The ''Mouvement de la Paix'' is an organisation which promotes a

culture of peace The Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 1999. This occurred after ten months of negotiations in the context of preparations for the International Year for the ...

initiated by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. The movement was created in the aftermath of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the large resistance movements, particularly those associated with

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and

free-thinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

s, and was linked directly to the ''Mouvement mondial des partisans de la paix'' whose aim was to struggle for peace.

Origins

The origin of the Movement was to be found in the creation of "''Combattants de la Liberté''" in the aftermath of the Second World War. It was the communist leader,

Charles Tillon Charles Joseph Tillon (3 July 1897 – 13 January 1993) was a French metal worker, Communist, trade union leader, politician and leader of the French Resistance during World War II (1939–45). Tillon was born into a working-class family and trai ...

who, at the end of 1947, launched an appeal for the creation of an organisation devoted to "supporting the republican régime and preventing the return of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

and

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

".in ''"Un procès de Moscou à Paris"'' On 22 February 1948, about 60 people who had been active in the resistance founded "''les Combattants de la Liberté''" in a meeting at the ''l'Hôtel des 2 Mondes'' in Paris. The leader was to be

Yves Farge Yves Farge (19 August 1899, Salon-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône − 31 March 1953, Tbilisi) was a French journalist and politician. Biography Farge was a journalist for the ''Progrès de Lyon''. His colleague, Georges Altman, put him in conta ...

whoa had been appointed prefect of the

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône an ...

region by

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

at the liberation of France. The constitution of this young movement which aimed to preserve the resistance spirit of unity was laid down by

Raymond Aubrac Raymond Aubrac (31 July 1914 – 10 April 2012) was a leader of the French Resistance during the Second World War and a civil engineer after the Second World War. Early life Aubrac was born Raymond Samuel into a middle-class Jewish family in Ves ...

. After the 1948 ''Congrès des peuples pour la paix de Wroclaw'', the ''Mouvement mondial des partisans de la paix'' was formed, and encouraged the creation of national committees. In France, the "''Combattants de la Liberté''", which had become "''les Combattants de la Liberté et de la Paix''", then "''les Combattants de la Paix et de la Liberté''" finally in 1951 became "''le conseil national français du Mouvement de la Paix''", commonly known as the "''Mouvement de la Paix''".

The Cold War years

The period of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

was for the Movement the most rich in operations, influence and effect. The Movement participated in the 1949 ''Congrès mondial des Partisans de la Paix'' in Paris, at which the

World Peace Council The World Peace Council (WPC) is an international organization with the self-described goals of advocating for universal disarmament, sovereignty and independence and peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass d ...

was created. The leadership was given to the intellectual and scientist

Frédéric Joliot-Curie Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie (; ; 19 March 1900 – 14 August 1958) was a French physicist and husband of Irène Joliot-Curie, with whom he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of Induced radioactivity. T ...

. The Movement organised a massive campaign of support in France for the

Stockholm appeal The Stockholm Appeal was an initiative launched by the World Peace Council on 19 March 1950 to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent atomic war. Background On 15 March 1950, the World Peace Council approved the Stockholm Appeal, calling for an ...

which gathered millions of

signatures A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

, including that of

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

. The Stockholm campaign marked the apogee of the Movement in France. The Movement subsequently became radicalised, and lost some of its popular influence. Several campaigns followed, against the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

(1950, the demonstration against

Matthew Ridgway General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Altho ...

), or against German rearmament under the

European Defence Community The Treaty establishing the European Defence Community, also known as the Treaty of Paris, is an unratified treaty signed on 27 May 1952 by the Inner Six, six 'inner' countries of European integration: the Benelux countries, France, Italy, and We ...

(from 1952 onwards).

Other campaigns

The year 1956 marked the beginning of

destalinization De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...

, which overturned the communist landscape in Europe. The Movement lost some of its energy, particularly after its campaign against the

Algerian war 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 ...

