The Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (french: Fédération des travailleurs socialistes de France, FTSF) was France's first

socialist party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, being founded in 1879. The party was characterised as possibilist because it promoted gradual

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

Formation

After the failure of the

Paris commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

(1871),

French socialism The Left in France (french: gauche française) was represented at the beginning of the 20th century by two main political parties, namely the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party and the French Section of the Workers' International ...

was beheaded as its leaders were dead or exiled. During the

Marseille Congress The Third Socialist Workers' Congress of France was held in Marseille, France, in 1879. At this congress the socialist leaders rejected both cooperation and anarchism, both of which would allow the existing regime to continue, and adopted a program ...

(1879), workers' associations created the Federation of the Socialist Workers' Party of France (''Fédération du parti des travailleurs socialistes de France''), but in 1882

Jules Guesde Jules Bazile, known as Jules Guesde (; 11 November 1845 – 28 July 1922) was a French socialist journalist and politician. Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by Karl Marx. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter ...

and

Paul Lafargue Paul Lafargue (; 15 January 1842 – 25 November 1911) was a Cuban- Haitian revolutionary Marxist socialist, political writer, economist, journalist, literary critic, and activist; he was Karl Marx's son-in-law having married his second dau ...

(the son-in-law of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

) left the federation which they considered too moderate and founded the

French Workers' Party The French Workers' Party (french: Parti Ouvrier Français, POF) was the French socialist party created in 1880 by Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue, Karl Marx's son-in-law (famous for having written '' The Right to Be Lazy'', which criticized work ...

(''Parti ouvrier français'', POF). The Federation, initially renamed the Revolutionary Socialist Labour Party (''Parti ouvrier socialiste révolutionnaire''), and then commonly the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (''Fédération des travailleurs socialistes de France'', FTSF), led by

Paul Brousse Paul Brousse (; 23 January 18441 April 1912) was a French socialist, leader of the '' possibilistes'' group. He was active in the Jura Federation, a section of the International Working Men's Association (IWMA), from the northwestern part of Swi ...

was defined as possibilist because it advocated gradual reforms whereas the POF promoted

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

. At the same time,

Édouard Vaillant Marie Édouard Vaillant (26 January 1840 – 18 December 1915) was a French politician. Born in Vierzon, Cher, son of a lawyer, Édouard Vaillant studied engineering at the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, graduating in 1862, and then law ...

and the heirs of

Louis Auguste Blanqui Louis Auguste Blanqui (; 8 February 1805 – 1 January 1881) was a French socialist and political activist, notable for his revolutionary theory of Blanquism. Biography Early life, political activity and first imprisonment (1805–1848) Bla ...

founded the

Central Revolutionary Committee The Central Revolutionary Committee (french: Comité révolutionnaire central, CRC) was a French Blanquist political party founded in 1881 and dissolved in 1898. The CRC was founded by Édouard Vaillant to continue the political struggle of August ...

(''Comité révolutionnaire central'', CRC), which represented the French revolutionary tradition.

Electoralism and split

In the 1880s, the socialists knew their first electoral success, conquering some municipalities.

Jean Allemane Jean Allemane (25 August 1843, Sauveterre-de-Comminges, Haute-Garonne – 6 June 1935, Herblay in Seine-et-Oise) was a French socialist politician, veteran of the Paris Commune of 1871, pioneer of syndicalism, leader of the Socialist-Revolutio ...

and some FTSF members criticized the focus on electoral goals. In 1890, they split and created the Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (''Parti ouvrier socialiste révolutionnaire'', POSR), which advocated the revolutionary

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

. Additionally, some deputies identified as socialists without being members of any party. These mostly advocated moderation and reform.

End of the FTSF

While the

Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

divided the country in the 1890s, socialist organizations debated whether to ally with other

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

forces in defense of

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

and against

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

and

clericalism Clericalism is the application of the formal, church-based, leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of either the Church or broader political and sociocultural import. Clericalism is usually, if not always, used in a pejorative sense ...

. Contrary to

Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; oc, Joan Jaurés ), was a French Socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became one of the first social demo ...

thought the socialists should not ally with groups supporting bourgeois democracy. In 1899, a debate raged among socialist groups about the participation of

Alexandre Millerand Alexandre Millerand (; – ) was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 20 January to 23 September 1920 and President of France from 23 September 1920 to 11 June 1924. His participation in Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet at the sta ...

Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau Pierre Marie René Ernest Waldeck-Rousseau (; 2 December 184610 August 1904) was a French Republican politician who served as the Prime Minister of France. Early life Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau was born in Nantes, Brittany. His father, René Wal ...

's cabinet, which included the Marquis de Gallifet, best known for having directed the bloody repression during the Paris Commune. In 1902, the FTSF, the POSR and Jaurès's followers merged into the

French Socialist Party The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views. The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major p ...

. This one merged three years later with the

Socialist Party of France The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views. The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major p ...

of Guesde in the

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Federation Of The Socialist Workers Of France Defunct political parties in France Political parties of the French Third Republic History of socialism Socialist parties in France Second International Political parties established in 1879 Political parties disestablished in 1902

Formation

Electoralism and split

End of the FTSF

See also

References