Several figures who acted at the international level have also been members of the PS, includingJacques Delors, who was thepresident of the European Commission from 1985 to 1994 and the first person to serve three terms in that office;[12]Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was themanaging director of theInternational Monetary Fund from 2007 to 2011;[13] andPascal Lamy, who wasDirector-General of theWorld Trade Organization from 2005 to 2013.[14] Party membership has declined precipitously, standing at 22,000 members in 2021,[15] down from 42,300 in 2016,[16] 60,000 in 2014[17] and 173,486 members in 2012.[18] However, before the start of the 2023 Marseille Congress, the party announced that it had more than 41,000 members,[19] almost double that of the previous count announced during the 2021 Villeurbanne Congress. By November 2024, the Socialist Party claimed 47,000 members.[20]
In 1899, the participation of Millerand inPierre Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet caused a debate about socialist participation in a "bourgeois government". Three years later, Jaurès, Allemane and the possibilists founded the possibilistFrench Socialist Party, which supported participation in government, while Guesde and Vaillant formed theSocialist Party of France, which opposed such co-operation. In 1905, during theGlobe Congress, the two groups merged in theFrench Section of the Workers International (SFIO). Leader of the parliamentary group and director of the party paperL'Humanité, Jaurès was its most influential figure.
The party was hemmed in between themiddle-class liberals of theRadical Party and the revolutionarysyndicalists who dominated the trade unions. Furthermore, the goal to rally all the Socialists in one single party was partially reached: some elects refused to join the SFIO and created theRepublican-Socialist Party, which supported socialist participation in liberal governments. Together with the Radicals, who wished to installlaicism, the SFIO was a component of the Left Block (Bloc des gauches) without to sit in the government. In 1906, theGeneral Confederation of Labour trade union claimed its independence from all political parties.
The French socialists were strongly anti-war, but following the assassination of Jaurès in 1914 they were unable to resist the wave of militarism which followed the outbreak of World War I. They suffered a severe split over participation in the wartime government of national unity. In 1919 the anti-war socialists were heavily defeated in elections. In 1920, during theTours Congress, the majority and left wing of the party broke away and formed theFrench Section of the Communist International (SFIC) to join theThird International founded byVladimir Lenin. The right wing, led byLéon Blum, kept the "old house" and remained in the SFIO.
In 1924 and in 1932, the Socialists joined with the Radicals in the Coalition of the Left (Cartel des Gauches), but refused to join the non-Socialist governments led by the RadicalsÉdouard Herriot andÉdouard Daladier. These governments failed because the Socialists and the Radicals could not agree on economic policy, and also because the Communists, following thepolicy laid down by the Soviet Union, refused to support governments presiding over capitalist economies. The question of the possibility of a government participation with Radicals caused the split of "neosocialists" at the beginning of the 1930s. They merged with theRepublican-Socialist Party in theSocialist Republican Union.
In 1934, the Communists changed their line, and the four left-wing parties came together in thePopular Front, which won the 1936 elections and brought Blum to power as France's first SFIO Prime Minister. Indeed, for the first time in its history, the SFIO obtained more votes and seats than the Radical Party and it formed the central axis of a left-wing parliamentary majority. Within a year, however, his government collapsed over economic policy and also over the issue of theSpanish Civil War. The fall of the Popular Front caused a new split from the SFIO, with the departure of the left wing of the party, led byMarceau Pivert, to theWorkers and Peasants' Socialist Party. The demoralised Left fell apart and was unable to resist the collapse of theFrench Third Republic after the military defeat of 1940.
After the liberation of France in 1944, the SFIO re-emerged in a coalition with a powerfulFrench Communist Party (PCF), which became the largest left-wing party, and theChristian democraticPopular Republican Movement (MRP). This alliance installed the main elements of the Frenchwelfare state and theFrench Fourth Republic, but it did not survive the Cold War. In May 1947, the Socialist Prime MinisterPaul Ramadier dismissed the Communist ministers. Blum proposed the construction of aThird Force with the centre-left and the centre-right, against the Gaullists and the Communists. However, his candidate to lead of the SFIO,Daniel Mayer, was defeated byGuy Mollet.
