Three-parties
Encyclopedia
The Three-Parties Alliance (Tripartisme in French) was a coalition which governed in France from 1944 to 1947, and was composed of the French Communist Party
(PCF), the French Section of the Workers' International (socialists, SFIO) and the Christian Democrat Popular Republican Movement
(MRP), which to begin with contained the regrouped Gaullists
. The official Tripartisme charter was signed on January 23, 1946, following the resignation of Charles de Gaulle
, who opposed the draft of the Constitution. The draft envisioned a parliamentary system
, whereas de Gaulle favored a presidential system.
The traditional political class, which had included all the right-wing parties plus the Radical-Socialist Party that symbolized the Third Republic
(1871–1940) all by itself, was completely discredited by 1944. The reasons for this perceived lack of legitimacy included in the first instance the Collaborationism
of several of these actors, as well as the failure in the 1930s to put an end to the economic crisis
that had characterized the years of the Great Depression. Thus the Democratic Republican Alliance
, the main center-right party after the First World War, had opted for Collaborationism, an option endorsed by its leader Pierre-Étienne Flandin plus other members like Joseph Barthélémy
.
Furthermore, the political class was considered jointly responsible for the collapse in 1940 of the Third Republic following the disastrous Battle of France
, which the historian Marc Bloch
later described as the "strange defeat" (l'étrange défaite). In this way Gaullism and Communism emerged as the most popular political forces in the country.
However, Charles de Gaulle, who favored a presidential system, quit the government in 1946 and henceforth remained in the opposition until his triumphal return during the May 1958 crisis
. For their part, the MRP, SFIO and PCF each achieved somewhere between 20% and 30% of the votes, with approximately 150 deputies each between September 1944 and May 1947. Afterwards, the PCF and de Gaulle's Rally of the French People
(RPF) became France's main parties; however, both remained in opposition, because on their own they could not muster the absolute majority needed to form a government, and an alliance between them was inconceivable. The Three-Parties Alliance was succeeded in government by the Third Force
, which comprised the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance
(UDSR), the SFIO and the MRP, with the Gaullists and the Communists forming the opposition.
(GPRF) was instituted. With most of the political class discredited, and containing many members who had more or less collaborated
with the enemy, Gaullism and Communism became the most popular political forces in France. Charles de Gaulle
had led the Resistance
abroad, while the PCF was nicknamed the "party of the 75,000 executed" (parti des 75 000 fusillés) because it had spearheaded the Resistance in metropolitan France
. On the other hand, the Radical-Socialist Party, which symbolized by itself the French Third Republic
(1871–1940), was completely discredited for the role it had taken both before and during the war; equally, the conservative
parties were vilified for their role during the Collaboration.
The March 1944 Charter of the Conseil National de la Résistance
(CNR), the umbrella organization
of the Resistance which was dominated by the Communist Francs-tireurs partisans
(FTP), envisioned the establishment of a social democracy
, including a planned economy
. Classical liberalism
had been discredited during the 1929 crisis and its inability to come up with a suitable response to the Depression.
The GPRF introduced a program of social reforms and laid the foundations of the French Welfare State
. It also enacted some nationalization
s in strategic or/and Collaborationist-controlled economic sectors (including the 1946 founding of Électricité de France
electricity company, the 1945 nationalization of the AGF
insurance firm, the nationalization of the Crédit Lyonnais
bank in 1945 and the Société Générale
bank in 1946, as well as the nationalization of the car maker Renault
, which had been accused of Collaborationism). Trade union
independence was guaranteed by the 1946 Charter of Amiens
. This program comprised a substantial part of the so-called acquis sociaux
(social rights) established in France during the second half of the twentieth century.
Charles de Gaulle led the GPRF from 1944 to 1946. Meanwhile, negotiations took place over the proposed new Constitution, which was to be put to a referendum. De Gaulle advocated a presidential system of government, and criticized the reinstatement of what he pejoratively called "the parties system". He resigned in January 1946 and was replaced by Félix Gouin
(SFIO). Ultimately only the PCF and the SFIO supported the draft Constitution, which envisaged a form of government based on unicameralism
; but this was rejected in the referendum of May 5, 1946
.
included 166 MRP deputies, 153 PCF deputies and 128 SFIO deputies, giving the Tripartite alliance an absolute majority. Georges Bidault
(MRP) replaced Félix Gouin
as the head of government.
