Georges Marchais

Georges Marchais

Born: June 7, 1920
Died: November 16, 1997
in La Hoguette, Calvados, France
Georges René Louis Marchais (7 June 1920 – 16 November 1997) was the head of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1972 to 1994, and a candidate in the French presidential elections of 1981.

Born into a Roman Catholic family, he became a mechanic, just before the beginning of World War II, with the Société Nationale d'Étude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation. After the fall of France, he went to Nazi Germany to work in the Messerschmitt aircraft manufacturing plant. He returned to France in May 1943 with forged documents. In 1946, he became secretary of the metalworkers' trade union in Issy-les-Moulineaux, and advanced in the Confédération générale du travail in his commune from 1951, becoming secretary of the Seine Metallurgical Workers' Union Federation from 1953 to 1956.

He joined the French Communist Party in 1947. In 1956, he was appointed a member of the extended Central Committee and lead the South-Seine PCF local federation, in the bastion of Maurice Thorez, the historical leader of the Party. Three years later, he became a full member of the Central Committee and of the Politburo. His lightning promotion was explained by his professional origins and his devotion to Thorez. Indeed, he was part of the young guard of the General Secretary which participated to the strengthening of Maurice Thorez's leadership, which was covertly disputed by some members of the Politburo (Laurent Casanova and Marcel Servin). In 1961, after the ousting of these, he was nominated secretary for organization. Then, he supported the new General Secretary Waldeck Rochet and in his policy of conciliation with the other left-wing parties. In reaction to the riots of May 1968, in a controversial article published in the party's paper L'Humanité, Marchais showed his contempt for Daniel Cohn-Bendit by calling him a "German anarchist". He accused some students of being "false revolutionaries" coming from the bourgeoisie. From then on, he was one of the personalities intervening in the media in the name of the PCF.

When Rochet fell ill, in 1970, he was promoted junior General Secretary. In fact, he was at this moment the real leader of the PCF. In this, he co-signed the Common Programme with the Socialist Party (PS) and the Movement of Left Radicals (MRG) in June 1972. From 1973 to 1997, he was deputy of Val de Marne département, a southern Paris suburb. ...

Source: Article "Georges Marchais" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Georges Marchais...

Georges Marchais, l’homme qui avait choisi son camp
Title: Georges Marchais, l’homme qui avait choisi son camp
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 8, 2022
Type: Movie
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La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Title: La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 7, 2022
Type: Movie
In May 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became President of the Republic and wanted to bring about a new era of modernity. One of his first decisions was to break up the ORTF with the creation of three new television channels: TF1, Antenne 2 and FR3. Three new public channels but autonomous and competing. It is a race for the audience which is engaged then, and from now on the channels will make the war! This competition will give birth to a real golden age for television programs, with variety shows in the forefront. The stars of the song are going to invade the living rooms of the French for their biggest pleasure. This unedited documentary tells the story of the metamorphosis of this television of the early 1970s, between freedom of tone, scandals, political intrigues and programs that have become mythical.
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Le Parti du cinéma
Title: Le Parti du cinéma
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: February 1, 2021
Type: Movie
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Entretien politique : Histoire et mode d'emploi
Title: Entretien politique : Histoire et mode d'emploi
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: July 13, 2020
Type: Movie
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Karl Marx und seine Erben
Title: Karl Marx und seine Erben
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: April 28, 2018
Type: Movie
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Coluche, l'histoire d'un mec
Title: Coluche, l'histoire d'un mec
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: October 15, 2008
Type: Movie
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Farewell to Enrico Berlinguer
Title: Farewell to Enrico Berlinguer
Character: Self
Released: September 8, 1984
Type: Movie
A film of Enrico Berlinguer's funeral in Rome, briefly tracing his career as leader of the Italian Communist Party.
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Title: L'Heure de vérité
Character: self
Released: May 20, 1982
Type: TV
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Title: Apostrophes
Character: Self
Released: January 10, 1975
Type: TV
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
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The Society of the Spectacle
Title: The Society of the Spectacle
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: May 1, 1974
Type: Movie
Guy Debord's analysis of a consumer society.