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France
- a. after defeating Germany, they were strongest power
- i. needed to rebuild some areas
- ii. conservative National bloc government, eld by Raymond Poincare, tried to use German reparations for this purpose, which resulted in Poincare’s hard-line policy toward Germany and the Ruhr invasion
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Conservative government
i. when his conservative government was forced to raise taxes in 1924 to pay for the cost of the Ruhr fiasco, his National Bloc was voted out of power and replaced by Cartel of the Left
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Cartel of the Left
- a. Cartel of the Left was a coalition government formed by two French leftist parties, the Radical and the Scialists
- i. they shared belief in antimilitarism, anticlericalism, and the importance of education
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Radicals
- i. despite name, the Raidcals were a democratic party of small property owners, whereas Socialists were nominally committed to Marxist socialism
- 1. they cooperated to win elections, but their differences made efforts to solve financial problems futile
- i. failure of Cartel led to return of Raynmond Poincare, whose government stabilized the French economy during a period of relative prosperity
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Full effects
- a. France felt full effects of Great Depression in 1932, and the economic instability had political repercussions
- i. In 19-mth period: six different cabinets formed as France faced chaos
- 1. at the same time, French right-wing groups, adhering to policies similar to those of the Fascists in Italy and Nazis in Germany, marched through French streets in numerous demonstrations
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Riots
Popular Front Government
- a. riots scared people into believe in extremists would take power
- i. These fears drove leftist parties together despite differences
- b. the first Popular Front government was formed and was coalition of Socialists and Radicals
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Socialist Leader Leon Blum
- i. socialist leader, Leon Blum, was prime minister
- 1. Popular Front succeeded in initiating program for workers that some called French New Deal
- a. established right of collective bargaining, a f40-hr workweek, 2-wk paid vacations, and minimum wages
- i. Popular Front’s policies failed to solve problems of depression
- ii. 1938: French ehad decline of faith in political system that led to them being unprepared for Nazis
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