The Cartel of the Left (french: Cartel des gauches, ) was the name of the governmental alliance between the Radical-Socialist Party, the socialist

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...

(SFIO), and other smaller left-republican parties that formed on two occasions in 1924 to 1926 and in 1932 to 1933. The ''Cartel des gauches'' twice won general elections, in 1924 and in 1932. The first Cartel was led by Radical-Socialist

Édouard Herriot Édouard Marie Herriot (; 5 July 1872 – 26 March 1957) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister (1924–1925; 1926; 1932) and twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He led the ...

, but the second was weakened by parliamentary instability and was without one clear leader. Following the

6 February 1934 crisis 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, President of the Council

Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II. Daladier was born in Carpentr ...

had to resign, and a new ''Union Nationale'' coalition, led by the right-wing Radical

Gaston Doumergue Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (; 1 August 1863 in Aigues-Vives, Gard18 June 1937 in Aigues-Vives) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He served as President of France from 13 June 1924 to 13 June 1931. Biography Doumergue ca ...

, took power.

History

The first Cartel (1924–1926)

The ''Cartel des gauches'', formed primarily between the Radical-Socialist Party and the SFIO, was created in 1923 as a counterweight to the conservative alliance (Bloc ''National)'', which had won the 1919 elections with 70% of the seats (the " Blue Horizon Chamber"). Formed by the conservative Radicals, the conservative-liberal

Alliance Démocratique Democratic Alliance (''Alliance démocratique'', AD) was a short-lived political party in Quebec, Canada, founded by the Montreal journalist and politician Nick Auf der Maur. This left-of-centre political party was mainly based among the anglopho ...

, the conservative-Catholic Fédération Républicaine, Action Liberale (issued from the right-wing members who had "rallied" themselves to the Republic), and far-right

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

s, the ''Bloc National'' had played on the red scare following the 1917

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

to win the elections. The left-wing coalition included four different groups: the independent radicals (a group slightly to the right of the Radical-Socialists); the Radical-Socialists, the Socialist Republicans (slightly to the Radical-Socialists' left) and the SFIO. The ''Cartel'' organized a network of committees in the entire country, and started publishing a daily newspaper (''Le Quotidien'') and a weekly, ''Le Progrès Civique''. Due to the division of the right-wing, the Cartel won the elections on 11 May 1924, after the

French government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

's failure to collect

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from G ...

even after occupying the Ruhr. The left-wing obtained 48.3% of the votes, and the right-wing 51.7%, but the Cartel gained the majority of seats, with 327 against 254 (the right-wing and the first communist deputies). The new majority was led by Édouard Herriot, and broke up in 1926, with the SFIO passing into the opposition.

Capital flight Capital flight, in economics, occurs when assets or money rapidly flow out of a country, due to an event of economic consequence or as the result of a political event such as regime change or economic globalization. Such events could be an increas ...

and the failure to retrieve the reparations created a monetary crisis, which led to the creation of a new government by the centre-right

Raymond Poincaré Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (, ; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. Trained in law, Poincaré was elected deputy in 1 ...

. As soon as Poincaré formed his new government, composed of the National Bloc parties plus the Radical-Socialists, the monetary crisis ended.

The second Cartel (1932–1934)

The right-wing then won the 1928 legislative elections, with 329 right-wing deputies against 258 for the left. As in previous elections, the Radical-Socialists presented themselves with the left. In 1932 the second Cartel won a majority of seats, but its parties had not agreed upon forming a coalition for government. The socialists asked for specific conditions in exchange for their participation in the government (known as "Huygens conditions"). Several governments fell in quick succession, each led by figures of the republican centre-left This parliamentary majority, distinct from the electoral majority, was weak. This parliamentary instability, coupled with the Stavisky Affair, provided a pretext for the 6 February 1934 riots organized by far right leagues. The following day, the Radical-Socialist president of the Council Édouard Daladier was forced to resign due to pressure by the rioters. It was the first time during the Third Republic (1871–1940) that a government fell because of demonstrations, and the left-wing became convinced that its fall was assisted by a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

conspiracy to overthrow the Republic. This prompted the creation of left-wing anti-fascist coalitions including the ''

Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes The Watchfulness Committee of Antifascist Intellectuals (''Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes'', CVIA) was a French political organization created in March 1934, in the wake of the February 6, 1934 riots organized by far right leag ...

'' and other similar groups. This broad left-wing coalition eventually led to the formation of the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

, which won the elections in 1936, bringing to power

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

History

The first Cartel (1924–1926)

The second Cartel (1932–1934)

Composition

Further reading

See also