The Assassination of Léon Blum
*(The following is a transcript of a global radio broadcast translated live by the BBC at their headquarters in London. This speech was originally given by French Prime Minister Léon Blum in Paris on March 27th, 1938, the day of his assassination. This speech was given as part of a congress held by the Third Worker's International.)
*(Léon Blum) “Citizens of Paris, countrymen, comrades, and people of the proletariat around the globe, it is my honor as Prime Minister of France to address the International about the growing crisis in our nation...
*(Noise, Tumult)
My voice is naturally very weak. I am, moreover, very tired, like all of you, and it would be physically impossible for me to surmount, by the strength of my lungs, this tumult and these violent interruptions. For over a decade, the workers of France have paved the way for the enduring success of our movement. During my time as Prime Minister, and through collaboration with the legislators of France, we have passed the Matignon Accords; giving workers the right to strike and granting them the power of collective bargaining. Through this law, this administration has mandated 12 days of paid annual leave, a 40-hour workweek, and has protected workers in France from retaliation by their employers. Our collective action has raised the wages of the lowest-paid workers by 15% and all others by 7%. All respect to our Bonapartist colleagues, but our government has won many victories!
Here we stand on the anniversary of the New Revolution of 1928 and it is clear that great progress has been achieved. Before the revolution, women were second-class citizens who were excluded from many of the institutions of our nation including the military. Thanks to the heroic efforts of our suffragettes and the struggles of countless women throughout the country we can celebrate heroes in our armed forces such as Major Marie Courtemanche who I am proud to call a comrade. Her work, and the work of others like her inspired me to assign a cabinet comprised of a majority of women when I took office two years ago. Their advice has been invaluable in helping to lead the people of this country to a more fair and equitable life.
Indeed the achievements over the last ten years are momentous! As is the way of our time, many labels have been applied to me. Some have called me a hero, while others have labeled me a villain. I have come here today to say I am neither! I am not the one who leads the Proletariat, it is the Proletariat that leads me. We must remember in these trying times that our democracy is responsible for these achievements. These accomplishments can not be attributed to the work of one man and his dedicated team. The rights of workers were won through the ballet by everyday people not by politicians. I stand here today to honor the work and progress our democracy has made in honoring the principles of The Revolution: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.
Yet many among us would say our government has not done enough to uphold these values… The recent protests in Paris and the turmoil in our colonies are evidence enough of that. I stand with the workers of our nation in saying we have not done enough. It is clear to us all that France’s economy is struggling. As the proletariat has secured more and more rights from the capitalist class at home, many industrialists have moved their businesses to the colonies. As a result, they exploit a loophole set forth by the Great Lakes Trade Agreement allowing them to mercilessly extract the wealth, resources, and most egregiously the people of our nation’s colonies. We may have purged these leeches from the mainland but they persist abroad. As workers in Paris have shattered their chains in protest, the greediest and richest among us have forged new shackles for our nation's most vulnerable populations. The actions of those who seek to enslave and abuse any person must not be tolerated. The tyranny of these corporations can not stand.
Yet, despite the acts of malevolence perpetrated by the monarchists and capitalists abroad many everyday citizens, and members of the socialist party have said that I have not done enough. They are right after all, our congress has done little to stop the vile exploitation of our colonies. It is no secret that the French economy has grown more and more reliant on the profits from these corporations abroad, and many have claimed that we would backslide into a recession worse than we saw during the Great Famine, whose memory strikes fear in the hearts of many of our nation's legislators. Although the wounds left by those dreadful years are still fresh for many, we can not allow that pain to paralyze us in the face of injustice. I have been vocal about my opposition to the Great Lakes Trade Agreement, yet I have done little but appeal to the morality of our politicians to change this unjust law. As I have pleaded with Congress my dear friend and Comrade Nguyẽn Tãt Thānh has risen as the leader of a violent revolution in Indochina to put a stop to the exploitation there.
Many in France have celebrated him as a hero of the revolution while simultaneously calling me a villain and a collaborator. I have been denounced for not using my power and prestige as prime minister to overturn such a vile law. Where once many might have thought of me as a stalwart leader of the proletariat now they whisper that I am weak and a traitor to the revolution. The Cross of Lorraine draws ever more supporters. These comrades...
*(Uproar)
Gentlemen, please. These comrades wish to see me seize control of Congress and use the military to force the Bonapartians and the Capitalists into submission. They wish for me to grab the reigns of government and lead us to a brighter tomorrow. They fail to see the darkness in these wishes. For if I were to stand defiantly against Congress with the will of the people behind me and do as I see fit, all would be lost. In an instant, I would cease to uphold the principles our nation was built on: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Instead, many among you wish me a dictator. I would be no better than Napoleon before me, a false man of the people who grasped the crown not to break it, but to place it upon his own head!
No matter the moral character of a leader, nor the values of the regime behind them, I have come before the people of France and the world today to share a simple truth… There is no such thing as a good dictatorship…. So many of you urge me to betray our democracy and moreover betray my values as a Socialist. I have come to remind you all of the virtue of patience. We must uphold the rights and liberties of all people and the only way we can do that is by upholding our democratic principles.
My comrade Nguyẽn Tãt Thānh once believed this too, and it saddens me greatly to see the Affair in Indochina progress the way it has. But it is no excuse! If our nation is to be the beacon of light that shines the way for Marx’s dream of the liberation of all workers, then we must be patient and remember our values. The world is watching and I implore the workers of the world to steady your hearts. Do not let the fervor and passion that the knowledge of injustice gives us lead us down the path of violence and tyranny. Instead, let that passion motivate us to appeal to our common humanity, putting us on the path of peace and brotherhood. The march of the proletariat can not be led by a single leader, we must instead march arm and arm forever towards a brighter future…”
*(Gunshot…..crowd roaring…..the prime minister has been shot)
*(A statement released by the BBC after the publication of the English translation): The public assassination of Léon Blum came as a shock to people around the world. Blum’s career in politics started in 1902 after his appointment as a minister of public works. He later became a member of the French Section of the Worker's International, and contributed writing to a number of socialist newspapers. After the failure of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, he joined the Popular Front as they pushed for legislative reform of the French Empire, ultimately resulting in the New Revolution of 1928. He was appointed as Prime Minister in 1936 in a move that was seen ultimately as a form of appeasement by the Bonapartist president Albert Lebrun. Blum’s legacy as prime minister as well as his vocal advocacy for workers and women’s rights in France made his death shocking to progressives around the world. His death and the publication of his speech sparked multiple protests both In France and abroad which have, according to multiple Wall Street correspondents with the BBC affected stock prices globally. The radical newspaper Les Lorrains has taken up Blum's death as proof of a conspiracy against the people of France, agitating the populace to new heights.
Further controversy surrounding Blum’s death comes as the identity of the assassin has been made public. 48-year-old and former military officer Hector Müller was accused of the crime. His status as a citizen of the Holy Roman Empire has raised questions regarding the Imperial Crown’s involvement in the death of Blum. This incident has further escalated tensions between the HRE and France with many politicians in Congress demanding a formal apology from Emperor Karl. The Imperial Communications Secretary has issued an official denial of involvement as well as condolences, but has declined to speak further on the matter. It is not yet known who the next prime minister of France will be, but the assassination of Léon Blum will undoubtedly have a profound impact effect on the already tumultuous politics of France.
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