Georges Marchais | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Georges Marchais in 1981 | |
| General Secretary of theFrench Communist Party | |
| In office 17 December 1972 – 29 January 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Waldeck Rochet |
| Succeeded by | Robert Hue |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1920-06-07)7 June 1920 |
| Died | 16 November 1997(1997-11-16) (aged 77) Paris, France |
| Political party | French Communist Party |
| Signature | .png) |
Georges René Louis Marchais (French pronunciation:[ʒɔʁʒ(ə)ʁənelwimaʁʃɛ]; 7 June 1920 – 16 November 1997) was the head of theFrench Communist Party (PCF) from 1972 to 1994, and a candidate in the1981 French presidential election.
Born inLa Hoguette into aRoman Catholic family, he became a mechanic, just before the beginning of World War II, with theSociété Nationale d'Étude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation.[1] After thefall of France, he went toNazi Germany to work in theMesserschmitt aircraft manufacturing plant.[2] He returned to France in May 1943 with forged documents.[3]In 1946, he became secretary of the metalworkers'trade union inIssy-les-Moulineaux, and advanced in theConfédération générale du travail in hiscommune from 1951, becoming secretary of theSeine Metallurgical Workers' Union Federation from 1953 to 1956.
He joined theFrench Communist Party in 1947. In 1956, he was appointed a member of the extendedCentral Committee and led the South-Seine PCF local federation, in the bastion ofMaurice Thorez, the historical leader of the Party. Three years later, he became a full member of the Central Committee and of thePolitburo.[2] His lightning promotion was explained by his professional origins and his devotion to Thorez. Indeed, he was part of the young guard of the General Secretary which participated to the strengthening ofMaurice Thorez's leadership, which was covertly disputed by some members of thePolitburo (Laurent Casanova andMarcel Servin). In 1961, after the ousting of these, he was nominated secretary for organization. Then, he supported the new General SecretaryWaldeck Rochet and in his policy of conciliation with the other left-wing parties. In reaction to the riots ofMay 1968, in a controversial article published in the party's paperL'Humanité, Marchais showed his contempt forDaniel Cohn-Bendit by calling him a "Germananarchist".[4] He accused some students of being "false revolutionaries" coming from the bourgeoisie. From then on, he was one of the personalities intervening in the media in the name of the PCF.
When Rochet fell ill, in 1970, he was promoted juniorGeneral Secretary. In fact, he was at this moment the real leader of the PCF. In this, he co-signed theCommon Programme with theSocialist Party (PS) and theMovement of Left Radicals (MRG) in June 1972.[5] From 1973 to 1997, he was deputy ofVal de Marnedépartement, a southern Paris suburb.
In December 1972, he became officially General Secretary, followingWaldeck Rochet's retirement. At first, he pursued the policy of his predecessor in favour of the "Union of the Left". In this, the PCF sided withFrançois Mitterrand's (PS) candidacy in the1974 presidential election. At the beginning of his mandate of General Secretary, the PCF scored around 20% in the elections. But in mid-1970s, it lost its place of "first left-wing party" toFrançois Mitterrand's Socialist Party. At the beginning, he supported reforms in the party, which participated toEurocommunism with theItalian Communist Party ofEnrico Berlinguer and theSpanish Communist Party ofSantiago Carrillo and renounced the notion of adictatorship of the proletariat (22nd congress, 1976). At first, he faced with the reproaches of Soviet leaders. Then, faced with electoral growing of the PS at the expense of his party, he imposed a re-alignment on theSoviet Union at the end of the 1970s.[6] The left-wing parties failed to update theirCommon Programme and lost the1978 legislative election, even though they were leading in the polls. Outside and inside the party, he was accused of being responsible for this defeat. One year later, he supported the Soviet invasion ofAfghanistan (1979),[7] judged the Communist governments "fairly positive", and criticized the "right-wing drift" of the Socialist Party. In the1981 presidential election, he came fourth in the first round, with 15% of votes, thereafter endorsing Mitterrand, who won the second round.[8] He negotiated the entry of four PCF politicians in the cabinet of Prime MinisterPierre Mauroy.
In 1984, after President Mitterrand renounced the left'sCommon Programme and the electoral sanction in theEuropean Parliament election (only 11% of votes) the PCF's ministers resigned from the cabinet. An electoral decline ensued and Marchais faced internal dissent from figures such asPierre Juquin,Claude Poperen and former ministers asCharles Fiterman. Indeed, some party members, notably among the locally elected, accused him of leading a suicidal strategy. He accused them of plotting with Mitterrand in order to dissolve the PCF in Social Democracy. He letAndré Lajoinie, leader of the Communist group in theFrench National Assembly, represent the party in the1988 presidential election. He was reserved aboutperestroika. Unlike theItalian Communists, he refused to change the name of the French party after the collapse of the Soviet bloc.
In 1994, at the 28th Congress of the PCF, he ceded his place as General Secretary toRobert Hue, although he maintained his titular role as a member of the Politburo, which was now significantly renamed the National Office. The same year, he became President of the PCFComité pour la défense des libertés et droits de l'homme en France et dans le monde ("Committee for the defense of human liberties and rights in France and throughout the world"). He criticized the renovation of the party under his successor. He died in 1997.
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Georges Marchais was a notable personality because of his mannerisms (Ct'un scandaaaale — "This is a scandal!") and brusque demeanor, often lambasted by comicThierry Le Luron. He is particularly remembered for an outburst to journalistJean-Pierre Elkabbach,Taisez-vous Elkabbach ("Shut up, Elkabbach!"), which was not actually ever said by Marchais (it was said byPierre Douglas while imitating Marchais toThierry Le Luron, who was himself imitatingRaymond Barre).
During his TV performances, which stayed in the memory of French audiences, his tone with journalists and opponents was aggressive and humorous. For instance, questioned by Elkabbach andAlain Duhamel about his economic propositions, he answered: "you are privileged, you hold many jobs and make good salaries (in TV, radio, papers...), probably you are concerned by my proposition for a wealth tax, I understand why you don't want the change!"
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | General Secretary of theFrench Communist Party 1972–1994 | Succeeded by |
