Politician Jacques Duclos

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Jacques Duclos is a French politician, one of the leaders of the country's Communist Party. In 1926 he entered the National Assembly by defeating Paul Reynaud. From 1950 to 1953 was Acting General Secretary of the PCF due to the illness of Maurice Thorez. In 1969, in the presidential election, he received 21.27% of the vote, 4,808,285 people voted for him.

Biography

Jacques Duclos (10/2/1896 - 1975-25-04) was born in the provincial town of Louis, in the remote Hautes-Pyrenees region. The family lived very modestly, his father worked as a carpenter, his mother worked as a seamstress. At 12, the boy apprenticed to a baker, but his dreams stretched far beyond a quiet life on the "outskirts of the world."

The First World War changed the life plans of a young man. In 1915, he was mobilized into the army and sent to the most dangerous sector of the front - near Verdun. The Battle of Verdun is remembered as the bloodiest battle of the First World War. Jacques was lucky to survive, he was wounded and taken prisoner.

Joining the Communist Party

After the war, Jacques Duclos returns to his homelandand in 1920 joins the French Communist Party. The new political association quickly became a formidable force that had great influence among the common people and among the veterans of the terrible war.

Just a year later, the young man achieved the post of secretary of the section of the 10th arrondissement of Paris and assumed responsibility for the Republican Association of Veterans. Jacques has not forgotten the skills acquired in his youth. He worked as a pastry chef until 1924, while attending the first school of party cadres in parallel. In 1926, Duclos was elected a member of the Central Committee. In the same year, he entered the country's parliament, beating the well-known politician Paul Reynaud.

Political Struggle

The bourgeois government after the revolution in Russia was terribly afraid of the communists coming to power. The persecution began. Jacques Duclos found himself at the forefront of the anti-militarist struggle. He did not stop condemning the government for various crimes related to his actions. In 1928, the politician was threatened with imprisonment for 30 years for anti-war statements, and he was forced to hide from the authorities. By the way, Jacques often visited Moscow and knew many Soviet leaders. He was a representative of the Comintern (3rd International) and the Profintern (Red Trade Union International).

In 1932, the government was headed by the radical socialist Eduard Herriot and the persecution of the Communists ceased. Duclos, like his associates, was able to come out of hiding and openly engage in political activities. He took on part of the duties in the Communist Party, becoming one of the leaders on a par withMaurice Thorez, Eugene Fried and Benoît Fracchon.

Career and personal life

Becoming a public politician, Jacques Duclos publishes bold articles in Humanity magazine. Until 1934, he adhered to the irreconcilable policy of the class struggle, but after the meeting of the Comintern he began to call for rapprochement with kindred parties - socialists and radicals.

In 1936, thanks to his oratory skills, Duclos officially became in charge of party propaganda. In May of the same year, he was elected as a deputy and became vice-chairman of the National Assembly.

January 4, 1937, Jacques Duclos married nurse Ru Gilbert (1911-18-12 - 8/8/1990). The girl's father died in the 1st World War, and her stepfather, a communist and trade union activist, was engaged in her upbringing. The couple moved to Montreuil, a suburb of Paris, where they have lived all their lives.

In 1938, Jacques was re-elected Vice President of the Chamber. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he was the chief consultant of the Spanish Communists.

World War II

After the outbreak of World War II, Prime Minister Edouard Daladier announced the dissolution of the Communist Party. Jacques Duclos was deprived of his mandate as a deputy and was forced to leave France, settling in Belgium. By this time, the party was effectively controlled by the Soviet government and followed Stalin's recommendations.

After the defeat of France and the occupation of Paris by German troops, the Communists tried to negotiate with the Germans to legalize their activities. However, the negotiations failed, and the PCFjoined the ranks of the resistance. Duclos was responsible for the activities of the underground. Throughout the period, from June 1940 to August 1944, Jacques was the chief editor of the communist press. After the liberation of the country, the politician agreed with Charles de Gaulle on the participation of the Communists in the activities of the French government.

Post-war years

From 1945 to 1947 Jacques Duclos played an important political and parliamentary role. He proposed to the National Assembly to nationalize a large part of the French economy:

• banks;
• insurance sector;
• power industry;
• metallurgy;
• chemical industry;
• merchant fleet.

Duclos also retained important functions in the international communist movement of the time. He often represented the French Party at various meetings.

November 8, 1945, Jacques was elected vice-chairman of the Constituent Assembly. He remained an MP almost continuously until his death in 1975:

• Member of Parliament from 1945 (elected to the Constituent Assembly) until 1958;
• senator and president of the communist group from 1959 to 1975

Within the PCF, his role remained paramount. Despite fierce competition within the Communist Party, in fact, he was No. 2 in the party leadership. When General Secretary Maurice Thorez fell ill in 1950, it was Duclos who was appointed acting.

The politician was a friend of the Soviet Union and Stalin personally, having done a lot for cooperation between the two countries. By the way, there is Jacques Duclos street in St. Petersburg.