Strikes and discontent in the French empire and beyond 1947-48

This thesis examines French post-war strikes in a new light. The first half exhumes the subterranean sources of discontent which powered these movements. The memory of wartime hardships or torture endured long after hostilities ended. The preservation of concentration-camp like detention centres, and the erection of confining ONCOR barracks, ensured l’univers concentrationnaire remained a permanent fixture in the psychological and architectural landscape of the immediate post-war years. These factors, combined with exhaustion from overwork, the selective heroism of the battle for production, the judicial persecution of respected maquisards, and rose-tinted portrayal of Eastern Europe in the communist and even centrist press, describe the ‘impossibility of demobilization’ which lurked behind demands for more food or higher wages. Post-war strikes signalled the continuation of grudges left over from World War II and the Occupation. Moreover, news of anti-labour legislation and repression abroad, kept CGT unionists on a constant war-footing and bred fears that similar measures could intrude on French soil. The second part of the thesis contextualises the 47-48 strikes in a global setting and argues an ‘impossibility of demobilization’ infected police, intelligence services, and administrations throughout France and its empire as well. Colonial authorities interpreted benign strikes as attempts to topple French rule, while anti-communism and xenophobia resulted in the mistreatment and deportation of Polish, Spanish, Italian, and Romanian workers or associations in the metropole; actions which had significant repercussions. Democracies in the West and emerging communist regimes in the East exploited the fallout of the 47-48 strikes. They prompted Quebecois authorities to overreact to unrest in Asbestos, while Dutch economic courts punished trade unionists for sending financial aid to French strikers. Meanwhile, Hungarian, Czech, and Polish communist propaganda machines instrumentalized French strikes, both to discredit capitalist nations in the West at home and to market the ‘superiority’ of communism abroad.