Henri Barbé (14 March 1902, Paris – 24 May 1966, Paris) was a French Communist, and later, fascist politician.

Life

A metallurgical worker, at 15 he joined the Young Socialists. Attending the

Third International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...

, he naturally opted for the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

(PCF), at the split of the Congress of Tours. In 1926, he was promoted to secretary general of the Young Communists. In 1928, he was a member of the executive of the Comintern. In 1929, he replaced Pierre Sémard as head of the PCF, in a team which also included

Maurice Thorez Maurice Thorez (; 28 April 1900 – 11 July 1964) was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1930 until his death. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister of France from 1946 to 1947. Pre-War Thorez, ...

and

Pierre Célor Pierre Célor (19 April 1902, Tulle, Corrèze – 6 April 1957) was a member of the French Communist Party from 1923, becoming one of the four secretaries of its Central Committee in 1929, beside Maurice Thorez and Henri Barbé. However, he fell ...

. In 1931, he was questioned in the course of a meeting of the BP (Bureau Politique), attended by

Dmitry Manuilsky Dmitriy Manuilsky, or Dmytro Zakharovych Manuilsky ( Russian: Дми́трий Заха́рович Мануи́льский; Ukrainian: Дмитро Захарович Мануїльський; October 1883 in Sviatets near Kremenets – 22 ...

, Secretary of the Third International. Ejected from the BP (and replaced by Thorez) during case which was known as the Barbé-Célor affair. He took a long stay in Moscow and wrote a number of self criticisms. Returning to France, Barbé was eventually expelled from the Communist Party in 1934 for having "ultra-left" positions. In 1934, he and

Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (; 26 September 1898 – 22 February 1945) was a French politician, initially communist, later fascist, before and during World War II. In 1936, after his exclusion from the Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Party (P ...

founded the French Popular Party (PPF). Under the occupation, he joined the National Popular Rally (RNP) under

Marcel Déat Marcel Déat (7 March 1894 – 5 January 1955) was a French politician. Initially a socialist and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he led a breakaway group of right-wing ' Neosocialists' out of the SFIO in 1933 ...

. Condemned to forced labour in 1944 after the liberation of France, he was released at the end of 1949, and participated in the anti-communist magazine ''Est & Ouest'' which sought to promote "reasoned and scientific anticommunism". In 1959, he converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and was baptised. Until his death in 1966, he regularly collaborated in the monthly Catholic review '' Itinéraires'' founded by Jean Madiran in 1956.

Sources

*Philippe Robrieux, ''Histoire intérieure du parti communiste'', T1 and T4, Fayard {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbe, Henri 1902 births 1966 deaths Christian fascists Politicians from Paris French anti-communists French Communist Party politicians French Popular Party politicians Former Marxists National Popular Rally politicians Politicians of the French Third Republic French collaborators with Nazi Germany French politicians convicted of crimes