Marceau Pivert and the Travails of an International Socialist

Abstract

This chapter examines the career of Marceau Pivert, a prominent French socialist militant during the inter-war and post-war years, focusing in particular on his transnational activism. A self-defined revolutionary, Pivert sought to transform French and European socialism, both of which he castigated as reformist. Confronted with considerable opposition from within the French socialist party (SFIO), Pivert looked to like-minded militants in Europe and beyond for support. A transnational revolutionary socialist network, he hoped, would become an instrument to defeat reformism within the SFIO and the other European socialist parties. In reality, however, Pivert’s fiery brand of international socialism made it easier for his opponents to ignore him, reinforcing his marginalisation within the party. As a result, his international militancy became a substitute for rather than a complement to his national militancy.