
, including Hoàng Văn Chí
.
On 16 April 1937 the French Resident ordered stopping all publication of Le Travail. By then thirty issues of the paper had been published over 7 months of its whole existence.
2. Journal of Third World Studies, Fall 2003 by Currey, Cecil B - Senior General Vo Nguyên Giap remembers.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
movement led by the intellectuals of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in 1936 by means of "Le Travail" newspaper. The movement lasted only 7 months, from Sept 1936 to April 1937. However, many participants of this movement went on to fulfil their historical oaths and some had actually written the Vietnamese history during this phase.
Background
In the last decade of the 19th century, FranceFrance
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...
was having a lot of social problems
Social problems
Social problems are problems and difficulties that people often face in society. These include:*crime*corruption*poverty*homelessness*hunger*disease*drug addiction*alcoholism*schizophrenia*depression*pollution...
. From 1890 to 1914, vagabonds
Vagabond (person)
A vagabond is a drifter and an itinerant wanderer who roams wherever they please, following the whim of the moment. Vagabonds may lack residence, a job, and even citizenship....
were banished to colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
prisons, unemployed people and labouring poor and rural migrants to cities were an overwhelming problems. Many important social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
reforms were introduced and was appreciated by the French, among them were the socialist and communist parties.
In 1936, the French communist party and socialist party became the two among the Front Populaire
Front Populaire
Front Populaire can refer to:* Popular Front * People's Front...
. Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
, then was a student of the lycée Albert Sarraut
Lycée Albert Sarraut
The Lycée Albert Sarraut was a French lyceum in Hanoi, Vietnam, during the French colonial period. It was one of 69 high schools founded by the French in their colonies worldwide, named for French Albert Sarraut. The school offered high standard academic programs for students between the ages of 11...
in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, North Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, viewed this as an opportunity to use it as a political tool for the Vietnamese anticolonialist-movement.
"Le Travail" was a socialist newspaper written in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
published by the students of the Lycée Albert Sarraut
Lycée Albert Sarraut
The Lycée Albert Sarraut was a French lyceum in Hanoi, Vietnam, during the French colonial period. It was one of 69 high schools founded by the French in their colonies worldwide, named for French Albert Sarraut. The school offered high standard academic programs for students between the ages of 11...
in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, North Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, during the French colonial period. The first issue was published on September 16, 1936. Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
was the editor in chief. Trường Chinh
Truong Chinh
Trường Chinh Trường Chinh Trường Chinh (pseudonym meaning “Long March”, born Đặng Xuân Khu (b. February 9, 1907 in Xuân Trường District, Nam Định Province, d. September 30, 1988 in Hanoi) was a Vietnamese communist political leader and theoretician. From 1941 to 1957, he was Vietnam's second-ranked...
joined in when he was released from jail late 1936. By then Truong Chinh had been a longtime member of the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
and a communist functionary. Soon thereafter Phạm Văn Đồng also came to work at Le Travail (Dong was also a Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
member and long time communist functionary).
Vo Nguyên Giap stated that the paper had to be written in French to get around the colonial administrative difficulties.
How the paper was born
Apparently, Vo Nguyên Giap had tried to publish another paper few months earlier under the name "Hon Tre Tap Moi [Soul of Youth, new edition]" in Vietnamese, to fight for democracyDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, to claim amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
for political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s, and to approve of the French Front Populaire.
Vo Nguyên Giap had found out from a news bulletin that in May 1936, the French "Front Populaire" composed of ten political organizations, among them the communist and socialist parties, forming the nucleus of the Front, had won general elections.
Vo Nguyên Giap, then was preoccupied with how to fight the anticolonialist war, immediately thought of taking advantage of this situation for his movement. The news paper was used as a political tool.
"Hon Tre Tap Moi" was practically the first newspaper in Vietnam to promote democracy, and demand amnesty for the political prisoners. It was published on June 6, 1936, two days after Leon Blum, then the new French prime minister came to power. The paper was a success until the French closed it down on the fifth issue.
To get around the problems, Vo Nguyên Giap had decided to publish a newspaper in French. Thus "Le Travail" was born on September 16, 1936. Vo Nguyên Giap became the editor in chief. Truong Chinh
Truong Chinh
Trường Chinh Trường Chinh Trường Chinh (pseudonym meaning “Long March”, born Đặng Xuân Khu (b. February 9, 1907 in Xuân Trường District, Nam Định Province, d. September 30, 1988 in Hanoi) was a Vietnamese communist political leader and theoretician. From 1941 to 1957, he was Vietnam's second-ranked...
joined in when he was released from jail in late 1936. [Chinh was already a longtime member of the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
and a communist functionary]. Soon thereafter Phạm Văn Đồng also came to work at Le Travail (Dong was also a Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
member and long time communist functionary).
Life of Le Travail
Many students from Albert Sarraut joined in without much knowledge about communismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, including Hoàng Văn Chí
Hoang Van Chi
Hoàng Văn Chí was one of the first Vietnamese political writers, a prominent intellectual who was an opponent of colonialism and later of communism in Vietnam. He used the penname Mạc Định...
.
On 16 April 1937 the French Resident ordered stopping all publication of Le Travail. By then thirty issues of the paper had been published over 7 months of its whole existence.
External links
1. European History Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 2, 147-184 (2000) © 2000 SAGE Publications - The Plight of the Able-bodied Poor and the Unemployed in Urban France, 1880-1914 - Timothy B. Smith - Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario2. Journal of Third World Studies, Fall 2003 by Currey, Cecil B - Senior General Vo Nguyên Giap remembers.