Marcel Bleibtreu (August 26, 1918 – December 25, 2001) was a French

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

activist and theorist. Marcel Bleibtreu was born during his family's refuge in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

from wartime bombing. Bleibtreu became a radical thinker as a child. After studies at the

Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...

, he studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and graduated in 1947. He joined the Groupe Bolchevik Léniniste, the

organisation, in September 1936. By 1944 the GBL had merged with two other Trotskyist currents to form the

Internationalist Communist Party Internationalist Communist Party may refer to: * Internationalist Communist Party (France) The Internationalist Communist Party (french: Parti Communiste Internationaliste, PCI) was a Trotskyist political party in France. It was the name taken ...

, (PCI), the French section of the

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) is a revolutionary socialist international organization consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky, also known as Trotskyists, whose declared goal is the overthrowing of global capitalism and the establishment of wor ...

. Bleibtreu led workplace cells of the PCI around Puteaux-Suresnes-Nanterre under the pen-name Pierre Favre. In November 1944, he became an editor of the party's journal, ''La Vérité''. He was named general secretary of the PCI in 1946, and led the party's growth after its post-war legalisation. In 1952 he and

Pierre Lambert : Pierre Lambert (real name Pierre Boussel; June 9, 1920 – January 16, 2008) was a French Trotskyist leader, who for many years acted as the central leader of the French Courant Communiste Internationaliste (CCI) which founded the Parti d ...

played a key role in the split in the PCI with a minority composed of co-thinkers of

Michel Pablo Michel Pablo ( el, Μισέλ Πάμπλο; 24 August 1911, Alexandria, Egypt – 17 February 1996, Athens) was the pseudonym of Michalis N. Raptis ( el, Μιχάλης Ν. Ράπτης), a Trotskyist leader of Greek origin. Early activism ...

. In 1954 the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

escalated. The PCI naturally supported independence. However, Lambert and Bleibtreu started to disagree over tactics in Algeria. Lambert supported the MTLD of

Messali Hadj Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj (May 16, 1898 - June 3, 1974), commonly known as Messali Hadj, ar, مصالي الحاج, was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from French colonial rule. He is often called ...

while others, along with Bleibtreu, supported

CRUA Revolutionary Committee for Unity and Action (in French: ''Comité Révolutionnaire d'Unité et d'Action'') was a militant group in Algeria formed in order to fight French rule. CRUA regrouped former elements of the OS and radical members of the ...

(the forerunner of the FLN). Lambert was able to win a majority in 1955, expelling Bleibtreu and its comrades. The expelled group again took the name

Groupe Bolchévik-Leninist A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. Air and aviation groups The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches ...

and published the journal ''Trotskysme''. The GBL later joined the

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...

, within which Bleibtreu created the Revolutionary Socialist Tendency, a founder member of the UGS and the

PSU PSU may refer to: Organizations Military *Police Support Unit, a paramilitary wing of the Zimbabwe Republic Police *Port Security Unit, a U.S. Coast Guard expeditionary force protection unit Political parties * Parti Socialiste Unifié (disambig ...

. Bleibtreu became a member of the political committee of the PSU, then also its general secretary until he left that party in 1964. Bleibtreu's militancy extended to art as well. He organised in Paris, in 1967, an exhibition named "Art for Peace to Vietnam", a method which he would use again, in 1993, in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

against the embargo in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Bleibtreu supported the development and the coordination of the 'Base Committees' in 1968, endeavouring to reduce the disagreements between the Trotskyist groups, from where his nickname of "Jean XXIII of Trotskyism" comes, following a famous appeal he made in the large lecture theatre of the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. Bleibtreu was a militant in various associations, in particular in S.O.S. Children of the South, and the coordination for the lifting of the embargo imposed on Iraq, which he directed.

External links

Biography and Inventory of the Fonds Marcel Bleibtreu
at the Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleibtreu, Marcel 1918 births 2001 deaths Politicians from Marseille Internationalist Communist Party (France) politicians Unified Socialist Party (France) politicians University of Paris alumni Lycée Condorcet alumni