L'Humanité

[Gesar]

[Gesar]

PAR DÉCRET DU COMMISSAIRE ANDRÉ BRETON

ET DU FRONT POPULAIRE

POUR LE PEUPLE DE FRANCE ET TOUTES LES NATIONS

---

MAI 1946


PARIS LIBRE, LUMIÈRE DU MONDE


PRÉSENTE LA


EXPO DE LA LIBÉRATION











PARIS, LIEU DE NAISSANCE DE LA LIBERTÉ

VILLE DE CRÉATION RADICALE

PRÉSENTE L'ART POUR ...

... LES TRAVAILLEURS!

... LES PARTISANS!

... LES FOUS!

...LES ENNUYÉS!

[Gesar]

PARIS LITERARY REVIEW
Editor: Albert Camus


NEGRITUDE RISING: EXCERPT FROM NOTEBOOK OF A RETURN TO THE NATIVE LAND

By Comrade Aimé Césaire

And again I would say:
"My mouth shall be the mouth of those calamities that have no mouth,
my voice the freedom of those who break down
in the prison holes of despair.”
And on the way I would say to myself:
"And above all, my body as well as my soul,
beware of assuming the sterile attitude of a spectator,
for life is not a spectacle,
a sea of miseries is not a proscenium,
a man screaming is not a dancing bear ...”

And behold here I am!
Once again this life hobbling before me, what am I saying life,
this death, this death without sense or pity,
this death that so pathetically falls short of greatness,
the dazzling pettiness of this death,
this death hobbling from pettiness to pettiness;
those shovelfuls of petty greeds over the conquistador;
these shovelfuls of petty flunkies over the great savage;
these shovelfuls of petty souls over the three-souled Carib,
and all these deaths futile
absurdities under the splashing of my open conscience
tragic futilities lit up by this single noctiluca
and I alone, sudden stage of this daybreak
when the apocalypse of monsters cavorts then,
capsized, hushes
warm election of cinders,
of ruins and collapses

---One more thing!
Only one, but please make it only one:
I have no right to measure life by my sooty finger span;
to reduce myself to this little ellipsoidal nothing trembling four fingers
above the line, I a man, to so overturn creation that I include myself between latitude and longitude!

At the end of daybreak,
the male thirst and the desire stubborn,
here I am, severed from the cool oases of brotherhood
this so modest nothing bristles with hard splinters
this too safe horizon is startled like a jailer.

Your last triumph,tenacious crow of Treason.
What is mine, these few thousand deathbearers who mill in
the calabash of an island and mine too,
the archipelago arched with an anguished desire to negate itself,
as if from maternal anxiety to protect this impossibly delicate tenuity
separating one America from another;
and these loins which secrete for Europe the hearty liquor of a Gulf Stream,
and one of the two slopes of incandescence between which
the Equator tightrope-walks toward Africa.
And my non-fence island,its brave audacity standing at the stern of this polynesia, before it,
Guadeloupe, split in two down its dorsal line and equal in poverty to us,
Haiti where negritude rose for the first time and stated that it believed in its humanity and the funny tail of Florida
where the strangulation of a n—— is being completed,
and Africa gigantically caterpillaring up to the Hispanic foot of Europe,
its nakedness where death scythes widely.

(OOC: You can read the full, uncensored, and highly recommended text of the poem here. All apologies to the wonderful poet, rest in power, for PHPBB fucking up the formatting.)

[Gesar]

THOREZ: CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMUNE TORCHBEARER OF NEW HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT
By Césaire-Alexandre Pommier

PARIS: The former avenue Foch, popularly renamed to the avenue Blanqui was adorned today with memorials for lost comrades surrounding pictures of Lenin, Stalin, and the Popular Front's General Secretary Thorez, the last of which gave a speech in front of the former Gestapo headquarters, retrofitted into a headquarters for the local revolutionary tribunals. Thousands attended to see the speech, while many more workers stopped their reconstruction projects; laborers on the rebuilding efforts took a pause to smoke their cigarettes and listen to Comrade Thorez's announcements regarding the constitutional referendum, while comrade artists who have given in to the Mexican-influenced “muralisme” craze put away their brushes, halting progress on their alternating scenes of horror and triumph.

