The French Communist Party and Europe: the idea and its implementation (1945–1985)

Abstract. The attitude of the French Communist Party to European integration falls into three distinct phases. From being seemingly sympathetic in the immediate postwar years, it switched to uncompromising opposition in 1947. In 1962 it began to moderate its position to take account of changed political circumstances. The article analyzes the ideological and environmental determinants of PCF policies and attitudes through to 1985, and reviews the strategies and campaigns employed by the party to advance its point of view.