Tripartisme () was the mode of government
in France from 1944 to 1947, when the country was ruled by a three-party alliance of
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 ...
,
socialists
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 eco ...
and
Christian democrats
__NOTOC__
Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
, represented by 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 Unit ...
(PCF), 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) and the
Popular Republican Movement
The Popular Republican Movement (french: Mouvement Républicain Populaire, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Sc ...
(MRP), respectively.
The official charter of ''tripartisme'' was signed on 23 January 1946, following the resignation of
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 ...
, who opposed the draft of the constitution. The draft envisioned a
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
, whereas de Gaulle favored a
presidential system
A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...
.
The traditional political class, which had included all the
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
parties plus the
Radical-Socialist Party that symbolized the
Third Republic (1871–1940), was completely discredited by 1944. The reasons for this perceived lack of legitimacy included in the first instance the
Collaborationism
Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory".
The term ''collaborator'' dates to t ...
of several of these actors, as well as the failure in the 1930s to put an end to the
economic crisis
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
that had characterized the years of the Great Depression. Thus the
Democratic Republican Alliance
The Democratic Alliance (french: Alliance démocratique, AD), originally called Democratic Republican Alliance (, ARD), was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta such as Raymond Poincaré, who would be presiden ...
, the main center-right party after the First World War, had opted for Collaborationism, an option endorsed by its leader
Pierre-Étienne Flandin
Pierre-Étienne Flandin (; 12 April 1889 – 13 June 1958) was a French conservative politician of the Third Republic, leader of the Democratic Republican Alliance (ARD), and Prime Minister of France from 8 November 1934 to 31 May 1935.
A milit ...
plus other members like
Joseph Barthélémy
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
.
Furthermore, the political class was considered jointly responsible for the collapse in 1940 of the Third Republic following the disastrous
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
, which the historian
Marc Bloch
Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch (; ; 6 July 1886 – 16 June 1944) was a French historian. He was a founding member of the Annales School of French social history. Bloch specialised in medieval history and published widely on Medieval France ov ...
later described as the "strange defeat" (''l'étrange défaite''). In this way
Gaullism
Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withd ...
and Communism emerged as the most popular political forces in the country.
However, Charles de Gaulle, who favored a presidential system, quit the government in 1946 and henceforth remained in the opposition until his triumphal return during the
May 1958 crisis
The May 1958 crisis, also known as the Algiers putsch or the coup of 13 May, was a political crisis in France during the turmoil of the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) which led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and its replacem ...
.
For their part, the MRP, SFIO and PCF each achieved somewhere between 20% and 30% of the votes, with approximately 150 deputies each between September 1944 and May 1947. Afterwards, the PCF and de Gaulle's
Rally of the French People
The Rally of the French People (french: Rassemblement du Peuple Français, RPF) was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle.
Foundation
The RPF was founded by Charles de Gaulle in Strasbourg on 14 April 1947, one year after his resign ...
(RPF) became France's main parties; however, both remained in opposition, because on their own they could not muster the
absolute majority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
needed to form a government, and an alliance between them was inconceivable. The Three-Parties Alliance was succeeded in government by the
Third Force, which comprised the
Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance
The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (french: Union démocratique et socialiste de la Résistance or UDSR) was a French political party founded after the liberation of France from German occupation and mainly active during the Fo ...
(UDSR), the SFIO and the MRP, with the Gaullists and the Communists forming the opposition.
History
The Provisional Government and the discrediting of the political class
After the
liberation of France
The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...
, the
Vichy government
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
was dissolved and the
Provisional Government of the French Republic
The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; french: Gouvernement provisoire de la République française (''GPRF'')) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation ...
(GPRF) was instituted.
With most of the political class discredited, and containing many members who had more or less
collaborated
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
with the enemy, Gaullism and Communism became the most popular political forces in France.
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 ...
had led the
Resistance abroad, while the PCF was nicknamed the "party of the 75,000 executed" (''parti des 75 000 fusillés'') because it had spearheaded the Resistance in
metropolitan France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
.
On the other hand, the Radical-Socialist Party, which symbolized by itself 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 ...
(1871–1940), was completely discredited for the role it had taken both before and during the war; equally, the
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
parties were vilified for their role during the Collaboration.
The March 1944 Charter of the
Conseil National de la Résistance
The National Council of the Resistance (also, National Resistance Council; in French: ''Conseil National de la Résistance'' (CNR), was the body that directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance: the press, trade unio ...
(CNR), the
umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...
of the Resistance which was dominated by the Communist
Francs-tireurs partisans (FTP), envisioned the establishment of a
social democracy
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
, including a
planned economy
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...
.
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition
Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture.
Definition
Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular patt ...
had been discredited during the
1929 crisis and its inability to come up with a suitable response to
the Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...
.
The GPRF introduced a program of social reforms and laid the foundations of the French
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...
.
It also enacted some
nationalization
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
s in strategic or/and Collaborationist-controlled economic sectors (including the 1946 founding of
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. (literally ''Electricity of France''), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational electric utility company, largely owned by the French state. Headquartered in Paris, with €71.2 billion in revenues in 2 ...
electricity company, the 1945 nationalization of the
AGF insurance firm, the nationalization of the
Crédit Lyonnais
The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cent ...
bank in 1945 and the
Société Générale
Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense.
Société Générale ...
bank in 1946, as well as the nationalization of the car maker
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
, which had been accused of Collaborationism
).
Trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
independence was guaranteed by the 1946
Charter of Amiens
The Charter of Amiens (french: Charte d'Amiens) was adopted at the 9th Congress of the ''Confédération générale du travail'' (CGT) French trade-union, which took place in Amiens in October 1906. Its main proposal was the separation between the ...
