Confédération Générale du Travail-Syndicaliste Révolutionnaire explained
The Confédération Générale du Travail-Syndicaliste Révolutionnaire (CGT-SR; French for General Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions) was a trade union federation in France founded in 1926 by Pierre Besnard with the help of the Spanish CNT. It was affiliated to the International Workers' Association.[1]
It was an anarchist split from the Confédération générale du travail unitaire (CGT-U)[2] and was made illegal in 1939.
Theoretical Legacy
Its legacy comprises the charter of Lyons, which founded anti-political syndicalism.
Syndicalist Activity
It took part in the major struggles of its time, like anti-colonialism, the strikes of June 1936 in France, or the support to Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War[3] and the resistance to the Nazis.
The CGT-SR actively opposed French colonialism, both in Algeria and in France. For the occasion of the centenary of the colonisation of Algeria, in 1930, a declaration denouncing colonialism was signed by the Union Anarchiste, the CGT-SR and the Association des Fédéralistes Anarchistes.
Famous members
See also
References
- Facing the Enemy: A History of Anarchist Organization from Proudhon to May 1968, Alexandre Skirda, Tr. Paul Sharkey, AK Press, 2002,,, page 117.
- Syndicalism and the transition to communism: an international comparative analysis, Ralph Darlington, Ed. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008,,, page 172
- Durruti in the Spanish revolution, Abel Paz, José Luis Gutiérrez Molina, Chuck Morse, Tr. Chuck Morse, AK Press, 2007,, 9781904859505, page 134.
Further reading
- Amdur. Kathryn. 1980. From Schism to Reunification: Conflict and Compromise in Provincial French Labor Politics, 1922-1936. University of Michigan Library. Journal of the Western Society for French History. 8. 464-480. 2573-5012.
- Book: Amdur, Kathryn. 1986. Syndicalist Legacy: Trade Unions and Politics in Two French Cities in the Era of World War I. University of Illinois Press. 0-252-01238-0.
- Berry. David. 1999. ‘Fascism or Revolution!’ Anarchism and Antifascism in France, 1933–39. Contemporary European History. 8. 1. 51-71. 10.1017/S0960777399000132.
- Book: Damier, Vadim. 2009. 2000. Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century. Archibald. Malcolm. Edmonton. Black Cat Press. 978-0-9737827-6-9.
- Book: Darlington, Ralph. Ralph Darlington. 2008. Influence and Demise. Syndicalism and the Transition to Communism: An International Comparative Analysis. Ashgate Publishing. 978-0-7546-3617-5. 145-180.
- Book: Gildea, Robert. 1996. Anarchism. The Past in French History. Yale University Press. 0300067119. 260-299.
- Book: Magraw, Roger. 1992. A History of the French Working Class. 2. Blackwell. 9780631180456.
- Book: Seidman, Michael. 1991. The Ideology of Workers' Control. Workers Against Work: Labor in Paris and Barcelona During the Popular Fronts. University of California Press. 0-520-06915-3. 189-211.
- Book: Thorpe, Wayne. 1989. The Workers Themselves. The Workers Themselves. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 0-7923-0276-1. 89-8205.
- Thorpe. Wayne. 1996. Anarchosyndicalism in Inter-War France: The Vision of Pierre Besnard. European History Quarterly. 26. 4. 559–590. 10.1177/026569149602600403.
- Book: Tosstorff, Reiner. 2004. From the First to the Second Congress of the RILU. The Red International of Labour Unions (RILU) 1920 - 1937. Brill. 422–608. 10.1163/9789004325579_007. 9789004325579.
