The French Socialists and the Polish People’s Republic: From the Mutual Distrust Until the End of the 70’s

The topic of the relations between the French Socialists and Poland from the end of World War II until the end of 1970s is relatively unknown. The French Socialist Left approached the Polish Communist Left with distrust, even downright aversion. A big disappointment for SFIO was the forced unification of Polish Socialists and Communists in 1948, because up to this point the French had counted on keeping their Polish Comrades in the Western orbit. When the Iron Curtain was dropped, the French Socialists could only observe from a distance the excesses of the Polish People’s Republic government. From as early as 1950s on, the French Socialists created numerous doctrinal analyses concerning the perspectives of a possible “real socialist” reform. Interestingly, when the period of easing of the tensions in international relations (Détente) came, the right-wing French Socialists made an effort to improve the relations with Warsaw, which had been significantly enfeebled by the years of the Cold War.
 

The topic of the relations between the French Socialists and Poland from the end of World War II until the end of 1970s is relatively unknown. The French Socialist Left approached the Polish Communist Left with distrust, even downright aversion. A big disappointment for SFIO was the forced unification of Polish Socialists and Communists in 1948, because up to this point the French had counted on keeping their Polish Comrades in the Western orbit. When the Iron Curtain was dropped, the French Socialists could only observe from a distance the excesses of the Polish People’s Republic government. From as early as 1950s on, the French Socialists created numerous doctrinal analyses concerning the perspectives of a possible “real socialist” reform. Interestingly, when the period of easing of the tensions in international relations (Détente) came, the right-wing French Socialists made an effort to improve the relations with Warsaw, which had been significantly enfeebled by the years of the Cold War.