Language,Regional Identity and the Failure of the Left in the Moselle Département,1871-1936

Abstract

In 1934, the French left joined forces for the first time to form the Popular Front, a left-wing alliance whose credo was born of an antifascist imperative. The Moselle, located in the north-eastern corner of France, seemed likely to make an important contribution to the formation of this alliance. The département, which returned to French sovereignty in 1918 after 47 years of German domination, was one of France’s most heavily-industrialized regions and counted a large working-class population in its steelworks and mines. As this study demonstrates, however, the Moselle’s industrial workers took little part in left-wing social and political movements and massively supported the Catholic right and the far right during the interwar period. It was not until the national strike movement in June 1936 that they became involved in left-wing social and political activities. As this study argues, a series of key factors pertaining to the Moselle’s distinct historical, linguistic and cultural context were decisive in shaping the political character of the département and preventing the Mosellan left from mobilizing the support of the working classes.