Ludovic-Oscar Frossard (; 5 March 1889 – 11 February 1946), also known as L.-O. Frossard or Oscar Frossard, was a French socialist and communist politician. He was a founding member in 1905 and Secretary-General of the

French Socialist Party The Socialist Party ( , PS) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in France, political party in France. It holds Social democracy, social democratic and Pro-Europeanism, pro-European v ...

(SFIO) from 1918 to 1920, as well as a founding member and Secretary-General of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

(PCF) from 1920 to 1922. On 1 January 1923 Frossard resigned his positions and left the Communist movement over political differences. Frossard briefly attempted to establish an independent Communist political organization before returning to the ranks of the SFIO, gaining election to parliament under that party's banner in 1928, 1932, and 1936. From 1935 until 1940 Frossard held a series of ministerial positions in successive governments of

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. He served as Prime Minister of France three times: 1931–1932 and 1935–1936 during the Third Republic (France), Third Republic, and 1942–1944 during Vich ...

Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut ...

Camille Chautemps Camille Chautemps (; 1 February 1885 – 1 July 1963) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic, three times President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister). He was the father-in-law of U.S. politician and statesman Howar ...

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...

Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical Party (France), Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, who was the Prime Minister of France in 1933, 1934 and again from 1938 to 1940. he signed the Munich Agreeme ...

Paul Reynaud Paul Reynaud (; 15 October 1878 – 21 September 1966) was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his economic liberalism and vocal opposition to Nazi Germany. Reynaud opposed the Munich Agreement of Septembe ...

, and the first government of

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

. Following the armistice between France and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, Frossard declined to participate in the

Vichy French Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against G ...

government headed by Pétain, but continued to work as a journalist. His position led to his investigation, trial, and acquittal over accusations of

collaborationism Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th c ...

following the fall of the Pétain regime.

Early years

He was born 5 March 1889 in Foussemagne, Territoire de Belfort, France. His father was a

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

maker who was dedicated to his son's education and success in life. Following completion of his schooling, Frossard became a schoolteacher, also working as a journalist.Branko Lazitch and Milorad M. Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern.'' New, Revised, and Expanded Edition. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1986; p. 128. He also became involved in Socialist politics, joining the Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière (SFIO), at the time of its formation in 1905.

Early political career

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Frossard supported the

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

minority faction of the SFIO. As the bloody conflict ground on without remit, Frossard's antiwar perspective became the majority view in the SFIO, leading to his election as Secretary-General of the party in 1918. He would remain in that capacity until the SFIO split into socialist and communist wings at the December 1920 Congress at

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

. In the summer of 1920 Frossard travelled to the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

along with his party comrade,

Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin (20 September 1869 – 12 February 1958) was a French Communist politician and editor of the daily newspaper ''L'Humanite''. Political career In 1891, Cachin joined Jules Guesde's French Workers' Party (POF). In 1905, he joine ...

; the two participated in the

2nd World Congress of the Communist International The 2nd World Congress of the Communist International was a gathering of approximately 220 voting and non-voting representatives of communist and revolutionary socialist political parties from around the world, held in Petrograd and Moscow from Jul ...

. Frossard was active upon his return to France in advocating for the affiliation of the SFIO to the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

, and he departed with the left wing at the Tours Congress to form the

Communist Party of France The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a communist party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit with The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group. The PCF was founded in 1920 by Marxist� ...

(PCF); he was its Secretary-General. Frossard was twice re-elected as the head of the PhD and was endorsed both at its 2nd Congress at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in December 1921 and its 3rd Congress at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in October 1922. As the Comintern developed, Frossard came into disagreement with several of its policies, which brought him into conflict. He traveled again to Moscow in June 1922 to serve as a delegate to the 2nd Enlarged Plenum of the

Executive Committee of the Communist International The Executive Committee of the Communist International, commonly known by its acronym, ECCI (Russian acronym ИККИ - for ), was the governing authority of the Comintern between the World Congresses of that body. The ECCI, established by the Fo ...

(ECCI), a journey that marked his second and final trip to Soviet Russia. Although he did not attend the

4th World Congress of the Comintern The 4th World Congress of the Communist International was an assembly of delegates to the Communist International held in Petrograd and Moscow, Soviet Russia, between November 5 and December 5, 1922. A total of 343 voting delegates from 58 count ...

in November 1922, he was still elected a member of ECCI at that gathering, his last high position in the French Communist movement.

Return to SFIO

Frossard's dissatisfaction with the Comintern remained, however, and on 1 January 1923, he wrote a letter resigning from the Communist Party. He initially attempted to form a dissident Communist group but ultimately failed in this task and returned to participation in the SFIO, now headed by

. Elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, the lower chamber of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

, platform with the 1928 and the 1932 '' Cartel des gauches'.

Later career

He quit the SFIO group after the 1936 elections. His departure did not prevent him from becoming

Minister of Propaganda A ministry of propaganda also known as agency, bureau or department of propaganda is the part of a government charged with generating and distributing propaganda. Though governments routinely engage in propaganda, ministries or departments with t ...

(and the first one ever in this capacity) in Blum's Second Popular Front Ministry (March–April 1938). From 1935, Frossard had been a member of the governments of

and

(as Labor Minister) as well as that of

(as Minister of State of the Services of the Presidency of the council). Afterwards, he served as

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

under Radical

and again as Minister of Propaganda under conservative

. Frossard was made Minister of Public Works and Transmissions in the First Government of

after the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

and the beginning of

occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an Military Administration (Nazi Germany), interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western French Third ...

. After the signing of the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

between France and Germany, Frossard declined to be part of any

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

executive, but he still worked as a journalist under the new regime. On 23 January 1941, Frossard was made a member of the National Council of

. Journal officiel de la République française. Lois et décret

/ref> Suspicion of collaboration with the enemy led to an enquiry into his activities at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, but he was soon cleared.

Death and legacy

Frossard died 11 February 1946 in Paris. Frossard's son,

André Frossard André Frossard (; 14 January 1915 – 2 February 1995) was a French journalist and essayist. Early life André Frossard was born on 14 January 1915 in Saint-Maurice-Colombier, Doubs, France. His father, Louis-Oscar Frossard, was one of t ...

, was a journalist and writer who converted to Catholicism in 1935.

Footnotes