Industrial Structure, Coalition Politics, and Economic Policy: The Rise and Decline of the French Popular Front

Abstract

The coming to power of the Popular Front in 1936 was a momentous, if short-lived, event in French political history. For the first time in France, the government was in the hands of a Socialist-led coalition, in which even the Communists played a supporting role. The Popular Front was formed in 1934 in response to the strengthening of the French extreme right, the threat of German Nazism, and the lingering Depression. In 1936, the movement acquired larger than life proportions. For some, this was the eve of a long-awaited revolution; for others, it was a monumental threat to French society. The coalition was, however, more fragile than its original show of strength suggested. In June 1937, the