Working and country party French

The working Left and country French ( POPF ) was a Political party Collaboration active French nist of 1940 to 1944.

History

The working and country Party French was composed of former elected officials of the French Communist party initially opposed, with the pact germano-Soviet of September 1939, then favorable under the occupation to the Collaboration with Germany.

The POPF seems to be created since 1939 or 1940, but its true beginning as a party collaborationnist dates from spring 1941. The POPF was directed in 1940-1941 by Marcel Gitton, old number three of the Communist party and by a central committee of 20 members, almost all members of Parliament and elected local officials of the Paris region coming from PCF. The POPF thus counted 16 PCF members of Parliament of 1936 out of 76, that is to say one on five. In spite of the presence of local notabilities within the POPF, the Communist militants did not follow the way of collaboration and the attempt at recovery failed: it there have only approximately 300 members (according to R. Handourtzel and C. Dresser).

In September 1941, the POPF posts on the walls of the Paris region a first “open letter with the communist workmen”, signed by 29 former leaders of PCF passed in POPF.
A second open letter shows the declaration of Marcel Cachin (member of the political office of PCF and director of Humanity) condemning the individual attacks against the German army (but Cachin was cleared later of this letter, extorted by the German police force).

The POPF and the working Committee of immediate help (Cosi, directed by some figures of the anarchistic and trade-union left), were the main organizations collaborationnists resulting from the revolutionary left. The POPF took part in other organizations collaborationnists intended for enrégimentement of the working class (CIOS, Social front of work, etc).

PCF punished itself the Communists collaborationnists of which several were cut down by the communist resistance (of which Marcel Gitton).

Attention : not to confuse the POPF with the working and country Left (POP), which gathered a Parisian scission of the PCF of 1929-1930.

Personalities of the POPF

chief 1 : Marcel Gitton (Marcel Giroux of its true name) (member of the political office of PCF (1932), national secretary, n°3 of PCF after Thorez and Duclos (of 1936 to 1939), appointed PCF (1936), general secretary of the POPF (1941), cut down by communist resistance in September 1941).
chief 2 : Marcel Capron (working, PCF deputy and mayor of Alfortville, SG of the POPF after the death of Gitton).
Jean-Marie Clamamus (first and then only senator PCF, appointed then senator-mayor PCF de Bobigny. Declared ineligible with the Release).
Marcel Brout (president of the National federation of the building, PCF deputy of the Seine in 1936).
Armand Pillot (appointed PCF of the Seine in 1936).
Leon Piginnier (mayor of Malakoff in 1925, appointed PCF of the Seine in 1936).
Fernand Valat (appointed PCF of Gard in 1936, Ale mayor in 1925, it had however denounced the pact germano-Soviet and had taken part in the creation of the French Popular union. Cut down in 1944 by communist resistance).
Charles Bourneton (ex-secretary of the Federation of European and International Public Service Unions of North, member of the central committee of the PCF and the confederal office of CGT. Then responsible for the free zone of the POPF. Cut down in 1944 by communist resistance).
Adolphe Ambrogelly (assistant with the PCF mayor of Arcueil. Cut down by resistance in 1944).
Jean-Louis Berrar (member of the confederal office of the CGTU in 1923, mayor PCF de Drancy in 1934, member of the central committee of PCF)
Gaston Schaller (known as Knight) (regional secretary of the PCF young people of Marseilles).

Sources

"Collaboration… on the left aussi" , R. Handourtzel and C. Dresser, ED. Perrin, Paris, 1989.
Left and movements Collaboration by Pierre Philippe Lambert and Gerard Marec, 1993.

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