French Communist Party 1936
Source: L'Humanité, May 4, 1936;
Translated: for marxists.org by Mitch Abidor;
CopyLeft: Creative Commons (Attribute & ShareAlike) marxists.org 2005.
The second round of the 1936 elections brought victory to the Popular Front.
We don’t want to hide our great joy. The Popular Front has clearly won, and in its general victory the Communist Party registers its part of success.
The fascists and their allies, who claimed to be the only ones to speak in the name of France, have been chased out by the people. The workers will read with satisfaction the long list of the bitter enemies of the Popular Front who were chased from parliament yesterday. It was a veritable massacre.
It was a true crushing for the reactionaries in Paris and the department of the Seine. It is our Communist Party that, in the entire region of Paris, had the great honor of defeating the most insolent chiefs of the seditious and the fascists of this country.
As we predicted, the popular current was irresistible.
And now, after their defeat, the adversaries of the Popular Front will not fail to take up their calumnies and usual actions against the majority freely elected by the nation.
They will repeat that it’s the Revolution, that it’s the end of the country and that tomorrow there will be disorder and chaos. They will again brandish their lies about Spain and the alleged excesses of the Popular Front in the Iberian peninsula.
The people of our country will guard their calm in the face of this absurd violence of language. With calm it will prepare to bring to fruition the program solemnly signed by all the members of the Rassemblement on July 14. It will not forget that for it it’s a matter of reconciling all the French workers against the 200 Families that exploit and ransom it! Now that it’s given the measure of its sovereign strength it intends to use that strength not to create disorder, as they are accused, but to ensure the realization of the commitments taken before the country.
Thus will be foiled all the hopes of the enemies of the people and the fascists, so violently struck by yesterday’s vote. These men declared before yesterday’s vote that they would not accept a fait accompli, that they would use force if the Popular Front won. The will of the majority of the nation has just been pronounced against their maneuvers, and for the vigorous rejection of their lies and threats.
Most of their chiefs are crushed. Woe to them if they refuse to bow before the people who have just made known their verdict!
It’s up to all the parties of the Popular Front to more solidly preserve their unity, which assured the rout of their bitter enemies.
— Marcel Cachin