Suleina Kurrimboccus
“Assess to what degree war was inevitable in France at the end of the 1930s”
The History of France during these years carries a sharply defined and painful ending, in which most writings and critics have been dominated by the successful German invasion events and defeat of 1940. In most cases, it has been argued that the Third Republic (1870-1940) was responsible for a devastating political conflict and resulted in weak indecisive governments in France; this major insecurity almost doomed France to defeat before the war even began. Philippe Petain was one of the many politicians, polemicists and writers of the Right who shared a common thesis on the French national decadence, suggesting that France was a nation under the weak and irresolute democracy of the Third Republic which was powerless. This government was thought of no longer being able to keep pace with the allegedly more dynamic and successful societies of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. However I would argue that there is a lack of tolerance in this thought, as this political and social organization could not only be the one responsible for the defeat of France in the Second World War. In fact many other factors were linked such as the strong and well prepared Germany of Hitler, and mainly the built up of disputes present between allied countries at the end of the First World War. In my opinion the Third Republic did sufficiently well considering the post-war state in which France was trying to recover from, for instance the short-lived government of Leon Blum ‘Le Front Populaire’ left behind the essential foundation of social laws still present at this time. Looking at both opinions on the French governments at that time and the situation of European countries closely, I think that the turmoil of events following the First World War was rather expected. France was confused and vulnerable; hatred was felt everywhere and another disaster was most probably yet to come.
In fact the bloodshed of the First World War has aggravated the demographic problem in which France had struggled with since the end of the eighteenth century. The great lack of young people and generally ageing population seemed to be only one of the many factors presenting the France of the 1930s a country with instability and difficulties; although the shortage of men after the massacres of the First World War ‘La Grande Guerre’ and the influenza epidemic of 1919 did enhance the harsh situation. Other factors contributing to the downfall was that France was still a largely agricultural economy with an industry that was outdated and fell below the productivity levels of its European competitors. Throughout rural France, young men and women were deserting farms and villages, the increased use of mechanisation and fertilizers created lower demand for farm labour as did lower reliance on domestic produce, and the growth of the railways from the mid nineteenth century further facilitated movement. However I would argue that the aftermath of the Great War brought positive changes as food prices rose steadily and peasants enjoyed greater affluence. Moreover the post-war period was one of rapid industrial growth and greater mechanisation, there was a steady increase in capital investment and significant gains in productivity were also achieved. There was also growth in the service sector, particularly in the retail sector with large department stores as well as small shops opening up all over the country. Nevertheless the political tensions that emerged after the First World War had their impact on France too expanded by what has been called the crisis of global capitalism in the 1920s, as well as a particularly damaging economic crisis that hit France in 1924-1926. The high costs of reconstruction, lower war reparations from Germany and an unwillingness to raise taxation led to the devaluation of the franc. I believe that all this period of downfall contributed to a more active and disturbed political life in France, a consequence of the event in Russia was to cause a split in the French left as some on the left saw the revolution in Russia as a model for France whilst others took a more vigilant approach. At the Annual Congress of the French Socialist party in Tours (December 1920), part of the party allied to form the PCF with a new commitment to Moscow, whilst the other members stayed faithful to the ideals of the French Republic. This lead to problems of allegiance on whether Socialists should enter coalitions with Communists or should they alienate against their own left-wing partners; the problem made unity on the Left impossible and in the case of the Popular Front, a temporary and unstable arrangement that instantly promoted many disagreements between politicians and other countries involved.