A new draft of the Constitution was written, which this time proposed the establishment of a bicameral form of government. Léon Blum
(SFIO) headed the GPRF from 1946 to 1947. After a new legislative election in June 1946, the Christian-Democrat Georges Bidault
assumed leadership of the cabinet. Despite de Gaulle's so-called discourse of Bayeux of June 16, 1946 in which he denounced the new institutions, the new draft was approved by the French people
, with 53% of voters voting in favor (with 31% in abstention
) in the October 13, 1946 referendum
. This culminated in the establishment in the following year of the Fourth Republic
, an arrangement in which executive power essentially resided in the hands of the President of the Council
. The President of the Republic
was given a largely symbolic role, although he remained chief of the Army and as a last resort could be called upon to resolve conflicts.
The PCF won the most votes of any party in the November 1946 elections, achieving 28.8% of the vote and prompting the Communist Maurice Thorez
to make an unsuccessful bid for the presidency of the Council.
, as distinct from the presidentialism which would characterize the Fifth Republic
(1958-). Accordingly, the composition of the government was determined by the make-up of the Parliament
, and heavily relied on the formation of alliances between the most popular parties, which in practice meant the MRP, the SFIO and the PCF.
The PCF refused to approve war credits for Indochina
on March 19, 1947. Minimum wages were introduced on March 31, while Paul Ramadier
's SFIO government heavily repressed the Madagascar insurrection, resulting in 90,000 - 100,000 deaths. When Charles de Gaulle created the Rally of the French People
(RPF) in April 1947, the MRP prohibited its members from joining it. The MRP ceased to be the party of Gaullism and instead defined itself as Christian Democrat.
Tripartisme collapsed with the May 1947 crisis
in which Ramadier's government excluded the Communist ministers from participating; this was the event that marked the official start of the Cold War
in France. The May 1947 crisis could be described as the result of the Communists' refusal to continue support for the French colonial reconquest of Vietnam on the one hand plus a wage freeze during a period of hyperinflation on the other, which were the immediate causes of Maurice Thorez
and his colleagues being dismissed from the ruling coalition in May 1947. From this moment on the Fourth Republic was plagued by parliamentary instability because two of France's most popular parties, de Gaulle's RPF and the PCF, remained on the opposition benches.
French 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), the French Section of the Workers' International (socialists, SFIO) and the Christian Democrat Popular Republican Movement
Popular Republican Movement
The Popular Republican Movement was a French Christian democratic party of the Fourth Republic...
(MRP), which to begin with contained the regrouped Gaullists
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Resistance leader then president Charles de Gaulle.-Foreign policy:...
. The official Tripartisme charter was signed on January 23, 1946, following the resignation of 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....
, who opposed the draft of the Constitution. The draft envisioned a parliamentary system
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
, whereas de Gaulle favored a presidential system.
The traditional political class, which had included all the right-wing parties plus the Radical-Socialist Party that symbolized the Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
(1871–1940) all by itself, was completely discredited by 1944. The reasons for this perceived lack of legitimacy included in the first instance the Collaborationism
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
of several of these actors, as well as the failure in the 1930s to put an end to the economic crisis
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
that had characterized the years of the Great Depression. Thus the Democratic Republican Alliance
Democratic Republican Alliance
The Democratic Republican Alliance was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta, such as Raymond Poincaré who would be president of the Council in the 1920s...
, the main center-right party after the First World War, had opted for Collaborationism, an option endorsed by its leader Pierre-Étienne Flandin plus other members like Joseph Barthélémy
Joseph Barthélemy
Joseph Barthélemy was a French jurist, politician and journalist. Initially a critic of Nazi Germany, he would go on to serve as a minister in the collaborationist Vichy regime.-Early years:...
.
Furthermore, the political class was considered jointly responsible for the collapse in 1940 of the Third Republic following the disastrous Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, which the historian Marc Bloch
Marc Bloch
Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch was a French historian who cofounded the highly influential Annales School of French social history. Bloch was a quintessential modernist. An assimilated Alsatian Jew from an academic family in Paris, he was deeply affected in his youth by the Dreyfus Affair...
later described as the "strange defeat" (l'étrange défaite). In this way Gaullism and Communism emerged as the most popular political forces in the country.
