CONGRESS OF THE FRENCH COMMUNIST STUDENTS
By C. Henry
PARIS ~- The Union of Communist Students [UEC -- Union des Etudiants Conmmunistes] is formally independent of the French Conmunist party [Por]. It has few members =~ less than 4,000. Last year, when the repercussions of the war with Algeria were still acute among student circles, the congress faced an opposition, representing the majority of the organization, who were against the policies of the leadership of the PCF partly because of its failures during the war with Algeria and partly because of its resistance to de~Stalinization.
Following the congress, the leadership of the PCF opened up a brutal campaign against the elected leadership of the UEC, especially against those who belonged to the party. They were ordered to apply the party line in the UEC. Leroy, the member of the Political Bureau in charge of relations with the student organization, wrote in Humanité: "There is nothing more to be discussed,"
But, following a Central Committee meeting which had to disouss this question, a turn was made -~ the party would discuss with the students, The leadership of the PCF had seen the possibility of recapturing control of the UEC after a while since its composition necessarily shifts a good deal from year to year. The Communist party leaders knew that the leadership of the UEC was politically variegated, a considerable sector having no differences with the party line except on internal "democracy." It was more advisable, therefore, to be patient than to begin expulsions or provoke splits -which could make things still worse,
This year's congress of the UEC, which was just held, was of considerable interest, A little before the congress, some of the members of the National Bureau resigned because of a bloc which the leading group (which we will call the Forner tendency after the name of its principal leader and which oan, perhaps, be characterized as "Ttalian")(1) sought to form with the leadership of the PCF, Ina number of universities, leftist currents were in evidence. The left was very heterogeneous, As for the sector that followed the leader ship of the PCF, it was composed mainly of elements of little political education recruited principally by leaders of the PCF in the provinces,.
Thus the congress this year was markedly political, It lasted four days and did not give the least impression of having been pre-
(TytTealian" because of the relation between their views and those of the right wing of the Italian Communist party expressed by Togliatti,
fabricated, On the contrary, the debates even led to rows over pro-= cedure that must have surprised the PCF leaders who attended, They maintained a discreet attitude, doing most of their work in the corridors,
The debates.were so prolonged that no vote took place on general orientation. But the strength of the various tendencies was tested in various votes, becoming established as follows: The wing that followed the PCF leadership gained a very narrow majority, getting 179 votes against 175 on an issue in which it was opposed to all the | other tendencies together, The number of votes won by the left varied according to the point in dispute but oscillated between 25 per cent and 30 per cent. As for the Forner tendency, which had held office for a year, it got only around 10 per cent,
The most turmoil at the congress occurred around the eleotion of the National Council. In brief, the Forner tendency succeeded in making a deal with the PCF leadership after some parleys, Although the existence of tendencies was not recognized, a slate was nominated composed of 55 members of the pro=PCF leadership tendency, 35 members of the Forner tendency, and 135 members of the left tendencies, This combination, cooked up outside the congress, was adopted by a majority. The left protested, however, and the 13, plus five members of the Forner tendency, resigned from this National Council, It was conceded thereupon that the committee was only provisional and that a new congress would have to be held next November. (2) .
Among the various measures of special interest adopted by the congress, one called for publication of the minutes from the tonth to the seventeenth congresses of the Communist party of the Soviet Union,
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Under the present circumstances of general political apathy in France, the students constitute the area where political life is the most lively. In the French Communist movement, with its strong rosistance under Thorez to the "liberalization" initiated at the Twontieth Congress of the Conmunist party of the Soviet Union, the doevelopments in the UEC are of symptomatic interest. .
(2 Following the congress, the candidates of the left wingers changed their minds about not participating in the National Provisional Committee, At its first meeting a National Bureau was elccted. With the support of Roland Leroy, the representative of the Political Bureau of the French Communist party, the majority was given to the "Ttalians," the left wing voting against. It should also be noted that the PCF leadership permitted the National Committee to pass a "resolution on political orientation" that was rightist but also quite anti-Stalinist. Does this give any indications about the next party congress? It is still too early to say,
First of all, the relative strength of the left tendencies should be noted, This indicates that among the college youth, the weight of the colonial revolutions and the attraction of the October Revolution as it really was are counterbalancing the revisionist tendencies favored by the period of prosperity in western Europe, encouraged by the reformist politics of the post-Stalinists and fostered by quite a series of "left" elements revolving around France Observateur and similar poles,
The congress likewise showed that despite the differences botween the leaderships of the French and Italian Communist parties, they find no difficulty in reaching an understanding against the loft. Their daily practices being what they arc, the ease with which they come to sec eye to eye is readily explained, :
The congress of the PCF is to be held some months after the soongress of the UEC, It is probable that the developments at the UEC congress partially reflected a conflict (the extent of which it is difficult to estimate) among the top circles of the PCF. This was observable in certain differences that arose in the wing which followed the POF, particularly in attitude toward the Fornor tendonoy, some being more yielding, others more rigid,
Differences are known to exist in the Political Bureau over how . much "liberalization" should be introduced into the life of the party while still assuring the leadershipts control, In the corridors tho leaders of the Forner tendency justificd their attitude by the need to back a “liboral" wing and to help it. Quite likely such a oonflict does oxist at present in the French Communist party lcadership. Talk is heard about the more liberal wing of Waldeck Rochet and the more rigid one of Thorez,.
The limit of the "liberalism" of such a wing is nevertheless indicated by the reluctance of its partisans to express their vicws before the party as a whole, by their procedure of secking to rooruit primarily in the apparatus, and by the fact that the outcome of its efforts will not appear in votes cast for frank speeches at the congress but will have to be deduced from the new composition of lcading bodies of the party.
RECORD RISE IN PRICES
With a jump of 9%, France won the