Professor of contemporary history at Sciences Po Paris, Claire Andrieu specializes in political activism in France from the end of the 19^th century to the present day. Her publications include Pour l'amour de la République. Le Club Jean Moulin, 1958-1970 ("For Love of the Republic: The Jean Moulin Club, 1958-1970"), Le Programme commun de la Résistance. Des idées dans la guerre ("The Common Program of the Resistance: Ideas in War") and When Men Fell from the Sky: Civilians and Downed Airmen in Second World War Europe.

By naming their alliance "Nouveau Front Populaire," France's left-wing parties are directly referring to the Front Populaire, which won the 1936 elections. How accurate is this historical parallel?

The brand serves as a rallying cry and a message of hope, two signals that are necessary when faced with the prospect of the far right coming to power. But it's an appeal to the imaginary of the Front Populaire rather than to its history. Admittedly, the 1936 Front Populaire was born of the shock provoked by the riot of February 6, 1934, which left 15 people dead and was perceived by the left as a far-right attempt to seize power. It was mainly Action Française [a far-right monarchist movement] that had called for demonstrations on Place de la Concorde, opposite the Assemblée Nationale.

Similarly, the Nouveau Front Populaire was formed in reaction to the Rassemblement National's [RN, far-right] victory in the European elections. But the one-to-one comparison ends there. Whereas in the 1930s, it took almost two years, from the emergence of the idea of a union of left-wing parties to the publication of the Front Populaire's program in January 1936, the Nouveau Front Populaire was agreed to, nominated its candidates and published its program in six days.

What were the steps that led to the left's victory in 1936?

The Front Populaire came from below. A genuine popular will led to the union of the left-wing movements. On February 12, 1934, six days after the riot, two processions, one called for by the PCF [French Communist Party, left], the other by the SFIO [French Section of the Workers' International], merged "at their base" to cries of: "Unity, unity!" Various attempts at rapprochement subsequently failed, until, in June 1934, the PCF agreed to enter party-to-party discussions, on the instructions of the Komintern [Communist International]. A unity of action pact was concluded between the Socialists and Communists. In October, the expression "Front Populaire" appeared in [communist newspaper] L'Humanité.

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