National Front for the Struggle for the Liberation and Independence of France

   The manifesto “For the Formation of the National Front for the Independence of France,” dated May 27, 1941, is addressed to “all those who wish to act as French citizens.” In it, the PCF declares itself “ready to support any French government, any organization, and any individuals whose efforts are directed toward a genuine struggle against national oppression.”

   Having established itself in intellectual circles through the newspaper *L’Université libre*, the National Front did not begin to grow until late 1942, driven by the Communists Pierre Villon and Madeleine Braun. In early April, a manifesto outlined the FN’s goals: immediate action toward an uprising and the unification of the Resistance.

   The objective is twofold: the creation of a “French government headed by General de Gaulle and entrusting command of the armed forces to General Giraud” and the unification of the [Resistance] movements into a single “Combatant France.”

   In the fight against the STO and in support of draft dodgers—organized into “combat groups” (in the northern zone) and the Maquis (in the southern zone)—the FN’s local and departmental committees began to take shape during the summer of 1943.

   At the same time, the “threshing strike” (sabotage of harvesting machinery to prevent wheat from being supplied to Germany) demonstrated the fighting spirit of the farmers’ committees. Following the Corsican uprising, the National Front—recognized as a Resistance movement and represented by Pierre Villon—played a key role in drafting the action program (adopted by the National Council of the Resistance, the CNR, on March 15, 1944).

   Starting in January 1944, the National Front played a major role in the armed Resistance. It quickly established its authority over the FTP.

In late 1943, in the northern zone, an underground printing press run by Cécile Cerf, a member of the FTP-M.O.I. Resistance movement, published and reproduced leaflets and underground newspapers for the National Front-FTP and the FTP-M.O.I. until May 1944.

   During the fighting for the Liberation, the National Front played an active role in the national uprising. By the end of January 1945, the organization had 600,000 members.

Note: Jean-Marie Le Pen, a far-right leader, appropriated the name “Front National” to create a political party (from 1972 to 2018), in complete contradiction to the values of the original Front National.