. This program comprised a substantial part of the so-called ''
acquis sociaux'' (social rights) established in France during the second half of the twentieth century.
Charles de Gaulle led the GPRF from 1944 to 1946. Meanwhile, negotiations took place over the proposed new Constitution, which was to be put to a referendum. De Gaulle advocated a presidential system of government, and criticized the reinstatement of what he pejoratively called "the parties system". He resigned in January 1946 and was replaced by
Félix Gouin
Félix Gouin (; 4 October 1884 – 25 October 1977) was a French Socialist politician who was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO).
Personal life
Félix Gouin was born in Peypin, Bouches-du-Rhône, the son of ...
(SFIO). Ultimately only the PCF and the SFIO supported the draft Constitution, which envisaged a form of government based on
unicameralism
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
; but this was rejected in the
referendum of May 5, 1946.
The 1946 elections
For the 1946 elections, the
Rally of the Republican Lefts
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 ...
(''Rassemblement des gauches républicaines''), which encompassed the Radical-Socialist Party, the UDSR and other conservative parties, unsuccessfully attempted to oppose the MRP-SFIO-PCF alliance. The new
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
included 166 MRP deputies, 153 PCF deputies and 128 SFIO deputies, giving the Tripartite alliance an
absolute majority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
.
Georges Bidault
Georges-Augustin Bidault (; 5 October 189927 January 1983) was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions. He joined the ...
(MRP) replaced
Félix Gouin
Félix Gouin (; 4 October 1884 – 25 October 1977) was a French Socialist politician who was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO).
Personal life
Félix Gouin was born in Peypin, Bouches-du-Rhône, the son of ...
as the head of government.
A new draft of the Constitution was written, which this time proposed the establishment of a
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
form of government.
Léon Blum
André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister.
As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...
(SFIO) headed the GPRF from 1946 to 1947. After a new legislative election in June 1946, the Christian-Democrat
Georges Bidault
Georges-Augustin Bidault (; 5 October 189927 January 1983) was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions. He joined the ...
assumed leadership of the cabinet. Despite de Gaulle's so-called
discourse of Bayeux of June 16, 1946 in which he denounced the new institutions,
the new draft was approved by the
French people
The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France.
The French people, especially the nati ...
, with 53% of voters voting in favor (with 31% in
abstention
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with ...
) in the
October 13, 1946 referendum. This culminated in the establishment in the following year of the
Fourth Republic, an arrangement in which executive power essentially resided in the hands of the
President of the Council. The
President of the Republic was given a largely symbolic role, although he remained chief of the Army and as a last resort could be called upon to resolve conflicts.
The PCF won the most votes of any party in the November 1946 elections, achieving 28.8% of the vote and prompting the Communist
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, ...
to make an unsuccessful bid for the presidency of the Council.
The Fourth Republic
The
1946 Constitution establishing the Fourth Republic,
(1947–1958) created a
parliamentary Republic
A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...
, as distinct from the
presidentialism
A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation ...
which would characterize the
Fifth Republic (1958-). Accordingly, the composition of the government was determined by the make-up of the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, and heavily relied on the formation of alliances between the most popular parties, which in practice meant the MRP, the SFIO and the PCF.
The PCF refused to approve war credits for
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
on March 19, 1947.
Minimum wages
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
were introduced on March 31, while
Paul Ramadier
Paul Ramadier (17 March 1888 in La Rochelle – 14 October 1961 in Rodez) was a French statesman.
Biography
The son of a psychiatrist, Ramadier graduated in law from the University of Toulouse and started his profession as a lawyer in Par ...
's SFIO government heavily repressed the
Madagascar insurrection
The Malagasy Uprising (french: Insurrection malgache; mg, Tolom-bahoaka tamin' ny 1947) was a Malagasy people, Malagasy nationalist rebellion against French Madagascar, French colonial rule in Madagascar, lasting from March 1947 to February 1949 ...
, resulting in 90,000 - 100,000 deaths. When Charles de Gaulle created the
Rally of the French People
The Rally of the French People (french: Rassemblement du Peuple Français, RPF) was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle.
Foundation
The RPF was founded by Charles de Gaulle in Strasbourg on 14 April 1947, one year after his resign ...
(RPF) in April 1947, the MRP prohibited its members from joining it. The MRP ceased to be the party of Gaullism and instead defined itself as Christian Democrat.
End
Tripartisme collapsed with the
May 1947 crisis
In the May 1947 crises (or exclusion crises), the Communists were excluded from government in Italy and France. The crises contributed to the start of the Cold War in Western Europe. In Italy
In Italy, the Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Dem ...
in which Ramadier's government excluded the Communist ministers from participating; this was the event that marked the official start 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 ...
in France.
The May 1947 crisis could be described as the result of the Communists' refusal to continue support for the French colonial reconquest of Vietnam on the one hand plus a wage freeze during a period of hyperinflation on the other, which were the immediate causes of
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 his colleagues being dismissed from the ruling coalition in May 1947. From this moment on the Fourth Republic was plagued by parliamentary instability because two of France's most popular parties, de Gaulle's RPF and the PCF, remained on the opposition benches.
See also
*
Blum-Byrnes agreement
*
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
*
1947 strikes in France
The 1947 strikes in France were a series of insurrectionary labor actions against post-war wage stagnation and Western capitalism. The strikes first emerged as a spontaneous wave in late April at the nation's largest Renault factory. When the Fren ...
References
Wikisource
1946 Constitution(French)
{{Liberation of France
Politics of France
Coalition governments