With
the
outbreak
of
World
War
I
in
1914,
France
found
itself
swiftly
overrun
by
Germany
and
its
allies,
and
defended
by
its
old
enemy,
Britain.
At
home,
the
hitherto
anti-militarist
trade
union
and
socialist
leaders
(Jaurès
was
assassinated
in
1914)
rallied
to
the
flag
and
to
the
forces.
The
cost
of
the
war
was
even
greater
for
France
than
for
the
other
participants
because
it
was
fought
largely
on
French
soil.
Over
a
quarter
of
the
eight
million
men
called
up
were
either
killed
or
crippled;
industrial
production
fell
to
sixty
percent
of
the
prewar
level.
This
-
along
with
memories
of
the
Franco-Prussian
war
of
1870
-
was
the
reason
that
the
French
were
more
aggressive
than
either
the
British
or
the
Americans
in
seeking
war
reparations
from
the
Germans.
In
the
postwar
struggle
for
recovery
the
interests
of
the
urban
working
class
were
again
passed
over,
save
for
Clemenceau's
eight-hour-day
legislation
in
1919.
An
attempted
general
strike
in
1920
came
to
nothing,
and
the
workers'
strength
was
again
undermined
by
the
formation
of
new
Catholic
and
Communist
unions,
and
most
of
all
by
the
irreversible
split
in
the
Socialist
Party
at
the
1920
Congress
of
Tours.
The
pro-Lenin
majority
formed
the
French
Communist
Party
,
while
the
minority
faction,
under
the
leadership
of
Léon
Blum,
retained
the
old
SFIO
(Section
Française
de
l'Internationale
Ouvrière)
title.
The
bitterness
caused
by
this
split
has
bedevilled
the
French
Left
ever
since.
Both
parties
resolutely
stayed
away
from
government.
As
the
Depression
deepened
in
the
1930s
and
Nazi
power
across
the
Rhine
became
more
menacing,
fascist
thuggery
and
antiparliamentary
activity
increased
in
France,
culminating
in
a
pitched
battle
outside
the
Chamber
of
Deputies
in
February
1934.
The
effect
of
this
fascist
activism
was
to
unite
the
Left,
including
the
Communists
led
by
the
Stalinist
Maurice
Thorez,
in
the
Front
Populaire
.
When
they
won
the
1936
elections
with
a
handsome
majority
in
the
Chamber,
there
followed
a
wave
of
strikes
and
factory
sit-ins
-
a
spontaneous
expression
of
working-class
determination
to
get
their
just
deserts
after
a
century
and
a
half
of
frustration.
Frightened
by
the
apparently
revolutionary
situation,
the
major
employers
signed
the
Matignon
Agreement
with
Blum,
which
provided
for
wage
increases,
nationalization
of
the
armaments
industry
and
partial
nationalization
of
the
Bank
of
France,
a
forty-hour
week,
paid
annual
leave
and
collective
bargaining
on
wages.
These
reforms
were
pushed
through
parliament,
but
when
Blum
tried
to
introduce
exchange
controls
to
check
the
flight
of
capital,
the
Senate
threw
the
proposal
out
and
he
resigned.
The
Left
remained
out
of
power,
with
the
exception
of
coalition
governments,
until
1981.
Most
of
the
Front
Populaire's
reforms
were
promptly
undone.
