The Fears of the French Popular Front

This newspaper page reflects some of the deep political tensions evident in France in 1936, which were substantially heightened by the outbreak of civil war in Spain. Aux écoutes de la finance was a supplement to Aux écoutes, a right-wing weekly. The image on its cover for 8 August 1936 seeks to conflate the French and Spanish Popular Fronts, with caricatures of the new Socialist French prime minister Léon Blum and his finance minister, Vincent Auriol, apparently seeking funds only to be blocked at the entrance to the Bank of France. The title refers to the French Popular Front by the name of its Spanish counterpart, while the caption suggests Blum and Auriol’s frustration that Franco has launched an uprising. 

Indeed, the outbreak of Spanish Civil War posed a major challenge for the new French government. Though the left-wing Popular Front coalition of Socialists, Radicals, and Communists had emerged victorious after a bitterly contested election it still faced strong right-wing opposition, a considerable portion of which sympathized with the Spanish rebels. Blum sympathized with his Spanish Popular Front counterparts but feared the potential consequences of his own country’s deep polarization; there was talk of the possibility of violence within France itself. The aversion of France’s key ally Britain to intervention was also a consideration.  

The Popular Front government itself soon divided on the issue. Some of Blum’s colleagues, including his finance minister Auriol, favoured supporting the Spanish Republicans; the French Communist party was a vocal proponent of this course of action as well. Conversely, the foreign minister and other key figures strongly opposed any involvement. At first, Blum approved arms shipments, but in the weeks that followed, in a series of cabinet meetings his government reversed course, curtailing deliveries and instead calling for the major powers involved to agree that they would not intervene in the Spanish conflict. The reversal was personally agonizing for Blum and did little to allay fierce right-wing criticism of his government. Though a small amount of clandestine aid made it to Spain, the French government’s refusal to intervene was a critical blow for the Spanish Republic, since Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany provided crucial support to Franco. 

The image also references France’s economic challenges at the time, which further complicated the political situation and the ability of its Popular Front government to act. The country was still battling the impact of the Great Depression; the new government’s plans to improve working conditions, strengthen social programs, and rearm France were stymied partly because the franc remained on the gold standard, and as a result was overvalued in comparison to the American dollar and the British pound. Blum’s government eventually devalued the franc, but the economic situation remained difficult. As capital flight became a growing problem for the government, Blum sought financial decree powers from parliament but was rejected by the French Senate; he resigned in June 1937. 

Blum returned at the head of a new Popular Front government in March 1938 and favoured a more proactive policy regarding the Spanish conflict, but his administration proved short-lived and was unable to provide any significant help. 

SK