The Republican-Socialist Party (french: Parti républicain-socialiste, PRS) was a French

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

during the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

founded in 1911 and dissolved in 1934. Founded by non-Marxist socialists who refused to join 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 ...

(SFIO) after its foundation in 1905, and by independent Radicals who refused to join the Radical-Socialist Party when its

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamentar ...

required formal party membership in 1911, the PRS was a

reformist socialist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...

party located between the SFIO and the Radical Socialist Party. PRS member

René Viviani Jean Raphaël Adrien René Viviani (; 8 November 18637 September 1925) was a French politician of the Third Republic, who served as Prime Minister for the first year of World War I. He was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, in French Algeria. In France ...

was the first French Minister of Labour (''Ministre du Travail et de la Prévoyance sociale'') from October 1906 until July 1909).In the first cabinet of

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...

(PRS), see :fr:Gouvernement Georges Clemenceau (1). The PRS was weakened by an ideological contradiction between socialism and reformism in an era where the political divide was very sharp. It also suffered from an organizational division between those favouring a united and structured party like the SFIO or an independent party with independent personalities. The party was dissolved in 1934. In 1945, an attempt failed to recreate it within the

Rally of Left Republicans The Rally of Republican Lefts (french: Rassemblement des gauches républicaines, RGR) was an electoral alliance during the French Fourth Republic composed of the Radical Party, the Independent Radicals, the Democratic and Socialist Union of the ...

. Several PRS members headed French cabinets, including Viviani,

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé (; 5 December 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French mathematician and statesman. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925. His entry into politic ...

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 ...

and

Joseph Paul-Boncour Augustin Alfred Joseph Paul-Boncour (; 4 August 1873 – 28 March 1972) was a French politician and diplomat of the Third Republic. He was a member of the Republican-Socialist Party (PRS) and served as Prime Minister of France from December 193 ...

Bibliography

* Jean-Thomas Nordmann (1974). ''Histoire des radicaux''. Paris: La Table Ronde. *

Serge Berstein Serge Berstein (born in 1934) is a French historian, well known as a specialist of the French Third Republic. He is a teacher at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris. References

20th-century French historians Historians of France O ...

(1982). ''Histoire du Parti radical''. 2 vol. Paris: Presses de la FNSP. *

Gérard Baal Gérard (French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constitue ...

(1994). ''Histoire du radicalisme''. Paris: La Découverte.

Footnotes

{{Authority control Political parties of the French Third Republic Defunct political parties in France Socialist parties in France Political parties established in 1911 Political parties disestablished in 1934 1911 establishments in France 1934 disestablishments in France