Mollet was supported by the left wing of the party. Paradoxically, he spoke aMarxist language without questioning the alliance with the centre and the centre-right. His leadership was shaken when the party divided in 1954 about theEuropean Defence Community. Half of the SFIO parliamentary group voted "no", against the instructions of the party leaders. This led to the failure of the project. But later, Mollet got involved the SFIO in the build of a centre-left coalition, theRepublican Front, which won a plurality in the1956 elections. Consequently, he was Prime Minister at the head of a minority government. But the party was in decline, as were the Radicals, and the left never came close to forming a united front. Indeed, this led Mollet to assert, "the Communist Party is not on the left, but in the East". The repressive policy of Mollet in theAlgerian War and his support forCharles de Gaulle's come-back in 1958 (the party lead called to vote "yes" in referendum onFifth Republic's constitution) caused a split and the foundation of the dissidentUnified Socialist Party (PSU). The SFIO returned to opposition in 1959. Discredited by its fluctuating policy during the Fourth Republic, it reached its lowest ebb in the 1960s.
Both because of its opposition to the principle of presidential election byuniversal suffrage and because De Gaulle's re-election appeared inevitable, the SFIO did not nominate a candidate for the1965 presidential election. Consequently, it supported the candidacy ofFrançois Mitterrand, a former minister of the Fourth Republic who had been a conservative, then a leftist independent. He was resolutelyanti-Gaullist. Supported by all the left-wing parties, he obtained a good result and faced De Gaulle in an unexpected second ballot, becoming the leader of the non-Communist left.
In 1969, during theAlfortville Congress, the SFIO was replaced by the Socialist Party (Parti socialiste or PS). It was joined by pro-Pierre Mendès-France clubs (Union of Clubs for the Renewal of the Left led byAlain Savary) and left-wing republican groups (Union of Socialist Groups and Clubs ofJean Poperen). During the Issy-les-Moulineaux Congress, Alain Savary was elected First Secretary with the support of his predecessor Guy Mollet. He proposed an "ideological dialogue" with the Communists. The new party inherited the old dailyLe Populaire from the SFIO, but it ceased publication soon after on 28 February 1970.
Two years later, during theEpinay Congress, pro-François Mitterrand clubs (Convention of Republican Institutions), joined the party. Mitterrand defeated the Savary-Mollet duo by proposing an electoral programme with the Communists and took the lead. A new emblem, thefist and rose, was adopted to signal change in 1971.[21] In 1972, theCommon Programme was signed with the PCF andRadical Party of the Left. During theSocialist International conference, he explained the alliance of left-wing parties is a yearning of French left-wing voters. In this, the goal of his strategy was "to regain 3 million of the 5 million of PCF voters". The left, and notably the Socialist Party, experienced an electoral recovery at the1973 legislative election. Mitterrand, the candidate of the left-wing alliance, came close to winning the1974 presidential election. Indeed, he obtained 49.2% of votes in the second round.
At the end of 1974, some PSU members, including leaderMichel Rocard, re-joined the PS. They represented the "left-wing Christian" and non-Marxist group. The most conservative members of the PS, they advocated an alignment of French socialism along the lines of Europeansocial democracy, that is, a clear acceptance of themarket economy. While the "Union of the Left" triumphed at the 1977 municipal election, the electoral rise of the PS worried the Communist Party. The two parties failed to update theCommon Programme and the PCF leaderGeorges Marchais denounced a "turn towards the Right" of the PS.
In spite of positive polls, the "Union of the Left" lost the1978 legislative election. For the first time since1936, the Socialists scored better in the polls than the Communists, becoming the main left-wing party, but their defeat caused an internal crisis. Mitterrand's leadership was challenged by Rocard, who wanted to abandon theCommon Programme which he considered archaic and unrealistic. Mitterrand felt that the left could not win without the alliance between the Socialists and the Communists. In 1979, Mitterrand won theMetz Congress, then, despite Rocard's popularity, was chosen as PS candidate for the1981 presidential election.
Three major tendencies or factions emerged within the PS by the end of the Seventies. One was represented by the Mitterrandists who wanted reform but not a complete break with capitalism. A second faction was led byMichel Rocard and his supporters, who sought social democracy with a strong measure of autogestion, while a third faction formed aroundJean-Pierre Chevènement and the CERES group which stood for revolutionary socialism.[22]
Mitterrand's presidency and the exercise of power (1981–1995)
In 1981, Mitterranddefeated the incumbent conservative,Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, to become the first socialist of theFifth Republic to be electedPresident of France by universal suffrage. He dissolved theNational Assembly and, for the first time in their history, the French Socialists won an absolute majority of the seats. This landslide victory for the Socialists took place to the detriment of the right-wing parliamentary parties (Rally for the Republic andUnion for French Democracy), as well as the Communist Party.
