''Fédération Anarchiste'' (Anarchist Federation) is an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

federation in France, Belgium and Switzerland. It is a member of the International of Anarchist Federations since the latter's establishment in 1968.

History

The ''Fédération anarchiste'' (FA) was founded in Paris on 2 December 1945, and elected Georges Fontenis as its first secretary the next year. It was composed of a majority of activists from a former incarnation of the FA (which supported

Volin Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum (18 September 1945), commonly known by his pseudonym Volin, was a Russian anarchist intellectual. He became involved in revolutionary socialist politics during the 1905 Russian Revolution, for which he was forc ...

e's

Synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors **Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organi ...

) and some members of the former Union anarchiste, which backed CNT-FAI support for the Republican government during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. A youth organization of the FA (the Jeunesses libertaires) was also created. In 1950, a clandestine group formed within the FA called Organisation Pensée Bataille (OPB), led by Georges Fontenis.Cédric Guerin. "Pensée et action des anarchistes en France : 1950-1970"
/ref> The OPB pushed for a move which saw the FA change its name to the Fédération communiste libertaire (FCL) after the 1953 Congress in Paris, while an article in ''Le Libertaire'' indicated the end of the cooperation with the French

Surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

group led by

André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

. The FCL regrouped with between 130 and 160 activists. The new decision making process was founded on

unanimity Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or imp ...

: each person has a right of veto on the orientations of the federation. The FCL published the same year the ''Manifeste du communisme libertaire''. The FCL published its 'workers’ program' in 1954, which was heavily inspired by the CGT's revendications. The Internationale communiste libertaire (ICL), which groups the Italian GAAP, the Spanish Ruta and the Mouvement libertaire nord-africain (MLNA, North African Libertarian Movement), was founded to replace the Anarchist International, deemed too reformist. The first issue of the monthly '' Monde libertaire'', the news organ of the FA which would be published until 1977, came out in October 1954. Several groups quit the FCL in December 1955, disagreeing with the decision to present "revolutionary candidates" to the legislative elections. On 15–20 August 1954, the Ve intercontinental plenum of the CNT took place. A group called Entente anarchiste appeared which was formed of militants who didn't like the new ideological orientation that the OPB was giving the FCL seeing it was authoritarian and almost Marxist. The FCL lasted until 1956 just after it participated in state legislative elections with 10 candidates. This move alienated some members of the FCL and thus produced the end of the organization. A group of militants who didn't agree with the FA turning into FCL reorganized a new ''Federation Anarchiste'' which was established in December 1953. This included those who formed L´Entente anarchiste who joined the new FA and then dissolved L´Entente. The new base principles of the FA were written by Charles-Auguste Bontemps and Maurice Joyeux which established an organization with a plurality of tendencies and autonomy of federated groups organized around synthesist principles. According to historian Cédric Guérin, "the unconditional rejection of

marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

became from that moment onwards an identity element of the new Federation Anarchiste" and this was motivated in a big part after the previous conflict with Georges Fontenis and his OPB. Also it was decided to establish within the organization a Committee of Relations composed of a General Secretary, a Secretary of Internal Relations, a Secretary of External Relations a Committee of Redaction of ''Le Monde Libertaire'' and a Committee of Administration. On 1955 a Commission on Syndicalist Relations was established within the FA as proposed by

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

members. In 1968, the International of Anarchist Federations was founded during an international anarchist conference in

Carrara Carrara ( ; ; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey Carrara marble, marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, ...

in 1968 by the three existing European federations of the French FA, the Italian Federazione Anarchica Italiana and the Iberian Anarchist Federation as well as the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n federation in French exile. In the 1970s the FA evolved into a joining of the principles of both

synthesis anarchism Synthesis anarchism, also known as united anarchism, is an organisational principle that seeks unity in diversity, aiming to bring together anarchists of different tendencies into a single federation. Developed mainly by the Russian anarchist V ...

and

platformism Platformism is an anarchist organizational theory that aims to create a tightly coordinated anarchist federation. Its main features include a common Tactic (method), tactical line, a unified political policy and a commitment to collective responsi ...

. Today the FA is constituted of about one hundred groups around the country. It publishes the weekly '' Le Monde libertaire'' and runs a radio station called '' Radio libertaire''.Radio Libertaire
/ref>

References

External links

Fédération anarchiste official webpage

Radio Libertaire on the internet

Info Libertaire
{{Authority control Anarchist organizations in France Anarchism in Belgium Organizations established in 1945 1945 establishments in France French Anarchist Federations International of Anarchist Federations

History

See also

References

External links