Commune of France

The **Commune of France** (French: *Commune de France*), officially the **Federation of Communes of France** (French: *Fédération des Communes de France*) is a syndicalist nation in Western Europe. It is the main leader of Third International. Currently headed by Marceau Pivert as President of the Comité de Salut Public. The Commune of France is bordered to the north by the English Channel; to the northwest by Belgium and the German Empire; to the west by the Bay of Biscay; to the south by Spain; to the southeast by the Socialist Republic of Italy; and to the East by Switzerland.

## History

### The French Syndicalist Movement

Karl Marx, in his important pamphlet *The Civil War in France*, considered the 1871 Paris Commune as the prototype for a future revolutionary insurrection, the form at last discovered for the emancipation of the proletariat. In fact, triggered by the Parisians' resentment against the defeatist French government and after months of siege by the Prussian Army, the Paris Commune was something more of a Utopian and enthusiastic socialist experiment, having short-lived and anecdotal followings in French provinces, and later smashed in a bloodbath by the Legalist French Army.

The repression that followed decapitated for years the nascent French socialism, while the SPD developed in Germany and the Trade Unions flourished in Britain. Those left in the wake of the debacle were torn apart, divided between the Marxist-inspired Parti Ouvrier Français of Jules Guesde and the French trade unions, encouraged by the successes of Fernand Peloutier's Fédération des Bourses du Travail. The French syndicalist movement was quickly overtaken by anarchist activists, after the repressive "lois scélérates" of 1894.

In 1895, the Confédération Générale du Travail (General Confederation of Labour), vowing to be independent of all political formations, was founded at Limoges, an engagement that was renewed by the 1906 Charte d'Amiens, affirming the anarcho-syndicalist tendency within the CGT, embodied by its vice-secretary Emile Pouget.

Helped by the union of Guesde's revolutionary followers and Jean Jaurès' social-democrats into the Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière (French Section of the Workers' International), the French left was coming into prominence, helped by its role in the Dreyfus affair, when the Weltkrieg broke out.

First an outspoken pacifist, Jaurès was shot down by a nationalist activist four days before the French entry in the war. His successor, Léon Jouhaux, agreed to participate in the Union Sacrée government, followed by most of the SFIO leadership.

### Fall of the Third Republic

The revolution was initially sparked by the CGT, who declared a General Strike in the spring of 1919, hot on the heels of the second outbreak of mutiny in the French Army. the mutineers were protesting the Conservative call for a last-ditch counter-offensive following a string of severe French defeats during the German offensives of 1918.

The CGT wanted to paralyse the nation, force the ruling Conservatives to step down and hand over power to the CGT's executive arm; the Comité de Salut Public, or CSP - led by the zealous anarchist Emile Pouget.

They were charged with the task of leading first the General Strike and then the establishment of a new government and constitution which would allow for a complete reconstruction of the French nation. They also had as their immediate aim to end "the abominable war" as soon as possible. In achieving these aims the strike was initially unsuccessful, and the CGT was unable to seize power before the fall of Paris to German general Oskar von Hutier.

### The French Civil War

With the fall of Paris however, the General Strike turned violent, as frustrated Unionists became desperate to end the war before the Germans were in a position to occupy the whole country. Skirmishes with police turned into riots across much of the country, and the government was forced to resign, marking the beginning of a transitory period between the Third Republic to the Fourth.

This period was characterised by a dualistic power structure much like that of Russia between the revolutions of 1917 - on the one hand, a Provisional Government of Liberals and Socialists, and on the other, the CGT, claimed a "legitimate right to power" via their Trade Union structure and a new system of local councils. (However, unlike in Russia - where the Revolutionary Left's gains proved ephemeral - in France, this provided the revolutionaries with the chance for permanently taking power.)

This uncertain situation continued through the summer of 1919 until things came to a head in the early autumn when the Provisional Government attempted to disarm and demobilise the French Army following the conclusion of a truce with the Germans. Fearing the Government was attempting to stifle the revolution (the Army was largely supportive of the Left) the Socialist Party began a boycott of the Parliament and declared itself an ally of the CGT, followed thereafter by a number of the more radical Liberals.

