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From Fourth International, January 1947, Vol. 8 No. 1, p. 21.
Transcribed, edited & formatted by Einde O’Callaghan in 2009 for ETOL.
In the introductory note to a document from the history of the French section Fourth International, printed in our September 1946 issue, reference was made to Pierre Naville as having “remained on the periphery of the revolutionary communist movement prior to the inception of the Trotskyist organization” in France.
We have received a letter from Paris, from George Suter, who states that this reference is factually incorrect. Naville, according to the information of our correspondent, was a member both of the Communist Youth and the French Communist Party since 1926. As a youngster he took active part in the life and action of the party. He belonged to a factory cell of the industrial Parisian suburb of Boulogne-Billanconrt, spoke before the factories, distributed leaflets, organized lectures, etc. At the same time he was secretary of the Communist Students and editor of their small paper, L’Avant-Garde. He was also co-editor of the monthly magazine Clarté, which was under the control of the party.
Naville came out for the support of the Left Opposition after a visit to Moscow in November 1927 and this brought about his expulsion from the Communist Party. Following that he published the magazine under the new title of Lutte de Classes (Class Struggle) and was in fact among the founders of the weekly La Vérité.
Our correspondent, finally, states that Naville did not sever his connections with the French Section of the Fourth International “after the outbreak of World War II,” as stated in our introductory note, but before that time, because of a difference over the tactical policy of entry into the PSOP in 1939.
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Last updated on 28 July 2018