Socialists, Communists and the Protection of French Workers (1931-1932). Claudine Pierre. In 1931, the Socialist deputies in the French National Assembly propose a law to limit the number of foreigners in France, in order to slow unemployment and find a solution to the economic crisis. A fraction of public opinion is shocked by this text, which feeds the already existent xenophobia. On behalf of the Communists, Jacques Doriot speaks out in the parliamentary assembly on November 20, 1931 ; he accuses the SFIO (SFIO, Societe francaise de F internationale ouvriere, the name that designated to French Socialist party from 1905-1971) of playing the nationalist game. Meanwhile, the Polish Workers Society (Societe des ouvriers polonais) writes to Leon Blum, worried to see the constitutive values of the French nation so openly flouted. Even so, the arguments opposing the proposed law are not without their own biases : the Communists squarely reject another proposai confirming the objective alliance between the SFIO and capitalism. The Polish organisation, politically moderate and supported by the employers, in the guise of a humanist attitude, tries to draw a distinction between "good foreigners" and "undesirables", whether they be French or not. Certainly, as evidenced by their proposal, the Socialists do not escape the commonplace accusation that foreigners are the cause of unemployment. Nevertheless, in the proposed law, they also defend other, truly socialist arguments : the employers are responsible for the crisis of capitalism and of its social consequences ; to avoid future tragedies, the labour market must be tightly controlled and rationalised. Finally, a law is passed on August 10, 1932 : of the original proposition, only the idea of quotas for foreign workers in companies is retained. Yet, by handling the question of "national preference" without much precaution, and mirroring nearly the entire political class, did the SFIO not play with fire, endangering the Republic ?