The Two Fire Outbreaks : The French Communist Party and the Ethiopian War (1935 – 1936)

Résumé 0

The French Communist Party (PCF) stood up for Ethiopia against Italian aggression. Taking a firm stance because of its antifascist strategy, the PCF had to take care of the pacifist feelings among leftist people on the eve of their accession to power. Like Soviet diplomacy, it was concerned with not supporting Britain, as an imperialist power threatened, in that case, by Mussolini, and it had to take into account the priority given by Stalin on the European scene. Having to tactfully eradicate Italian fascism for fear of bringing Rome and Berlin closer, unable to adopt a clear standpoint on the issue of national defense, the PCF could pass the turning point of Hitler’s remilitarization of the Rhineland thanks to an election-time climate that did not allow clear-cut decisions.