Unified socialist party

See also: Socialist party unified (Morocco)

The Socialist party unified ( PSU ) was a Political party French founded the April 3rd 1960. Of 1967 with 1973, Michel Rocard directed this party. The PSU is car-dissolved in 1989.

History

Origins

The PSU had been born in April 1960 from a double movement of opposition: with the War of Algeria and the support of SFIO for the “coup d'etat” gaullist of 1958. It resulted from the fusion of three political trainings:

  • of the autonomous Socialist party (PSA, dissidence SFIO), to which belonged of the “historical” leaders of SFIO, like Daniel Mayer, former general secretary of SFIO to the Release, or Edouard Depreux, former minister for the Interior in 1946-1947;
  • of the Union of the socialist left (UGS), resulting from fusion in 1957 of the New left, the Liberation movement of the people (MLP) and the Young Republic (JR)) ;
  • of a group of dissidents of the PCF formed around a newspaper ( Platform of Communism , directed by Jean Poperen).
The national office made up in April 1960 respected the parity of the founders:

This party first of all tried to occupy political space between SFIO and the PCF. It was mainly made up of Socialists anticolonialists, who they are “revolutionists” or “reformists”, in favor of the Union of the left. With the wire of the crises which the PSU passed through as of its first year of existence, it recorded the departure of many its founders: Pierre Beregovoy, Charles Hernu, Alain Savary, Robert Verdier. The PSU, which included/understood as of its origin of the minorities asserting itself of a revolutionary Marxisme, Luxembourgisme or Trotskisme evolved while being reduced, especially after May 1968, to a party administrative protestor and car, being located out of the parliamentary field.

At the time of its congress of foundation, the PSU would have gathered: 30000 members: : 20000 resulting from PSA: 10000 of UGS. A few hundreds of militants came from Tribune of Communism. But according to Marc Heurgon, historian of the party after of having been one of the leaders, it would seem that the number of: 20000 members on the whole, is closer to reality. The PSU obtained a weekly publication: socialist Platform . But to this official body, was added in fact during a few years, another weekly magazine, France observer , of which direction and drafting included/understood several members of the PSU, and not of least: Gilles Trip hammer, Claude Bourdet, etc.

A chaotic history

In 1960, Pierre Mendès France adhered to the PSU in spite of the reserves of the former members of the UGS, which refused the entry with the PSU of the militants mendesists of the democratic Center of action , estimating that those were more liberal than really socialist. As of its first congress the PSU was the theater of sets of tendencies. A strong minority appeared, animated by Pierre Beregovoy. The following Congresses if were disputed that no stable direction, for example, left the Congress of Alfortville (January 1963).

In 1965, the PSU did not introduce any candidate to the presidential election and supported that of François Mitterrand (which also had the support of SFIO and the PCF). But the key question of the PSU remained: how to position between the PCF and FGDS, Federation of the democratic and socialist left, where SFIO completed its course. Several scissions occurred which led to the creation of the Union of the clubs for the revival of the left (Alain Savary) then of the Union of the groups and socialist clubs (Jean Poperen). In 1967, the first moult of the PSU carried Michel Rocard to the direction of a party, from where the former Socialists “reformists” were in the process of disappearance. The new orientation was consolidated by the takeover of the UNEF.

Indeed in July 1967, the Etudiants Unified Socialists (ESU, organization coed of the PSU) took the direction of UNEF at the time of its Congress in Lyon, with the detriment of the student Communists. They carried to the presidency of the Trade union studied Jacques Sauvageot, which had a leading role at the time of the énénements of May 1968. They were put in minority at the Congress of Orleans (April 1970) but kept the presidency by making alliance with the trotskists of a.J.S. the ESU, become groupusculaires, lost finally the control of the trade-union organization coed in 1971, put off-side at the time of the scission between UNEF-US and UNEF-Revival.

In May 1968, the PSU supported the students and preached the Autogestion. This implication in the movement of May explained the score which Michel Rocard at the time of the presidential election of the following year carried out: June 1st 1969, Michel Rocard obtained 3,61% of the voices to the first turn of these elections, score which constitutes more the high level of influence of the PSU during its existence.

In 1972, the PSU did not sign the common Programme left. With the argument that this program was not self-management enough, the PSU moved away paradoxically from one of its original combat: union of the left.

