Cold Open

It’s the morning of February 7th, 1934 in Paris, France.

61-year-old socialist politician Édouard Herriot hurries along a busy street in the center of the city. He holds his head down and tries to keep a low profile—but that’s easier said than done because Herriot is a three-time prime minister of France and one of the country’s best-known politicians. He’s trying to be inconspicuous because last night, a far-right demonstration descended into a battle with police near the French National Assembly. Now, the air still fizzes with tension as the last few demonstrators roam the streets.

A nearby protester throws a rock through a shop window and Herriot can’t help looking up. His momentary lapse proves costly because a young woman recognizes his familiar mustached face. She calls to the group around her, and in seconds, they’ve surrounded him. Herriot panics and tries to push through the crowd… but one of the demonstrators punches the politician and he falls to the ground.

Herriot curls up in a ball as the protesters kick him and then drag him to his feet. For a moment, Herriot thinks they’re going to let him go, but then he hears one of the attackers say they should throw him into the River Seine. They begin to drag him toward the nearby water and Herriot wonders if this is how his life will end—beaten and then drowned by fascist hooligans.

But suddenly Herriot is yanked backward, out of the gang’s clutches. A young man pushes him away from his attackers and tells him to run. Herriot doesn’t need more encouragement than that, stumbling away as fast as his bruised legs can carry him.

Former Prime Minister Édouard Herriot will later discover that his savior was a young communist who happened to witness the attack. But the politician’s rescue won’t be the only close call following the violent demonstrations in Paris. France’s entire democracy will only narrowly escape a fascist takeover after the crisis of February 6th, 1934.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is February 6th, 1934: Fascists Riot in Paris.

Act One

It’s October 24th, 1922, in Naples, Italy; twelve years before Édouard Herriot’s lucky escape from a fascist mob.

39-year-old Michele Bianchi stands proudly at the back of an outdoor stage, as he watches Fascist Leader Benito Mussolini address a huge political rally. Tens of thousands of Italians have come out to hear Mussolini speak, and the stage trembles beneath Michele’s feet as the crowd roars its approval. Michele is one of Mussolini’s principal lieutenants—and together, they’re about to lead a revolution.

Only four years ago, World War One came to an end. Although Italy was on the side of the victorious Allies, their success came at a high cost. When economic shortages hit after the war, Italy’s political system began to fragment. Left-wing socialists and radicals gained popularity, and a far-right movement sprung up to counter them. The most powerful of these was the National Fascist Party. Today, its leader, Mussolini, has announced a march on Rome to demand the resignation of the left-wing government. If the Italian prime minister does not quit, the Fascists promise they will take over by force.

As Mussolini’s rousing speech comes to an end, Michele leads a procession away from the stage. Thousands of Fascists dressed in the black uniform of the party’s paramilitary wing then begin the 100-mile march to Rome—but Mussolini doesn’t join them. He decides to travel to Milan to whip up support for the coup in Italy’s second-biggest city. So Michele has responsibility for leading the Fascist column as it winds its way toward the Italian capital.

Four days later, the marchers reach the outskirts of Rome. There, Michele has the Blackshirts set up camp where he attends hurried negotiations with the prime minister and the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III. Initially, there’s a stalemate. The prime minister declares a state of emergency and prepares for a siege. But within hours, Michele receives word that the king is determined to prevent civil war and has demanded the prime minister’s resignation. Soon, the Fascists are invited to form a government. And once in power, Mussolini quickly dismantles Italy’s political establishment and sets himself up as a dictator.

The success of this March on Rome signals the beginning of a shift to the right in European politics. Mussolini’s Fascist takeover acts as a model for Adolf Hitler’s unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch the following year, and it continues to inspire Hitler until he eventually seizes control of Germany in 1933. Later that same year, Mussolini’s regime motivates another man to found his own far-right group in his own country. On September 29th, 1933, 37-year-old Frenchman Marcel Bucard launches the Mouvement Franciste at a torchlit ceremony in Paris.

Unlike Italy, France has recovered well from the carnage of World War One. Thanks to the reparations that defeated Germany was forced to pay at the end of the conflict, France has largely been rebuilt, with its industries supported by generous subsidies. But even though the French economy has thrived, its political landscape is still unstable. France has an electoral system that encourages multi-party coalition governments. This makes it difficult for any one leader to hold onto power for long—in the fifteen years since World War One came to an end, France has been ruled by twenty-one different governments. Now, Marcel aims to fix what he sees as a broken system by sparking a far-right takeover, with his newly formed Mouvement Franciste leading the way.

Marcel models his new organization on Mussolini’s National Fascist Party. Like the Italian Fascists, Marcel claims that he wants to protect his country’s economy from foreign competition and strengthen its borders by enlarging the armed forces. Marcel also adopts the one-armed Fascist salute from Mussolini’s party and he starts a paramilitary wing with a distinctive uniform—the Blueshirts.

All of these nods to Mussolini earn Marcel some attention. Soon, his new group is receiving funding from the Italian Fascists, and Marcel makes it known that he wants the Mouvement Franciste to topple the French government, just like Mussolini did in Italy and Hitler in Germany.

Within months of its founding, the Mouvement Franciste has around 10,000 members. But Marcel knows that a fascist revolution will need the backing of far greater numbers if it’s going to achieve his goals. Luckily, a scandal will soon emerge that will turn the French people against their government and give Marcel the perfect opportunity to attempt a violent coup.

Act Two

It’s the evening of December 23rd, 1933, in Paris, three months after Marcel Bucard founded the Fascist Mouvement Franciste.

45-year-old Alexandre Stavisky rifles through his office, stuffing papers and check stubs into a briefcase. He starts heading for the door but pauses and turns back to his desk. There he opens a drawer, takes out a pistol, and puts it in his coat pocket.

