Ludovic-Oscar Frossard (5 March 1889 – 11 February 1946), also known as L.-O. Frossard or Oscar Frossard, was a French socialist and communist politician. He was a founding member in 1905 and Secretary-General of the French Socialist Party (SFIO) from 1918 to 1920, as well as a founding member and Secretary-General of 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) from 1920 to 1922. On 1 January 1923 Frossard resigned his positions and left the Communist movement over political differences. Frossard briefly attempted to establish an independent Communist political organization before returning to the ranks of the SFIO, gaining election to parliament under that party's banner in 1928, 1932, and 1936. From 1935 until 1940 Frossard held a series of ministerial positions in successive governments of

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occ ...

Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut ...

, Camille Chautemps, Léon Blum,

Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II. Daladier was born in Carpe ...

Paul Reynaud Paul Reynaud (; 15 October 1878 – 21 September 1966) was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. Reynaud opposed the Munich Agreement of ...

, and the first government of

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

. Following the armistice between France and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Frossard declined to participate in the

Vichy French 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 ...

government headed by Pétain, but continued to work as a journalist. His position led to his investigation, trial, and acquittal over accusations of

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 ...

following the fall of the Pétain regime.

Early years

He was born 5 March 1889 in Foussemagne, Territoire de Belfort, France. His father was a

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not k ...

maker who was dedicated to his son's education and success in life.Albert S. Lindemann, ''The "Red Years": European Socialism Versus Bolshevism, 1919-1921.'' Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1974; p. 153. Following completion of his schooling, Frossard became a schoolteacher, also working as a journalist.Branko Lazitch and Milorad M. Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern.'' New, Revised, and Expanded Edition. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1986; p. 128. He also became involve in Socialist politics, joining the

Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière 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 foun ...

(SFIO), at the time of its formation in 1905.

Early political career

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Frossard supported the pacifist minority faction of the SFIO. As the bloody conflict ground on without remit, Frossard's antiwar perspective became the majority view in the SFIO, leading to his election as Secretary-General of the party in 1918. He would remain in that capacity until the SFIO split into socialist and communist wings at the December 1920 Congress at

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

. In the summer of 1920 Frossard travelled to the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

along with his party comrade,

Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin (20 September 1869 – 12 February 1958) was a French Communist politician and editor of the daily newspaper ''L'Humanite''. In 1891, Cachin joined Jules Guesde's French Workers' Party (POF). In 1905, he joined the new French ...

; the two participated in the

2nd World Congress of the Communist International The 2nd World Congress of the Communist International was a gathering of approximately 220 voting and non-voting representatives of Communist and revolutionary socialist political parties from around the world, held in Petrograd and Moscow from ...

. Frossard was active upon his return to France in advocating for the affiliation of the SFIO to the Comintern, and he departed with the left wing at the Tours Congress to form the

Communist Party of France 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 Uni ...

(PCF); he was its Secretary-General. Frossard was twice re-elected as the head of the PhD and was endorsed both at its 2nd Congress at Marseilles in December 1921 and its 3rd Congress at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

in October 1922. As the Comintern developed, Frossard came into disagreement with several of its policies, which brought him into conflict. He traveled again to Moscow in June 1922 to serve as a delegate to the 2nd Enlarged Plenum of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI), a journey that marked his second and final trip to Soviet Russia. Although he did not attend the

4th World Congress of the Comintern The 4th World Congress of the Communist International was an assembly of delegates to the Communist International held in Petrograd and Moscow, Soviet Russia, between November 5 and December 5, 1922. A total of 343 voting delegates from 58 countri ...

in November 1922, he was still elected a member of ECCI at that gathering, his last high position in the French Communist movement.

Return to SFIO

Frossard's dissatisfaction with the Comintern remained, however, and on 1 January 1923, he wrote a letter resigning from the Communist Party. He initially attempted to form a dissident Communist group but ultimately failed in this task and returned to participation in the SFIO, now headed by Léon Blum. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of 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 19 ...

, platform with the 1928 and the 1932 ''

Cartel des gauches The Cartel of the Left (french: Cartel des gauches, ) was the name of the governmental alliance between the Radical-Socialist Party, the socialist French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), and other smaller left-republican parties that ...

Later career

He quit the SFIO group after the 1936 elections. His departure did not prevent him from becoming Minister of Propaganda (and the first one ever in this capacity) in Blum's Second

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

Ministry (March–April 1938). From 1935, Frossard had been a member of the governments of

and

(as Labor Minister) as well as that of Camille Chautemps (as Minister of State of the Services of the Presidency of the council). Afterwards, he served as

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

under Radical

and again as Minister of Propaganda under conservative

. Frossard was made Minister of Public Works and Transmissions in the First Government of

after the Battle of France and the beginning of

occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. After the signing of the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

between France and Germany, Frossard declined to be part of any

Vichy France 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 te ...

executive, but he still worked as a journalist under the new regime. Suspicion of collaboration with the enemy led to an enquiry into his activities at the end of

World War II 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 opposing ...

, but he was soon cleared.

Death and legacy

Frossard died 11 February 1946 in Paris. Frossard's son, André Frossard, was a journalist and writer who converted into Catholicism in 1935.

Footnotes