However, Charles de Gaulle, who favored a presidential system, quit the government in 1946 and henceforth remained in the opposition until his triumphal return during 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...
. For their part, the MRP, SFIO and PCF each achieved somewhere between 20% and 30% of the votes, with approximately 150 deputies each between September 1944 and May 1947. Afterwards, the PCF and de Gaulle's Rally of the French People
Rally of the French People
The Rally of the French People was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle.-Foundation:...
(RPF) became France's main parties; however, both remained in opposition, because on their own they could not muster the absolute majority needed to form a government, and an alliance between them was inconceivable. The Three-Parties Alliance was succeeded in government by the Third Force
Third Force (France)
The Third Force was a French coalition during the Fourth Republic which gathered the French Section of the Workers' International party, the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance centre-right party, the Radicals, the Christian democrat Popular Republican Movement and other centrist...
, which comprised the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance
Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance
The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance was a French political party found at the Liberation and in activity during the Fourth Republic...
(UDSR), the SFIO and the MRP, with the Gaullists and the Communists forming the opposition.
The Provisional Government and the discrediting of the political class
After the liberation of France, the Vichy government was dissolved and the Provisional Government of the French RepublicProvisional Government of the French Republic
The Provisional Government of the French Republic was an interim government which governed France from 1944 to 1946, following the fall of Vichy France and prior to the Fourth French Republic....
(GPRF) was instituted. With most of the political class discredited, and containing many members who had more or less collaborated
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
with the enemy, Gaullism and Communism became the most popular political forces in France. 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....
had led the Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
abroad, while the PCF was nicknamed the "party of the 75,000 executed" (parti des 75 000 fusillés) because it had spearheaded the Resistance in metropolitan France
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France is the part of France located in Europe. It can also be described as mainland France or as the French mainland and the island of Corsica...
. On the other hand, the Radical-Socialist Party, which symbolized by itself the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
(1871–1940), was completely discredited for the role it had taken both before and during the war; equally, the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
parties were vilified for their role during the Collaboration.
The March 1944 Charter of the Conseil National de la Résistance
Conseil National de la Résistance
The Conseil National de la Résistance or the National Council of the Resistance is the body that directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance - the press, trade unions, and members of political parties hostile to the Vichy regime, starting from...
(CNR), the umbrella organization
Umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
of the Resistance which was dominated by the Communist Francs-tireurs partisans
Franc-Tireur (movement)
Franc-Tireur was a French Resistance movement founded at Lyon in November 1940 under the name "France Liberté". It was renamed "Franc-Tireur" in December 1941 on the proposal of Jean-Jacques Soudeille...
(FTP), envisioned the establishment of a social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, including a planned economy
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
. Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....
had been discredited during the 1929 crisis and its inability to come up with a suitable response to the Depression.
The GPRF introduced a program of social reforms and laid the foundations of the French Welfare State
Welfare State
The Welfare State is a commitment to health, education, employment and social security in the United Kingdom.-Background:The United Kingdom, as a welfare state, was prefigured in the William Beveridge Report in 1942, which identified five "Giant Evils" in society: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness...
. It also enacted some nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
s in strategic or/and Collaborationist-controlled economic sectors (including the 1946 founding of Électricité de France
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
electricity company, the 1945 nationalization of the AGF
AGF (company)
AGF is a French insurance company, headquartered in Rue de Richelieu, Paris. The holding company is called Assurances Générales de France, but the company only refers to itself as AGF. Having held a majority stake in AGF since 1998, Allianz SE of Germany achieved 100% ownership of the company in...
insurance firm, the nationalization of the Crédit Lyonnais
Crédit Lyonnais
Crédit Lyonnais is a historic French bank. In the early 1990s it was the largest French bank, majority state-owned at that point. Crédit Lyonnais was the subject of poor management during that period which almost led to its bankruptcy in 1993...
bank in 1945 and the Société Générale
Société Générale
Société Générale S.A. is a large European Bank and a major Financial Services company that has a substantial global presence. Its registered office is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, while its head office is in the Tours Société Générale in the business district of La...
bank in 1946, as well as the nationalization of the car maker Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, which had been accused of Collaborationism). Trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
independence was guaranteed by the 1946 Charter of Amiens
Charter of Amiens
The Charter of Amiens was adopted at the 9th Congress of the Confédération générale du travail French trade-union, which took place in Amiens in October 1906. Its main proposal was the separation between the union movement and the political parties...