Following this decision the Bolshevik Jacobins declared the Provisional Government an enemy of the Proletariat, encouraging Party members to begin a policy of agitation in favour of a "great purge of France, to forever destroy her class enemies". Inspired by Lenin and his revolutionaries and the outbreak of the Russian Civil War between the Reds and the Whites, gangs of working men and army units sympathetic to the Jacobin cause began to attack and loot the property of the aristocracy and upper middle classes - seizing land by force and holding the Establishment to account in revolutionary "courts".

Although they wanted to put a stop to this policy (they had hoped to negotiate with the Provisional Government), the CGT was unable to prevent the Jacobins from carrying out their attacks, or prevent an escalation of the crisis, as the Provisional Government gathered together the "forces of reaction" to respond with force and attempt a counter-revolution.

### Enforcement of the Revolution

Not wanting to see the revolution die, and simultaneously desiring to limit the influence of the Jacobins, the CGT was left with no choice but to declare war on "the Provisional Government and the forces of Counter-Revolution", and attempt to seize control of the entire country.

Taking full control of Paris, they formally concluded peace with Germany in the winter of 1919, accepting the annexation of the rest of Lorraine, the legitimacy of the new state of Flanders-Wallonia, and agreeing to pay a heavy burden of reparations.

Following the conclusion of the truce with the Germans, the CGT began to draft a new constitutional setup together with the Socialists, Jacobins, Anarchists and radical Liberals. Meanwhile, they had to fight the self-styled "Establishment" and "drive them into the sea", and try and prevent and limit the Jacobins' "hunt for the Bourgeoisie".

Though they proved unable to counter the Jacobins' image as integral members of the revolution, they were able to largely limit their participation in arranging the constitutional setup of the new state. Through ensuring that leading Jacobins were often engaged in the conduct of the war, the CGT were able to cultivate and protect their own image as the Revolutions' legitimate political leaders.

## Politics

The Commune of France is a socialist and syndicalist federal republic composed of the 36,000 communes of France and ruled by a dual structure, with the legislative powers going to the General Labor Council (French: *Bourse Générale du Travail*) and executive powers in the hands of the Committee of Public Safety (French: *Comité de Salut Public*).

The Commune of France is of a primarily Syndicalist construction, based around federated union organizations which emphasize worker control on an industry-by-industry basis. The CoF is, in fact, a federation of major cities, such as Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Toulouse, each one ruled by a *Bourse du Travail* (labour council) which is directly elected by the citizens of the regional commune. The task of the Bourse du Travail is to manage not only the general affairs of local government but also local military arrangements in the form of the popular militia.

The Chairman of the Commune is elected directly by the citizens and confirmed in their appointment by the Comité de Salut Public (rejection by the Comité demands a new election be held). The Chairman (currently the anarchist Nestor Makhno) is the Head of State, as well as a leader of the **Bourse Générale du Travail** - which functions as a form of Parliament, representing the individual Communes that make up the administrative structure of Syndicalist France. The BGT is primarily responsible for forming a bridge between the national executive (CSP) and the local governments.

The CSP takes decisions at the national level, "uniting the efforts of the Communes", directing foreign affairs and organizing the Armee Revolutionaire. It too is elected by the general populace (though on the position basis that they must secure the support of a regional Bourse, via caucus, to make the short-list).

Whilst the Commune of France claims to be fully decentralized, and fully endorses free elections to both the BGT and local Bourses as fundamental to democracy, the fact is that the CSP holds a position so dominant that her rivals have not seriously been able to challenge her rule since the Fourth Republic's foundation (managing at best to put the CSP in the position of a minority government), and the CSP remains by far the most powerful institution in the country. However, the CSP is not of a uniform opinion and is in fact divided into several "camps" of opinion.

### Parties

The largest political party is the **French Section of the Workers' International**. A big-tent socialist party made up of three main factions: the **Modérés** believing in social democracy and moderate Marxism, the **Travailleurs** upholding Orthodox Syndicalism, and the **Soreliens** made up of National Syndicalists.

The second largest group are the **Communist Party of France,** also known as the **Jacobins**. Inspired by the Soviet Union, the PCF believes that the current compromise system in place in the Commune allows for corruption and reaction to flourish. They support increasing the powers of the CPS and the BGT at the expense of the local Communal governments. They are currently lead by their General Secretary, Maurice Thorez.

The third party is the **Anarchist Revolutionary Communist Federation**, known as the **Anarchistes**. Currently lead by Nestor Makhno, the Anarchists believe in decentralizing the Commune and giving more power to the BGT at the expense of the CPS but most of all support the various local governments of the Federation.