Mitterrand attempted to carry out socialist-inspired reforms (the110 Propositions), furthering thedirigisteeconomic planning trends of the preceding conservative governments. The Prime MinisterPierre Mauroynationalised the banks, the insurance industry and the defence industries, in accordance with the 1972Common Program. Workers' wages were increased and working hours reduced to 39, and many other sweeping reforms carried out, but the economic crisis continued. Reforms included theabolition of death penalty, creation of asolidarity tax on wealth (ISF), introduction ofproportional representation in legislative elections (which was applied only at the1986 election),decentralization of the state (1982–83 laws), repeal of price liberalization for books (Lang Law of 1981), etc.
As early as 1982, Mitterrand faced a clear choice between maintaining France's membership in theEuropean Monetary System, and thus the country's commitment toEuropean integration, and pursuing his socialist reforms. He chose the former, starting the Socialist Party's acceptance of the private market economy. In 1984, Mitterrand and his second Prime Minister,Laurent Fabius, clearly abandoned any further socialist measures. The "Union of the Left" died and the Communist ministers resigned. Although there were two periods of mild economic reflation (first from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1988 to 1990), monetary and fiscal restraint was the essential policy orientation of the Mitterrand presidency from 1983 onwards.[23]
The PS lost its majority in the French National Assembly in 1986, forcing Mitterrand to "cohabit" with the conservative government ofJacques Chirac. Nevertheless, Mitterrand was re-elected President in 1988 with a moderate programme entitled "United France". He proposed neither nationalisations norprivatisations. He chose as Prime Minister the most popular and moderate of the Socialist politicians, Michel Rocard. His cabinet included four centre-right ministers but it was supported by only a plurality in the National Assembly elected inJune 1988.
During his second term, Mitterrand focused on foreign policy and European integration. He convened a referendum for the ratification of theMaastricht Treaty. He left domestic policy to his prime ministers: Michel Rocard,Édith Cresson andPierre Bérégovoy. The party was hit by scandals about its financing and weakened by the struggle between the heirs of "Mitterrandism".
In 1990, during theRennes Congress, the "Mitterrandist group" split between the supporters ofLaurent Fabius and the friends ofLionel Jospin. Furthermore, a part of the left wing of the party, led byJean-Pierre Chevènement split off due to his opposition to theGulf War and the Maastricht Treaty. This section created theCitizen and Republican Movement (MDC). Finally, many on the left were disappointed by the results of the Socialist governments. At the1993 legislative election, the PS did poorly, returning to the levels of the SFIO in the 1960s. The Socialist group of the National Assembly numbered 53 deputies against 260 during the previous term.
Rocard became First Secretary of the party, and was considered the "natural candidate" for the next presidential election. He called for a political "big bang", an agreement with the centre and the centre-right, but his efforts were in vain. One year later, his party obtained only 14% of votes at the1994 European Parliament election. He was overthrown by a motley coalition led byHenri Emmanuelli, a "Mitterrandist" left-winger. One year before the1995 presidential election, the PS was affected by a leadership crisis. Rocard lost the most part of his followers after his 1994 electoral crash, Fabius was weakened by theinfected blood scandal, the presidentiability of Emannuelli was questioned. The hope of some party members transferred toJacques Delors, president of theEuropean Commission and a favourite according to the polls, but he declined due to the radicalisation of the party which prevented hiscentrist strategy. Finally,Lionel Jospin, who had announced his political retirement after the loss of his parliamentary seat in 1993, came back and proposed to "take stock" of Mitterrand's inheritance. For the first time, the party members were called to nominate their candidate for presidency. Benefiting from a good image in the polls, a strong loyalty to the party (as former First Secretary) and governmental experience (as former Education Minister, and the teachers were numerous and influential in the PS), he defeated Emmanuelli in the internal ballot. Then, he was defeated byJacques Chirac in the run-off election but, given the PS crisis, his result was judged good and he returned as First Secretary.
His policy was broadly progressive. TheAubry laws reduced the working time to 35 hours a week, whileUniversal medical insurance was instituted. However, the policy of privatisation was pursued.
His coalition dissolved when the MDC leaderJean-Pierre Chevènement resigned from the Cabinet. The Green and Communist allies were weakened by their governmental participation.
The2002 presidential election was focused on the theme of insecurity. Jospin, again the Socialists' candidate, was eliminated in the first round due to there being too many left-wing candidates who split the vote. He announced his retirement from politics, and the PS called on its supporters to vote for Chirac in order to defeat thefar-rightNational Front leaderJean-Marie Le Pen, who had surprisingly advanced to the run-off. Two months later, the "Plural Left" lost the2002 legislative election.