In 1973, a fraction, behind Jacques Kergoat, then general secretary of the Parisian PSU, joined LCR.

In October 1974, a large fraction of the PSU took part in a political operation carried out by the Socialist party, “Bases of socialism”. With Michel Rocard and Robert Chapuis, it rejoined the Socialist party. Another fraction, the Left revolutionist (Marxist-Leninist), joined the Communist party Marxist-Leninist of France.

The April 26th 1981, Huguette Bouchardeau obtained 1,11% of the voices to the first turn of the presidential election. March 24th, 1983, it entered the Socialist government directed by Pierre Mauroy. This participation was highly fought inside its party and its adversaries became majority in December 1984 with the Congress of Bourges.

At the time of the presidential election of the April 25th 1988, the PSU supported the dissenting Communist candidate of Pierre Juquin. This one obtained 2,09% of the voices to the first turn.

The PSU east dissolves in November 1989, part of its members amalgamates with the New left resulting from the Comités Juquin to found the red and green Alternative (AREV), which amalgamates once again in 1998 with a minority of the Convention for an alternative progressist (CAPE) to become Alternate the. These movements never reached the critical size necessary to weigh on the debate on the left as had been able to do it the PSU between 1960 and 1969.

The Unified Socialist Jeunesses (JSU) constituted the youth movement of the PSU.

National congresses of the PSU

  • April 3rd, 1960. Issy-les-Moulineaux: Congress of foundation of the PSU
  • 24 - March 26th, 1961. Clichy: 1st Congress
  • 28 - January 30th, 1963. Alfortville: 2nd Congress
  • 9 - December 11th, 1963. Paris (Room of the Barn to beautiful): 3rd Congress
  • 5 - June 7th, 1965. Gennevilliers: 4th Congress
  • 22 - June 24th, 1967. Paris (House of the metallurgists): 5th Congress
  • 14 - March 16th, 1969. Dijon: 6th Congress
  • 28 - June 28th, 1971. Lille: 7th Congress
  • 9 - December 11th, 1972. Toulouse: 8th Congress
  • 14 - December 16th, 1974. Amiens: 9th Congress
  • 28 - January 30th, 1977. Courneuve: 10th Congress
  • 12 - January 14th, 1979. Saint-Etienne: 11th Congress
  • 7 - February 8th, 1981. Doves: 12th congresses
  • 18 December 20th, 1981. Nantes: 13th congress

  • 14 - December 16th, 1984. Bourges: 15th Congress

  • 13 - December 14th, 1986. Borough-in-Bresse: 16th Congress
  • 16 - December 18th, 1988. Angers: 17th Congress
  • November 24th, 1989. Paris: Congress of dissolution of the PSU

National secretaries of the PSU

The turning of 1967

  • national office elected in 1965: (18 members)
  • national office elected in 1967:17 members including 12 new

The electoral weight of the PSU

The PSU which counted in its rows in 1960 a certain number of former deputies, is inserrait in the electoral play with the legislative elections of November 1962, not without success.
  • 1962 - 427.400 votes ; 2,33% of the votes; 120 candidates; 2 deputies : François Tanguy-Prigent, in the Finistere, district of Morlaix. Raoul Bleuse, in the department of the Seine, district of Alfortville. This last left the PSU the following year.
  • 1967 - 506.600 votes ; 2,26% of the votes; 103 candidates; 4 deputies : Guy Desson, in the the Ardennes, district of Sedan. Yves Foll, in the Coast-of-North, district of Saint-Brieuc. Roger Prat, in Morlaix (Finistere) where it succeeded Tanguy-Prigent. Pierre Mendès France, with Grenoble (Isere).
  • 1968 - 874.200 votes ; 3,94% of the votes. no elected official
  • 1969 - 816.470 votes ; 3,61% of the votes for the candidate Michel Rocard with the presidential election.
  • 1973 - 810.640 votes ; 3,3% of the votes. 215 candidates; 1 deputy : Yves Foll, elected in the district of Saint-Brieuc.
The official calculation of the voices to the legislative elections mixes in 1978 and 1981 the PSU with the left extrème. Only the presidential election of 1981 allows a separate approach.

Former members

See also: : Category: Personality of the Socialist party unified

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