. This program comprised a substantial part of the so-called acquis sociaux
Social rights
Economic, social and cultural rights are socio-economic human rights, such as the right to education, right to housing, right to adequate standard of living and the right to health. Economic, social and cultural rights are recognised and protected in international and regional human rights...
(social rights) established in France during the second half of the twentieth century.
Charles de Gaulle led the GPRF from 1944 to 1946. Meanwhile, negotiations took place over the proposed new Constitution, which was to be put to a referendum. De Gaulle advocated a presidential system of government, and criticized the reinstatement of what he pejoratively called "the parties system". He resigned in January 1946 and was replaced by Félix Gouin
Félix Gouin
Félix Gouin was a French Socialist politician, member of the French Section of the Workers' International .-Personal life:Félix Gouin was born in Peypin, Bouches-du-Rhône, the son of school teachers...
(SFIO). Ultimately only the PCF and the SFIO supported the draft Constitution, which envisaged a form of government based on unicameralism
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
; but this was rejected in the referendum of May 5, 1946
French constitutional referendum, May 1946
A constitutional referendum was held in France on 5 May 1946. Voters were asked whether they approved of a new constitution proposed by the National Assembly elected in 1945. Moderates, Radicals, and the Popular Republican Movement campaigned against the referendum. It was rejected by 52.8% of...
.
The 1946 elections
For the 1946 elections, the Rally of the Republican Lefts (Rassemblement des gauches républicaines), which encompassed the Radical-Socialist Party, the UDSR and other conservative parties, unsuccessfully attempted to oppose the MRP-SFIO-PCF alliance. The new Constituent AssemblyConstituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
included 166 MRP deputies, 153 PCF deputies and 128 SFIO deputies, giving the Tripartite alliance an absolute majority. Georges Bidault
Georges Bidault
Georges-Augustin Bidault was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions before he joined the Organisation armée secrète.-Early life:...
(MRP) replaced Félix Gouin
Félix Gouin
Félix Gouin was a French Socialist politician, member of the French Section of the Workers' International .-Personal life:Félix Gouin was born in Peypin, Bouches-du-Rhône, the son of school teachers...
as the head of government.
A new draft of the Constitution was written, which this time proposed the establishment of a bicameral form of government. Léon Blum
Léon Blum
André Léon Blum was a French politician, usually identified with the moderate left, and three times the Prime Minister of France.-First political experiences:...
(SFIO) headed the GPRF from 1946 to 1947. After a new legislative election in June 1946, the Christian-Democrat Georges Bidault
Georges Bidault
Georges-Augustin Bidault was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions before he joined the Organisation armée secrète.-Early life:...
assumed leadership of the cabinet. Despite de Gaulle's so-called discourse of Bayeux of June 16, 1946 in which he denounced the new institutions, the new draft was approved by the French people
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, with 53% of voters voting in favor (with 31% in abstention
Abstention
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...
) in the October 13, 1946 referendum
French constitutional referendum, October 1946
A constitutional referendum was held in France on 13 October 1946. Voters were asked whether they approved of a new constitution proposed by the Constituent Assembly elected in June. Unlike the May referendum, which saw a previous constitutional proposal rejected, the new constitution was accepted...
. This culminated in the establishment in the following year of the Fourth Republic
Fourth Republic
Fourth Republic may refer to:* French Fourth Republic * Fourth Republic of the Philippines * Fourth Republic of South Korea * The Fourth Republic of Niger...
, an arrangement in which executive power essentially resided in the hands of the President of the Council
President of the Council
President of the Council can refer to:*President of the Council of Ministers*Lord President of the Council...
