Paul Delesalle
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Paul Delesalle (29 July 1870 – 8 April 1948) was a French
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
and
syndicalist Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...
who was prominent in the trade union movement. He started work as a machinist, became a journalist, and later became a bookseller, publisher and writer.


Early years

Maurice Paul Delesalle was born on 29 July 1870 in
Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...
, Seine. He came from a working-class family. He was trained as a metalworker, and made precision instruments. Delesalle became involved in anarchist activity in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, was arrested before May Day in 1892 and detained in
Mazas Prison The Mazas Prison (French: ''Prison de Mazas'') was a prison in Paris, France. Designed by architects Émile Gilbert and Jean-François-Joseph Lecointe, it was inaugurated in 1850 and located near the Gare de Lyon, on the Diderot boulevard. The bu ...
for eighteen days. In 1895 he built the first movie camera (''appareil chronophotographique'') following the plans of
Auguste and Louis Lumière The Lumière brothers (, ; ), Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière (19 October 1862 – 10 April 1954) and Louis Jean Lumière (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1948), were French manufacturers of photography equipment, best known for their ''Ciném ...
. Delesalle attended the Second International Congress in London from 26 July to 1 August 1896 as a trade union delegate rather than an anarchist. At the opening of the proceedings he tried to speak at the podium but was thrown down to the floor and injured. He contributed to the journal ''La Révolte'' and then worked for ''Les Temps nouveaux'', where in 1897 he became the assistant of
Jean Grave Jean Grave (; October 16, 1854, Le Breuil-sur-Couze – December 8, 1939, Vienne-en-Val) was an important activist in the French anarchist and the international anarchist communism movements. He was the editor of three major anarchist periodica ...
.


Union activity

Delesalle thought that anarchist activity had to start with syndicalism, and became active in the General Confederation of Labour (France) (CGT: ''Confédération Générale du Travail''). He was assistant secretary of the Federation of Trade Councils (''
Fédération des bourses du travail The Bourse du Travail (French for "labour exchanges"), a French form of the labour council, were working class organizations that encouraged mutual aid (organization), mutual aid, education, and self-organization amongst their members in the ...
''), and assistant secretary of the CGT Trade Councils section from 1897 to 1907. He became one of the most influential anarcho-syndicalists in France during this period. At the Congress of Toulouse in 1897 his motion advocating the use of general strikes, boycotts and sabotage was adopted unanimously. For a period in 1906 and again in 1907 he filled in at the secretariat of the Trade Councils for
Georges Yvetot Georges Louis François Yvetot (20 July 1868 – 11 May 1942) was a French typographer, anarcho-syndicalist and anti-militarist. He was secretary general of the '' Fédération des Bourses de travail'' (Federation of Workers' Councils) and deputy ...
, who was imprisoned. Delesalle was a regular writer in ''La Voix du peuple'', the CGT journal, and edited the Labor section of ''Les Temps nouveaux'' until 1906. He left ''Les Temps nouveaux'' after writing an antisemitic article. In 1906 he was a member of ''Liberté d'opinion'' (Freedom of opinion), a committee to assist political prisoners. Other activists in the committee included
René de Marmande René de Marmande (1 January 1875 – 22 October 1949) was a French journalist and anarchist. Life Origins Marie Constant Emmanuel de Rorthay de Saint Hilaire—who later took the pseudonym of René de Marmande—was born in Vannes, Morbihan on ...
, Charles Desplanques,
Alphonse Merrheim Alphonse Adolphe Merrheim (7 May 1871 – 23 October 1923) was a French copper smith and trade union leader. Early years Alphonse Adolphe Merrheim was born on 7 May 1871 in La Madeleine, Nord, a suburb of Lille. He became a coppersmith, and adopt ...
,
Émile Janvion Émile Janvion (10 April 1866 – 21 July 1927) was a French teacher, an anarcho-syndicalist leader, a founder of the ''Confédération générale du travail'' (CGT) and a leader of the anti-militarist movement. He came to hold national syndicalis ...
and Auguste Garnery. In 1906 Delesalle was involved in developing the
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 ...
. In this manifesto the CGT proclaimed that it was independent of all political movements. Delesalle took the position that the union was a basic part of the worker's life, unlike a political party which people could join or leave at any time as their opinions changed. The workers did not need capitalists or politicians, who served no useful function. Due to a CGT poster after the events in Midi in 1907 he was charged with insulting the army and provoking soldiers to disobedience, but was eventually acquitted.


Bookseller

At the start of 1908 Delesalle set up as a bookseller and publisher in the rue Monsieur-le-Prince in the Latin quarter. He resigned from the CGT. His shop soon became a meeting place for militants, journalists and writers. He specialized in research of old political documents and works. Delesalle wrote several brochures on the CGT, Labor Exchanges, May Day and so on, and also published literary works. He was carried away with enthusiasm by the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
in 1917, and briefly joined the Communist Party. In 1932, suffering from depression, Delesalle sold his bookstore and retired to a small house in Palaiseau, Seine-et-Oise. There he devoted himself for the remainder of his life to studies of social history and of the Paris Commune. In the mid-1930s Delesalle wrote four articles for ''La Vie ouvrière'' on the First International during the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
, on the
Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
, the June Days Uprising and the first
Guesdist Jules Bazile, known as Jules Guesde (; 11 November 1845 – 28 July 1922) was a French socialist journalist and politician. Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by Karl Marx. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter ...
demonstration in 1880 at Père Lachaise Cemetery. The articles celebrated Marxism and political activism, He died in Palaiseau on 8 April 1948 aged 77. His wife Leona (1875–1966) survived him by almost twenty years.


Selected works

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References


Sources

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Further reading

* *James E. Connolly
Delesalle, Charles
in

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delesalle, Paul 1870 births 1948 deaths Anarcho-syndicalists French anarchists French trade unionists