On the eve of the Paris Convention of the French Communist Party the situation in Paris has become so complicated that the ECCI feels itself compelled to turn to the Paris Convention with the following supplement to its already published documents:
1) The ECCI proposes that the Paris Convention take a special roll-call vote on the 21 conditions adopted by the Second World Congress of the Communist International. It would be best both for the French Communist Party and for the Comintern as a whole to have complete clarity on this question.
It is self-understood that if the French Communist Party desires to propose any changes in the 21 conditions to the Fourth World Congress of the Communist International, the Paris Convention has the full right to do so. Every proposal of the Paris Convention will be taken up by the Fourth World Congress with the greatest attention and care.
2) In view of the fact that the majority of the old Central Committee has, to the astonishment of the ECCI, failed to expel from the Party Verfeuil and his co-thinkers even after their latest glaring anti-Communist actions – the ECCI is compelled to inform the Paris Convention that it no longer considers as members of the Comintern Raoul Verfeuil and all those who signed jointly with him the notorious Appeal to the Party, beginning with the words “La situation dans laquelle se trouve le parti ...” (The situation in which the party now finds itself ...)
The content of this Appeal completely confirms the prior declaration of the ECCI to the effect that Raoul Verfeuil and his co-thinkers are bitter enemies of Communism who remained in the French Communist Party only to undermine it from within.
Should the Paris Convention disagree with the ECCI on this question, it will be referred for final decision to the Fourth World Congress of the Comintern.
The ECCI once again proposes that the Paris Convention pose point-blank all the most important questions which are at the present in dispute in the French party. The grave lesson taught to the Italian Socialist Party – which after two years of grave mistakes and vacillations has just found itself compelled to recognize the correctness of the Comintern’s demands – should not be allowed to pass in vain.
The Comintern is confident that the Paris Convention will put an end to vacillations and create a genuine Communist Party worthy of leading the heroic proletariat of France.
Moscow, October 6, 1922
Last updated on: 13.1.2007