‘Pour et par le paysan’. La movilización agraria en la Francia de entreguerras

Using the example of the Entente Paysanne, a little-known organization active between 1924 and 1936 in France, this study highlights the new forms of rural political mobilization experienced by de low and middle rural classes before and during the Great Depression of the 30’s, a period characterized by the emergence of competing political models and a severe weakening of the republican regime. The genesis, structure, and development of the Entente Paysanne are analysed on the base of the administrative reports generated by the ever-watchful French central and local authorities. The review of publications by the Entente, notably its newspaper, illustrates the blossoming of the agrarian ideology and reveals the strategic hesitations of the organization, faced by the growth of competing movements. The initial successes of the Entente provided a platform for a truly original movement, initiating new practices in the politicization of French rural society. Nevertheless, the Entente was constrained by the opposition of trade unions and political parties. The new forms of collective action against the depression generated tensions and highlighted the willingness of the Entente’s leaders to stick to the republican model. Such a position, typical of the French rural political mobilization, distinguishes the French movement from other Europeans in inter-war Europe, and partly explains its failure.