. The President of the Republic
President of the Republic
The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of government or heads of state in some republics:*President of Argentina, the Presidente de la República Argentina* President of Brazil, the Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil...
was given a largely symbolic role, although he remained chief of the Army and as a last resort could be called upon to resolve conflicts.
The PCF won the most votes of any party in the November 1946 elections, achieving 28.8% of the vote and prompting the Communist Maurice Thorez
Maurice Thorez
thumb|A Soviet stamp depicting Maurice Thorez.Maurice Thorez was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party from 1930 until his death. He also served as vice premier of France from 1946 to 1947....
to make an unsuccessful bid for the presidency of the Council.
The Fourth Republic
The 1946 Constitution establishing the Fourth Republic (1947–1958) created a parliamentary RepublicParliamentary Republic
The Parliamentary Republic can refer to:* A republican form of government with a Parliamentary system and a ceremonial head of state or head of state elected by parliament - see Parliamentary republic...
, as distinct from the presidentialism which would characterize 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...
(1958-). Accordingly, the composition of the government was determined by the make-up of the Parliament
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
, and heavily relied on the formation of alliances between the most popular parties, which in practice meant the MRP, the SFIO and the PCF.
The PCF refused to approve war credits for Indochina
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
on March 19, 1947. Minimum wages were introduced on March 31, while Paul Ramadier
Paul Ramadier
Paul Ramadier was a prominent French politician of the Third and Fourth Republics. Mayor of Decazeville starting in 1919, he served as the first Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic in 1947. On 10 July 1940, he voted against the granting of the full powers to Marshal Philippe Pétain, who...
's SFIO government heavily repressed the Madagascar insurrection, resulting in 90,000 - 100,000 deaths. When Charles de Gaulle created the Rally of the French People
Rally of the French People
The Rally of the French People was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle.-Foundation:...
(RPF) in April 1947, the MRP prohibited its members from joining it. The MRP ceased to be the party of Gaullism and instead defined itself as Christian Democrat.
Tripartisme collapsed with the May 1947 crisis
May 1947 crisis
The May 1947 Crisis of Italy was when the Communist Party of Italy was thrown out of government. The Christian Democrats led by Alcide De Gasperi were becoming increasingly unpopular, and were afraid that the Left Coalition would take power....
in which Ramadier's government excluded the Communist ministers from participating; this was the event that marked the official start of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
in France. The May 1947 crisis could be described as the result of the Communists' refusal to continue support for the French colonial reconquest of Vietnam on the one hand plus a wage freeze during a period of hyperinflation on the other, which were the immediate causes of Maurice Thorez
Maurice Thorez
thumb|A Soviet stamp depicting Maurice Thorez.Maurice Thorez was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party from 1930 until his death. He also served as vice premier of France from 1946 to 1947....
and his colleagues being dismissed from the ruling coalition in May 1947. From this moment on the Fourth Republic was plagued by parliamentary instability because two of France's most popular parties, de Gaulle's RPF and the PCF, remained on the opposition benches.
See also
- Blum-Byrnes agreementBlum-Byrnes agreementThe Blum-Byrnes agreement was a French-American agreement, signed May 28, 1946 by the Secretary of State James F. Byrnes and representatives of the French government Léon Blum and Jean Monnet...
- Marshall PlanMarshall PlanThe Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
- French Fourth RepublicFrench Fourth RepublicThe French Fourth Republic was the republican government of France between 1946 and 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic, which was in place before World War II, and suffered many of the same problems...
- GaullismGaullismGaullism is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Resistance leader then president Charles de Gaulle.-Foreign policy:...
, Rally of the French PeopleRally of the French PeopleThe Rally of the French People was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle.-Foundation:...
, and French Communist PartyFrench Communist PartyThe 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... - May 1947 crisisMay 1947 crisisThe May 1947 Crisis of Italy was when the Communist Party of Italy was thrown out of government. The Christian Democrats led by Alcide De Gasperi were becoming increasingly unpopular, and were afraid that the Left Coalition would take power....
- 1947 strikes in France
- Third ForceThird Force (France)The Third Force was a French coalition during the Fourth Republic which gathered the French Section of the Workers' International party, the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance centre-right party, the Radicals, the Christian democrat Popular Republican Movement and other centrist...
Wikisource
- 1946 Constitution (French)