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1958-1979 - Union of the Left

The attitude with respect to the Gaullist government opened a new cleavage. A minority of the SFIO, other elected officials of the Republican left like François Mitterrand and Pierre Mendès France, draw up themselves against the Gaullist "coup d'etat". The minority faction of the SFIO leave the party and founded the Autonomous Socialist Party [PSA], directed by Edouard Depreux and Alain Savary. In 1960, the PSA amalgamates with small movements of Christians of left and communist dissidents, the Union of the socialist left (Gilles Martinet, Claude Bourdet), Tribune of Communism (Jean Poperen) to form the Unified Socialist party (PSU).

François Mitterrand created the Convention of the republican institutions (CIR) with Charles Hernu and Louis Mermaz in 1964, while in the same year the trade union movement announced its renewal: the CFTC divided, leading to the creation of CFDT under the leadership of Eugene Descamps. This period saw the birth of a great number of left-wing policy clubs, such as Club Jean Moulin, Citoyens 60, etc ...

With the approach of the presidential election of 1965, the SFIO seemed to hesitate a long time over which strategy to adopt. Gaston Defferre, supported by the center and the center left, thought at one moment to be candidate: the candidature of Mister "X" failed of the dis-unity of the MRP and the SFIO (that is, the failure of the "great federation").

After 1965, François Mitterrand and the CIR proposed a noncommunist candidature of left. A gathering took place with the Federation of the democratic and socialist left (FGDS) which led to the candidature of François Mitterrand. It would be supported by PCF, and, to a least degree, by the PSU. François Mitterrand obtained 32% of the votes in the first round, to general surprise, thus putting de Gaulle in ballotage, and 45% of the votees in the second turn. The left raised its head and took hope again.

In 1966, the FGDS published its program and made an electoral agreement with the PCF of desistance to benefit the left-wing candidate best placed to win. This agreement was effective since it brought the opposition a seat in the majority at the time of the legislative elections of 1967.

The crisis of May 1968 weakened the FGDS, which could not deal with the questions of the times. After the failure of the referendum and the departure of De Gaulle in 1969, the new Socialist party designated Gaston Defferre as candidate for the presidency of the Republic. Alain Savary was named First secretary of the party from 1969 to 1971.

The failure of the team formed by Gaston Defferre and Pierre Mendès France (a little more than 5% the voices, while Michel Rocard, then candidate of the PSU, obtained 3.6% of the vote) precipitated the recombination of the party. The PS extended to Issy-les-Moulineaux: formed of the SFIO (Guy Mollet, Pierre Mauroy, Gaston Defferre, Jean-Pierre Chevènement) of the URCG (Alain Savary) of the UCGS (Jean Poperen), it made unity of the left a political axis.

The congress of Epinay, in 1971, marked the most important stage of the unity and the restoration of socialism. With the PS was incorporated from now on the CIR and part of the "Christian current". The congress of Epinay elected François Mitterrand the First secretary and requested his direction to prepare an government agreement with PCF. In March 1972, the congress of Suresnes adopted the program "to change the life". In June, the common program was signed with PCF and is contresigned by the radical lefts shortly after. In March 1973, the elections gave more than 48% of the votes to the left.

In 1974, after the death of Georges Pompidou, François Mitterrand was again the one candidate of the left. He trailed slightly vis-a-vis Valery Giscard d'Estaing (49,6% of the votes in the second round) and this result marked the progression of the Socialists and the left forces in the country.

This dynamics precipitated the gathering of the socialist currents, which is concretized in October 1974, with the entry of part of the PSU (Michel Rocard, Robert Chapuis), members of CFDT (Jacques Chereque, Jacques Delors) and 3rd component (new Life, action groups municipal, objective Socialist, etc ...) who join, essentially, the majority of the party. With the congress of Pau, in 1975, the CERES of Jean-Pierre Chevènement ceased belonging to the majority of the party and constituted from then on the minority.

In 1976 the scandals which resulted from illegal and improper payments by international corporations provided support for those in this country and abroad who opposed the free enterprise economic system. French Socialists found the corruption revelations a further reason for promoting their program of nationalization of multinational companies in France. French socialists had ideas about public goods that were very different from those of American political conservatives.

With the cantonal elections of March 1976, then with the local elections of 1977, the PS showed that it became the first party of France. As from 1977, PCF started a vast campaign of denigration of the PS. It thus took the responsability for the rupture of the union of the left which occured on September 23, 1977 and led a few months later to the failure of the left in the legislative elections of March 1978.

At the time of the congress of Metz, in 1979, two coalitions clashed: "mitterrandists" and CERES on one side, "rocardiens" and "mauroyists" of the other. The stake was two-fold: the future presidential election, and political line. The line defended by François Mitterrand remained the majority (Union of the left and assertion of the will to rupture with capitalism). In 1980, the party worked out a project which developed the majority orientation of Metz.

From 1971 to 1981, the debates of the Socialist party were primarily about the union of the left and the relationship with the Communist party. In 1981, this question lost importance with the problems concerning the governmental policy and the practice. How to reconcile imperative management and will of transformation, economic constraints and social progresses?