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Beyond the Tricolour. Internationalism and the French Left from Dreyfus to Algeria

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Published Jul 2025

Ian Birchall

Author: Ian Birchall
This book examines the theme of internationalism, in the form of opposition to nationalism, racism and war, in the context of French history, and in particular of the French socialist and working-class movement. Beginning with the defence of Dreyfus against anti-Semitism, it covers antimilitarism before 1914, opposition to the First World War, the advent of Communism, then the rise of Stalinism, fraternisation with German soldiers during the Nazi occupation, and support for national independence in Indochina and Algeria. It looks at individuals and political organisations, many of them neglected by mainstream history, who argued against nationalism and took practical action in defence of internationalist principles.

Biographical Note

Ian Birchall, formerly of Middlesex University, is an independent writer, who has written extensively on the history of socialism, including books on Babeuf, Sartre and Tony Cliff, and has translated Victor Serge and Alfred and Marguerite Rosmer.

Readership

This book is particularly relevant for students and educators of nineteenth- and twentieth-century French history, as well as for political activists and anyone interested in the history of the political left.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Struggle for Internationalism
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Some Key Dates

1 The Myth of France

2 Precursors

3 Laïcité and Its Critics

4 Dreyfus: The First Test Failed

5 In The Shadow of War
1 Antimilitarism
2 Le Sou du Soldat
3  La Vie ouvrière
4 Impending War

6 From Slaughter to Mutiny
1 Romain Rolland
2 Zimmerwald
3 Trench Warfare
4 The Home Front
5 Mutiny
6 Revolution in Russia
7 Naval Mutinies

7 A Time For Hope
1 Founding of the PCF
2 The Baku Congress
3 Rosmer and the RILU
4 Anti-Colonialism
5  Le Paria
6 Occupation of the Ruhr
7 Hadj-Ali Abdelkader
8 The Rif War
9 Lamine Senghor
10  Clarté

8 Midnight in the Century
1 Popular Front
2 The Colonial Exhibition
3 Indochina
4 The Rise of Fascism
5 The Spanish War
6 Victor Serge
7 In Defence of Immigrants
8 Impending War

9 World War II
1 Nazi Occupation
2 Resistance
3 The Communist Party
4 International Resistance
5 Trotskyism
6 Martin Monath
7 Nazi Camps
8 Liberation

10 War in Indochina
1 Sétif
2 Vietnamese Independence
3 Claude Lefort
4  SFIO Youth
5 Cold War
6 Anti-War Action
7 Henri Martin
8 André Marty
9 French Troops
10 Boudarel
11 Dien Bien Phu

11 Carrying Suitcases for Algeria
1 The FLN
2 Guy Mollet
3 Special Powers
4 Anarchists
5 Trotskyists
6 Lyotard
7  PCI
8  La Voie communiste
9 Francis Jeanson
10 Suitcase-Carriers
11 Renault
12 Conscript Revolt
13 Settlers
14 Fernand Iveton
15 Henri Alleg
16 De Gaulle’s Return
17 The Manifesto of 121
18 The October Massacre
19 Independent Algeria

Conclusion: The Struggle Goes On

Bibliography
Index