The Rennes Congress was the thirteenth national congress of the French
Socialist Party (''Parti socialiste'' or PS). It took place from 15 to 18 March 1990.
In 1988,
François Mitterrand was re-elected
President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
but the PS obtained only a relative majority in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
. Elected with a moderate program (for a "united France"), Mitterrand chose his former rival
Michel Rocard, leader of the right-wing of the party, as Prime Minister. Furthermore, centrist politicians joined the cabinet.
Lionel Jospin, the party's First Secretary since 1981, was appointed national Education Minister. Mitterrand wanted his former Prime Minister
Laurent Fabius succeeded him to the head of the party.
Fabius appeared as the heir chosen by Mitterrand. A coalition was created in order to prevent Fabius from being elected First Secretary. It gathered Rocard's supporters and a part of the ''Mitterrandist'' faction led by Jospin, comprising those members with a background in the grassroots of the party and a long history of membership. Their candidate,
Pierre Mauroy, another former Prime Minister, defeated Fabius.
During the Rennes Congress, Mitterrand wanted impose Fabius as First Secretary. For a second time, he was opposed by a Rocard-Jospin alliance. The Rennes Congress was marked by the violence in the ''Mitterrandist'' group which split between ''Jospiniens'' and ''Fabiusiens'', the later group being those "high fliers" who had joined the party relatively recently.
Other minority factions which presented proposals to the Congress were:
*
Jean-Pierre Chevènement ("Socialism and Republic", formerly CERES) led the
eurosceptic left-wing
*
Julien Dray and
Jean-Luc Mélenchon ("Socialist Left") were former
trotskyist
Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
s who criticized the "opening" to center-right politicians
*
Marie-Noëlle Lienemann advocated an
autogestionary project
*
Jean Poperen ("To gather the Left") wanted to renew the alliance with the
Communist Party.
Results
Consequences
Pierre Mauroy was re-elected First Secretary with the support of Jospin and Rocard.
PS Congresses since 1971
''France-politique'' Mitterrand accused Jospin of being responsible for the split of the ''Mitterrandist'' current. His relations with Jospin and Rocard deteriorated until the "resignation" of Rocard from the head of the cabinet in 1991. The next year, Jospin was ejected from the government.
The violence of the debates gave a very bad public image to the PS and contributed to its decline at the beginning of the 1990s. The Rennes Congress is a traumatic event in the memory of the French Socialists.
References
{{French Socialist Party
Congresses of the Socialist Party (France)
1990 in France
1990 in politics
1990 conferences
March 1990 in France
1990s political conferences