People of the Revolution and the USSR
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Jules Guesde Jules Guesde
Veteran founder of French Marxist socialism who entered the Union sacrée government in 1914
Political and party leadership · France state institutions
1845–1922
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Jean Jaurès Jean Jaurès
French socialist leader who united the left, founded L'Humanité, and was assassinated fighting to prevent the Great War
Political and party leadership · French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)
1859–1914
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Marcel Sembat Marcel Sembat
French Socialist deputy who joined the Union sacrée government as Minister of Public Works in 1914
Political and party leadership · French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)
1862–1922
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Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin
Leader who took the SFIO majority into the Comintern at Tours in 1920, founding the French Communist Party, and ran L’Humanité
Political and party leadership · French Communist Party (PCF)
1869–1958
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Léon Blum Léon Blum
France's first Socialist prime minister, who left behind paid holidays and the 40-hour week
Political and party leadership · French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)
1872–1950
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Pierre Laval Pierre Laval
A republican politician who became an architect of Vichy collaboration
Government and administration · France state institutions
1883–1945
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Ludovic-Oscar Frossard Ludovic-Oscar Frossard
SFIO general secretary who led the Tours vote to join the Comintern, became the first PCF general secretary and left in 1923
Political and party leadership · French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)
1889–1946
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Roger Salengro Roger Salengro
The Popular Front's interior minister, hounded to death by the far-right press
Government and administration · France state institutions
1890–1936
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Marceau Pivert Marceau Pivert
The Socialist left's tribune who wrote 'Everything is possible', the Popular Front's left frontier
Political and party leadership · French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)
1895–1958
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Boris Konstantinovich Souvarine Boris Souvarine
The only non-Bolshevik on all three leading Comintern bodies. And author of the first critical Stalin biography.
Scholarship and theory · French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)
1895–1984
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Léo Lagrange Léo Lagrange
The undersecretary for leisure and sport who designed the workers' first holidays
Government and administration · France state institutions
1900–1940
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Maurice Thorez Maurice Thorez
A miner's son who built the Popular Front and led the French Communist Party for 34 years
Political and party leadership · French Communist Party (PCF)
1900–1964