François Hollande, who became First Secretary in 1997, was re-elected in 2003 during theDijon Congress with the support of the main Socialist personalities, against the left wing of the party. In the2004 regional elections, the Socialists had a major comeback. In coalition with the former "Plural Left", they gained power in 20 of the 22 metropolitan regions (all exceptAlsace andCorsica) and in the four overseas regions. The party benefited from increasing frustration with right-wing parties. However, the Socialist Party has experienced considerable difficulty in formulating an alternative to right-wing policy.
On 1 December 2004, 59% of Socialist Party members approved the proposedEuropean Constitution. However, several well-known members of the Party, includingLaurent Fabius, and left-wingersHenri Emmanuelli andJean-Luc Mélenchon, asked the public for a "no" vote in the 29 May 2005French referendum on the European Constitution, where the proposed Constitution was rejected. Fabius was ejected from the executive office of the party. The split over the European Constitution, as well as party leaders' competing ambitions to win the presidential nomination in 2007, led the party into considerable disarray.
In November 2005, during theLe Mans Congress, three main groups were present. The majority supported a moderate text and obtained 55%. Fabius's allies ("To Rally the Left") advocated more radical policies and gained 20%. Finally, another faction ("New Socialist Party") claimed it was necessary to renovate the party by proposing left-wing policies and a profound reform of French institutions. It obtained 25% of the vote. Virtually all factions agreed on a common agenda, broadly based on the moderate and pro-European majority's position with some left-wing amendments.
In anticipation of a Presidential primary and a special low membership rate, the party's membership grew from 127,000 to 217,000 between 2005 and 2006.[24]
On 16 November 2006, the members of the Socialist Party chose Ségolène Royal to be their candidate with a majority of 60%. Her challengers, Strauss-Kahn and Fabius, obtained 21% and 19% respectively.
After obtaining 25.87% of the vote in the first round of France's presidential elections, Royal qualified for the second round of voting but lost with 46.94% toNicolas Sarkozy on 6 May 2007. Immediately after her defeat several party bosses (notably Strauss-Kahn), held Ségolène Royal personally responsible for the unsuccessful campaign. At the same time, some personalities of the right wing of the party (such asBernard Kouchner) accepted to join the government nominated by Nicolas Sarkozy.
In the 10 and 17 June2007 National Assembly elections, the Socialist Party won 186 out of 577 seats, and about 10 affiliated, gain of 40 seats.
After the winning March 2008 municipal election, the campaign with a view to theReims Congress started. Some candidates proposed to succeedFrançois Hollande, who had announced he will not compete for another term as First Secretary:
Ségolène Royal who wished to forge an alliance with the centrist partyMoDem;
the Mayor of ParisBertrand Delanoë, supported byLionel Jospin and his friends, who wished to keep the status quo of the 2007 campaign and come back to thePlural Left;
Martine Aubry, supported by the followers ofLaurent Fabius andDominique Strauss-Kahn, who had the same electoral strategy as the Mayor of Paris but advocated reconciliation between the campaigners of the "yes" and the "no" to the European constitution; and
In the pre-vote, the text of Royal arrived the first with 29%, followed by Delanoë (25%), Aubry (25%) and Hamon (19%). A part of the left wing split and founded theLeft Party. During theReims Congress, which happened in a very tense climate, the leaders of the factions failed to form a majority. Consequently, the PS members had to elect directly the next First Secretary. Disappointed by his result in the pre-vote, Delanoë renounced and called to vote for Aubry.
On 22 November 2008, it was announced that Aubry had defeated Royal by the narrow margin of 42 votes, and Royal asked for a recount. After checking,Martine Aubry was elected by a margin of 102 votes and 50.03% of votes. Denouncing frauds, Royal's team threatened to lodge a complaint before to renounce.
After that, the public image of the party was deteriorated. In the2009 European Parliament election, the PS did not succeed to benefit from the unpopularity of President Sarkozy. It obtained only 16.5% of the vote and only just got ahead ofEurope Ecology (16.3%). However, the PS strengthened its network of local elects in winning comfortably the 2010 departmental and regional elections. In September 2011, for the first time a Socialist,Jean-Pierre Bel, was elected Chairman of theSenate of France.
