The Vichy Conspiracy
In 1940, did French elites roll out the welcome mat for Nazi Germany?
10 Articles by: Ian Birchall
Ian Birchall is the author of Sartre Against Stalinism and many articles and essays on the work of Jean-Paul Sartre.
Marceau Pivert Was a Key Figure in the History of French Socialism
Socialist leader Marceau Pivert played a central role in the turbulent history of French politics during the 1930s. Pivert’s inside-outside strategy toward the established workers’ movement is an important case study in how to win mass support for socialism.
Daniel Guérin Showed Us What a Socialist Writer Should Be
French socialist thinker Daniel Guérin lived a life of extraordinary political commitment, from anti-fascist and anti-colonial struggles to his pioneering advocacy of gay liberation. Guérin’s writings and record should be a touchstone for the modern left.
On This Day in 1961, French Police Murdered Dozens of Pro-independence Algerians
Sixty years ago today, French police under the command of a former Nazi collaborator massacred anti-imperialist Algerian demonstrators. For decades, the French authorities concealed the evidence of one of the worst atrocities in postwar Europe.
How Jean-Paul Sartre and Les Temps Modernes Supported Algeria’s Struggle for Freedom
France waged a brutal colonial war in Algeria during the 1950s. But a group of writers clustered around Jean-Paul Sartre’s journal Les Temps modernes played a courageous role, exposing French war crimes and supporting the right of the Algerian people to self-determination.
The First Step on Vietnam’s Long Walk to Freedom
Seventy-five years ago today, Vietnam launched a bid for national freedom with its Declaration of Independence. The French colonial regime answered with brutal repression, kick-starting thirty years of destructive conflict.
The Outrageous Optimism of Jean-Paul Sartre
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre died forty years ago today. Sartre’s philosophy and political values can still inspire struggles for freedom today.
Mitterrand’s War
For François Mitterrand, France’s atrocities in Algeria were stepping-stones to power.
The Wrong Kind of Secularism
The French secular ideal of laïcité is not a misused noble idea — it is deeply flawed at its roots.
The Young Ho Chi Minh
As a young man in Paris, Ho Chi Minh embraced a radical internationalism.