For more than two decades, Alexandre has made his living as a conman, embezzler, and blackmailer. The French authorities have been investigating him for years, but his trial has been repeatedly postponed, leaving Alexandre free to continue his shady schemes. Recently, though, Alexandre’s case has taken on political overtones. Several members of the French National Assembly, including a cabinet minister, have been implicated in Alexandre’s crimes. And it turns out that the prosecutor responsible for repeatedly delaying the trial is the brother-in-law of the prime minister, Camille Chautemps. Now, many of the prime minister’s opponents are claiming that the case has been shelved to protect a corrupt government. And the walls seem to be closing in on Alexandre. Earlier today, he received a phone call from an accomplice, who told him that one of their associates has talked to the police. So Alexandre has decided it’s time to get out of Paris.

With his pistol tucked out of sight, and a briefcase full of incriminating documents, Alexandre locks the door to his office and rushes downstairs to the street. Within minutes, he’s speeding away in a car.

He spends sixteen days on the run from the law, until a tip-off alerts police to his hideout in a ski resort in the south-east of France. Police officers surround the property—but when they bang on the door, all they hear in reply is a single gunshot. Officers break in to find Alexandre on the floor, a gun in his hand, and a bullet wound to the head. Although Alexandre is still alive, his injury proves fatal, and he dies in a hospital several hours later.

The death of a conman with links to some of the most powerful politicians in the country causes a sensation. Within days, rumors swirl about Alexandre’s last moments. Many claim that the gunshot wasn’t self-inflicted, and that, in fact, he was killed by police during the raid, and the suicide note found in the villa was a fake. The whole affair, it's gossiped, is a coverup to protect corruption in France’s government.

Over the next few days, newspapers repeat the rumors and denounce the government of Camille Chautemps. Demonstrators take to the streets and demand the resignation of the prime minister. And by January 30th, 1934, just three weeks after Alexandre’s death, Prime Minister Chautemps realizes he has no hope of unifying the country under his leadership, and he resigns. But his replacement doesn’t relieve tensions in the country because Édouard Daladier is from the same political party as Chautemps.

And Daladier only further antagonizes the demonstrators with one of his first acts as prime minister. On February 3rd, he dismisses the chief of police. Daladier is suspicious of the man’s politics and accuses the police chief of being too lenient on the demonstrators that brought down the previous Prime Minister.

It’s a controversial move - and precisely the kind of opportunity Marcel Bucard has been waiting for. The leader of the fascist Mouvement Franciste claims that the French government is now abusing its powers. Marcel accuses the new prime minister of suppressing political opposition and overruling the wishes of ordinary French people. He calls on the members of his far-right group to assemble in central Paris to storm the National Assembly. Marcel’s chance to lead a French version of Mussolini’s March on Rome.

The protesters gather at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris on February 6th, 1934. Within an hour of their arrival, they clash with police blocking the way to the National Assembly. But it’s not just Marcel’s organization that has come to the French capital. Almost every far-right leader in the country has echoed his call and summoned their followers to Paris as well.

So, as more demonstrators arrive, the police try to disperse the crowd by charging at them on horseback—but the protestors respond by throwing bottles and rocks. The situation is spiraling out of control. And soon some police officers will open fire on the crowd, sparking more furious clashes on the streets of Paris.

In the end, seventeen protesters will lie dead, hundreds more police and demonstrators will be injured—and the French Republic will teetering on the edge of revolution.

Act Three

It’s late in the evening on February 6th, 1934, at the National Assembly in Paris, several hours after a right-wing demonstration turned violent.

French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier stands in the chamber, pleading with his fellow lawmakers to listen. He’s trying to outline his new government’s domestic and foreign policy priorities, but those on the opposition benches keep interrupting him with snide remarks and insults.

Eventually, Daladier can see that the debate is going nowhere and the Assembly goes into recess. But as he leaves the chamber, the Prime Minister notices some of his colleagues looking out the windows with concerned looks. Joining them, Daladier can see a large crowd of demonstrators battling with the police on the other side of the river. The far-right protesters are trying to force their way into the National Assembly. If they make it inside, there’s no telling what might happen next. After all, in Italy, a similar situation a decade ago led to the fascists seizing power of the entire country.

Daladier and the other lawmakers spend an uneasy night stuck in the National Assembly building as running battles continue outside. Finally, at 8 AM the following morning, the guards announce that the streets have been cleared. France’s political leaders flee the building through the back exit and are told to get home as quickly as possible—although former Prime Minister Édouard Herriot is spotted by a group of fascists and narrowly escapes being flung into the river.

Although a fragile calm is soon restored in Paris, the riots fatally undermine the authority of Prime Minister Daladier. Realizing that he’s lost the confidence of his colleagues in government, Daladier resigns on February 8th, two days after the crisis began.

Marcel Bucard and the other far-right leaders have succeeded in their aim of bringing down the government. But the February Crisis does not signal the complete overthrow of France’s political system.

Instead, Daladier is replaced by a 71-year-old elder statesman Gaston Doumergue. Gaston Doumergue gains support from a broad coalition including Ministers from across the political spectrum. And thanks to this new Prime Minister’s steadying hand, the influence of far-right groups like the Mouvement Franciste begins to wane. Instead of becoming a dictatorship like Italy or Germany, France’s parliamentary democracy stands strong. And soon, the nation will line up against those fascist European powers and help defeat them in World War Two—a war that could have been very different had France tipped into revolution on February 6th, 1934.

Outro

Next on History Daily. February 7th, 2005. British sailing sensation Ellen MacArthur smashes the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mischa Stanton.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves.

Edited by Joel Callen.

Managing Producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.