The cult of the revolution: French socialism and the creation of communism in France, 1871--1920

The scholarly consensus holds that with its unification in 1905, the French Socialist Party, despite its official ideology, became democratic and reformist in nature. Yet, in December of 1920, the Socialist Party voted by a large majority to adhere to Vladimir Lenin's Communist International. Authorities have minimized French Socialism's vote to transform itself into a Leninist Party. They do so on the grounds that information was terribly lacking about events in Russia in 1920. My research, however, indicates that in many key regards---concerning terrorism, forced labor, the suppression of civil liberties, the execution of the Mensheviks---the contrary was true. French Socialists knew far more about the Bolshevik regime than they later admitted. Communications between Russia and France were much freer than previously thought. Further, French Socialists spoke openly, in many forums, on the fine details of Bolshevik rule in an increasingly approving manner.; In light of the above facts I have elected to revisit the nature of French Socialism before the schism of 1920, going back to its very origins. A close reading of party congresses, the party's commemorations of the French Revolution and of the 1871 Paris Commune, show that, even when the great humanitarian, Jean Jaures, was in charge, French Socialism did not shrink from extreme rhetorical violence and a celebration of political terrorism. My thesis fills an important lacuna in the literature, in that it helps to explain the French foundations for communism. Communism in France was, in short, less a Russian import than a homegrown affair.