. The flame revived during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and again with the

NATO Double-Track Decision The NATO Double-Track Decision was the decision by NATO from December 12, 1979 to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It was combined with a threat by NATO to d ...

in the 1980s. The Movement also obtained the first disarmament agreement dealing with short and long range missiles in Europe. In 1995, the Movement participated in a massive international campaign aimed at closing down the ''Centre d'Expérimentation du Pacifique'' in

Mururoa Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll i ...

. Since 2000 the Movement has energised a large anti-war constituency (

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

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 ...

, the near east ''etc''). Very active in the

alter-globalization Alter-globalization (also known as alternative globalization or alter-mundialization—from the French alter- mondialisation—and overlapping with the global justice movement) is a social movement whose proponents support global cooperation and ...

movement and in international partnerships, the Movement supports

Mayors for Peace Mayors for Peace is an international organization of cities dedicated to the promotion of peace that was established in 1982 at the initiative of then Mayor of Hiroshima Takeshi Araki, in response to the deaths of around 140,000 people due to the ...

in France, and the French PNND (''Parlementaires pour la non-prolifération et le désarmement nucléaire'', Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament). The Movement is a member of the World Peace Council, of the

International Peace Bureau The International Peace Bureau (IPB) (french: Bureau international de la paix), founded in 1891, is one of the world's oldest international peace federations. The organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910 for acting "as a link be ...

, of Abolition 2000 and of the International Association of Educators for Peace.

The Movement today

The Movement is today the most important pacifist

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

in France with almost 150 local committees. It frequently coordinates anti-war coalitions and invests heavily in the young. International peace day on the 21 September marks one of its annual high points. The Movement seems to have experienced a rally since the 2003 Iraq war and the development of alter-globalization movements. It plays an important role in organizing European social fora, and has mobilized against the Iraq war, the situations in

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and against nuclear weapons with a campaign for a non-proliferation treaty. The movement is appealing for a reduction in the defense budget. For several years, in response to urban violence, the Movement has promoted the idea of committees for culture and peace in city wards.

Magazine

After over 50 years and 500 issues, the Movement's magazine, ''Combat pour la Paix'' (fight for peace) changed its name to ''Planète Paix'' (Planet Peace) in March 2005.

Notable members

, president until his death in 1953 *

, Laurent Casanova,

Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont (14 May 1914 – 2 August 2006) was a militant communist who took part in the French Resistance during the Second World War, and a French politician. Along with General Leclerc and Henri Rol-Tanguy, he accepted the surr ...

, Raymond Guyot and André Souquière, communist officials ;

Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie (6 January 190012 June 1969) was a French journalist, politician and member of the French Resistance. Biography Born in Paris, he attended the Naval Academy but resigned from the French Navy in 1923. He became a ...

, Robert Chambeiron,

Pierre Cot Pierre Jules Cot (20 November 1895, in Grenoble – 21 August 1977, Paris), was a French politician and leading figure in the Popular Front government of the 1930s. Born in Grenoble into a conservative Catholic family, he entered politics as a ...

and

Pierre Villon Pierre Villon (27 August 1901 in Soultz-Haut-Rhin, Haut-Rhin – 6 November 1980 in Vallauris, Alpes-Maritimes) was a member of the French Communist Party and of the French Resistance during the war. With his true name of Roger Ginsburger, he w ...

, parliamentarians for the now defunct

Union progressiste The Progressive Union (french: Union Progressiste) was a small left-wing party in the French Fourth Republic close to the French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party i ...

party; Yvonne Dumont, Henri Caillavet, André Armengaud, other parliamentarians; Benoit Frachon and Louis Saillant, officials for the CGT union *

and

Eugénie Cotton Eugénie Cotton (13 October 1881 – 16 June 1967) was a French scientist, socialist, women's rights advocate and was active in the resistance. She was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize, Stalin Peace Prize in 1951, Legion of Honour, Knight of the Legi ...

, scientists;

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Jean Effel Jean Effel, real name François Lejeune (12 February 1908 – 10 October 1982), was a French painter, caricaturist, illustrator and journalist. Mostly he considered himself to be a journalist and political commentator. His pseudonym is creat ...

, artists *

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He wa ...