Candidates for the presidency of France contested an open primary on 9 October 2011 to select the Socialist Party candidate for the2012 presidential election. The nominations for the candidacy were opened on 28 June. Though he had not officially declared his candidacy,Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a prominent member of the Socialist Party and the managing director of theInternational Monetary Fund was the polls' clear favorite to defeat the incumbent conservative president, Nicolas Sarkozy.[25] But he faced asex assault complaint in New York and wasde facto eliminated from the primary.
Eventually, former party leaderFrançois Hollande won the primary and ran as the official Socialist Party candidate for President of France. He narrowly defeated incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, becoming president-elect of France on Sunday 6 May 2012.
The idea for holding an open primary to choose the Socialist Party presidential candidate had first been suggested in 2008, by the independent left-leaning think tankTerra Nova.[26]
Rue de Solférino, a party seat in Paris which was sold to Apsys in December 2017 for 45.55 million euros
The Socialist Party decided to hold a presidential primary in 2017, against the backdrop of the unprecedented unpopularity of incumbentFrançois Hollande, with a 4 percent approval rating, who announced on 1 December 2016 that he would not seek re-election, making him the first president of theFifth Republic not to seek a second term. It was also set against the fragmentation of the left between three major candidates, with polls indicating that the party's candidate would come in fifth, behind theNational Front'sMarine Le Pen,François Fillon of the centre-rightRepublicans,Emmanuel Macron, former economy minister under Hollande who founded his centrist political movement,En Marche!, and left-wing ex-SocialistJean-Luc Mélenchon under the banner ofLa France insoumise.[27] The primary was won by Socialist rebelBenoît Hamon, who defeated ex-Prime MinisterManuel Valls in the second round of the primary on 29 January 2017. Hamon finished fifth in the subsequent Presidential election, with 6.36% of the vote. In the 2017 legislative election that followed the election of PresidentEmmanuel Macron, the Socialist party dropped from 280 to 30 seats in theNational Assembly, leaving it in 4th place in terms of seats, and with 7.44% of the 1st round vote. The Parliamentary left group that it dominated (with 30 out of 45 seats after the election, down from 280 out of 331 seats before) finished as the 3rd largest group in the National Assembly. Following the election, Cambadélis resigned from the post of first secretary andRachid Temal was appointed as acting secretary. The Socialist group was ultimately refounded as theNew Left (NG).
On 1 July 2017, Hamon left the Socialist Party and founded the1st July Movement (later renamed Génération.s). The Socialist Party abstained from the confidence vote on theSecond Philippe government. The party later elected 78 senators in the2017 election.
On 7–8 April 2018, theAubervilliers Congress electedOlivier Faure as new first secretary of the party; Faure announced the party would be in opposition to Macron and Philippe. Because of financial problems, the party was forced to sell its historical seat inRue de Solférino and moved into a smaller one inRue Molière, onIvry-sur-Seine.
In the first round of voting in the2022 French presidential election, the candidateAnne Hidalgo obtained the worst presidential election result in the party's history, with 1.75% of the total vote.[28]
In advance of the2024 French legislative election, the party entered into a left-wing alliance, theNew Popular Front.[31] In the2024 parliamentary election, the Socialist Party more than doubled its seats in theNational Assembly as part of the left-wingNFP alliance. In December 2024, NFP, together with far-rightNational Rally ousted Prime MinisterMichel Barnier in a motion of censure.[32] PS decided not to support motion of censure againstFrancois Bayrou, initiated byLa France Insoumise, in exchange for concessions in new budget. Votes of PS deputies weren't necessarily needed to escape the motion of censure. Concessions included renegotiation of2023 pension reform, abandonment of the 4000 job cuts in education and overseas budget cuts, one billion euro incrase in healthcare spending and the "maintenance" of the new "differential contribution on high incomes".[33][34] This decision was sharply criticised by LFI,Jean-Luc Mélenchon reacted: "The NFP is reduced by one party".[35]
Factions are organised in the Socialist Party through policy declarations calledmotions on which the party members vote at each party congress:[needs update]
1973–1995: fusion of PDS, MDSF and other splinter groups (Liberal Socialist Movement, Democratic Socialism, Socialism for Liberties and Democracy) to form the Socialist Democratic Movement of France (MDS), renamed after theMarch 1973 legislative electionSocial Democratic Party (PSD), joined the centre-rightUnion for French Democracy (UDF) in 1978.
1994–:United Guadeloupe, Socialism and Realities, formerly (1991-1994) the Reflexion and Action Group for Guadeloupe (GRAP-G) faction inside the Guadeloupe federation of the Socialist Party[43]
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