Research Article The French Communist Party and the working classes (1920s–1970s): A perspective from local activism Julian Mischi INRA-CESAER, 26, bd Docteur Petitjean, BP 87999, Dijon, Cedex 21079, France. E-mail: mischi@dijon.inra.fr This article has been translated from French by Katharine Throssell. Abstract Drawing on research conducted in several areas in France, this article shows that the communist movement was based on the formation of a militant elite based in heavy industry. Party leadership by industrial skilled workers led to the marginalisation of certain blue-collar groups (women, low-skilled workers, immigrants) and other non-elite social groups (agricultural workers, shopkeepers, artisans). We also emphasise the fact that working-class social networks provided fertile ground for communist activism, while also constraining collective action to some degree. These networks had an impact on the forms of engagement within the party, which might be out of sync with the norms set out by the national leaders of the Communist Party. At the local level, activism drew on both political actions by party leaders and the daily activities of the working classes. French Politics (2012) 10, 160–180. doi:10.1057/fp.2012.8 Keywords: communism; activism; working-class; social networks; political parties; local politics Historiographical debates about communism in Western Europe have focused on the issue of Moscow archives since the early 1990s. The opening of former party archives in Moscow has provided access to rich new sources, and academics have announced the beginning of a ‘new’ period of history of the Communist Parties. The materials held by the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI) led scholars to emphasise communism as an international movement dominated by the Soviet Union. They have dealt with the obscure issues of party leadership and of the relations between national Communist Parties and Moscow. This international and institutional outlook is essential in order to gain a better understanding of European communism r 2012 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3419 French Politics Vol. 10, 2, 160–180 www.palgrave-journals.com/fp/