Elsa Triolet Elsa Triolet (born Ella Yuryevna Kagan; (russian: Элла Юрьевна Каган); – 16 June 1970) was a Russian-French writer and translator. Biography Ella Yuryevna Kagan was born into a Jewish family of Yuri Alexandrovich Kagan, a ...

Hervé Bazin Hervé Bazin (; 17 April 191117 February 1996) was a French writer, whose best-known novels covered semi-autobiographical topics of teenage rebellion and dysfunctional families. Biography Bazin, born Jean-Pierre Hervé-Bazin in Angers, Maine-e ...

, Vercors,

Maurice Druon Maurice Druon (23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999. Life and career Born in Paris, France, Druon was the s ...

, André Stil,

Jean-Marie Domenach Jean-Marie Domenach (; 13 February 1922 – 5 July 1997) was a French writer and intellectual. He was noted as a left-wing and Catholic thinker. Domenach was born in Lyon, where he studied at the Lycée du Parc. In 1957, he took over the editors ...

Jean Cassou Jean Cassou (9 July 1897 – 15 January 1986) was a French writer, art critic, poet, member of the French Resistance during World War II and the first Director of the Musée national d'Art moderne in Paris. Biography Jean Cassou was born at Bi ...

and

Michel Leiris Julien Michel Leiris (; 20 April 1901 in Paris – 30 September 1990 in Saint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology with G ...

, writers *

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...

Simone Signoret Simone Signoret (; born Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker; 25 March 1921 – 30 September 1985) was a French actress. She received various accolades, including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, a César Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a ...

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

Pierre Mondy Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

Claude Piéplu Claude Léon Auguste Piéplu (9 May 1923, Paris–24 May 2006, Paris) was a French theater, film and television actor. He was known for his hoarse and frayed voice. Selected filmography *''D'homme à hommes'' (1948) - (uncredited) *''Le Ro ...

Bernard Blier Bernard Blier (11 January 1916 – 29 March 1989) was a French character actor. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his father, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute, was posted at the time. Life and career His rotund features an ...

, actors; Francis Lemarque and

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...

, singers *

Lucie Aubrac Lucie Samuel (29 June 1912 – 14 March 2007), born Lucie Bernard, and better known as Lucie Aubrac (), was a French history teacher and member of the French Resistance during World War II. In 1938, she earned an agrégation of history (somethi ...

Jean Pierre-Bloch Jean Pierre-Bloch (born Jean-Pierre Bloch; 14 April 1905 – 17 March 1999) was a French Resistant of the Second World War as an activist, being a former president of the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism. Biography Socia ...

and

Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier (born Vogel; 3 November 1912 – 11 December 1996) was a member of the French Resistance as well as a photojournalist, Communist and later, French politician. Biography Photojournalist Vaillant-Couturier's fath ...

, members of the resistance * Abbé Jean Boulier, ''prètre rouge'' ("Red priest") * Jacques Denis * Pierre-Luc Séguillon * Daniel Cirera; Jacques Le Dauphin * Daniel Durand, national secretary 1994-2002 * Arielle Denis and Pierre Villard, co-presidents since 2002.

References

Bibliography

Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison (born 19 September 1960), is a French political scientist and author whose work chiefly centres on colonialism. He is best known for his book ''Coloniser, Exterminer - Sur la guerre et l'Etat colonial''. Le Cour Grandm ...

, ''Le Mouvement de la paix pendant la guerre froide : le cas français (1948–1952)'', in. ''Communisme'' magazine, no. 18-19, 1988, p. 120-138. *

Stéphane Courtois Stéphane Courtois (born 25 November 1947) is a French historian and university professor, a director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), professor at the Catholic Institute of Higher Studies (ICES) in La R ...

, ''Le Mouvement de la paix'', in. Jean François Sirinelli (dir.), ''Dictionnaire de la vie politique française au XX siècle'', PUF, Paris, 2005 (1st edition, 1995). * Yves Santamaria, ''Le parti de l'ennemi? : Le Parti communiste français dans la lutte pour la paix (1947–1958)'', Armand Colin, Paris, 2006, 373 p.