“The principle applied in the Commune of France is that of socialism, human socialism, unflinching socialism,” the leader of the Communist Party and Popular Front paraphrased, going on to quote the proposed constitution -which, in turn, appears to quote the 1936 Soviet Constitution directly- some more. “From each according to his ability; to each according to his work.”

“It is a simple enough principle, and perhaps the noblest of goals of the socialist system. The equality of men and women through work and the security found only in true solidarity between the workers of all nations is the guarantee of the new France, socialist, secular, and indivisible as it will be. But how does a nation emerging from the grasping fist of Fascistic apes reach that point, the state of the pure cooperation of men and women under socialism? How, if we are not to descend to the level of the Hitlerites or even the militarists, do we transform into a state wherein the vanguard has expanded the role of the democratic process, rather than constrict it? By bearing the torch for the world, a new world where we do not ask for blessings from on high, but institute our love of liberty through the vehicles of the Revolution, until the masses and the revolutionary vanguard of the Popular Front move in complete concert."

For a few minutes, then, Comrade Thorez outlined the introductory principles of the new constitution, highlighting the policy of nationalizations and redistribution originating from the proposals of 1944, the creation of communes in the factories and fields as well as the local administrations, and the promise of self-determination from Brittany to Martinique. The dry nature of these nevertheless-radical articles, soon to be enshrined in the chief document of the Revolution itself, sparked some restlessness in the crowd, many of whom remained on a break from their labors for the new Paris. In a quiet moment, a wordless cheer seemed to spark some life into the General Secretary, who then took a moment to look out over the crowd and get to the crux of the speech.

“Fellow patriots, sons and daughters of the people,” he continued, “the dictatorship of the proletariat in France will exist in solidarity with all socialist systems and all who long for freedom against tyrannic Capital. But our nation is no Russia, no Yugoslavia, though our alliance with each will exist in perpetuity, and no Frenchman or women can deny the sacrifices of Comrades Stalin and Tito. It was in France, on a tennis court, that true democracy first emerged. In consultation with American patriots, we declared the most comprehensive platform of natural rights in history. In Paris, revolutionary women called for compassion and liberation to the slaves and their well-deserved equality. This is the way of our people, despite the barbarism of les bouches!”

“I therefore say to you, brothers and sisters in the Revolution, that if France is to have a dictatorship of the proletariat, it will be through the democratic integration of all loyal classes, a complete socialist order built under French characteristics. Our traditional institutions will be reforged by the Commune, the people's “dictatorship” nothing more than a dictatorship of conscience!”

Applause gave way to silence as Comrade Thorez raised his hand. “It is by these means that the hegemony of the workers is secured, by elevating the liberty-seeking nature of our culture to the highest levels of the state. The Popular Front thus submits to France a new Declaration, a Declaration of the Rights of the People. All workers, now bound together through the unions, the youth organizations, and a dozen other options for solidarity, may assemble as they choose and voice their fundamental rights in the workplace. Censorship, an ogre of the old Republic, will be abolished at all levels but the most basic regard for human decency. Let freedom of criticism provide the framework for France in the face of the specter to the south, the prospect of a nouvelle Vichy. Let freedom from the fear of death inspire the reform of even the most hardened prisoners, as none in France save traitors and Fascists will be subject to capital punishment.”

“And,” Thorez grew quiet, looking upon the building where the deportation of Jews, homosexuals, and advocates for the workers was ordered. “Let us remember those we have lost, not merely the 75,000 shot, but all the deaths across Europe and Asia ordered by Hitlerite bandits, and pledge never again. Crimes on the basis of race or faith, crimes who discriminate against sex, and so forth now mandate an additional charge, and the laws regarding homosexuality are to return to their position before 1938. No church, no priest can mandate their morality as the sole originator of justice in France.”

“But to deny the Catholic nature of France is folly, and as in Russia, we seek no quarrel with our believing comrades, many of whom are good Communists and Socialists. Where the south falters under the wayward General, we act: laïcité and its protections are enshrined so the faith might persevere in solidarity with the workers and peasants, and the Commune-Departments whose piety runs deepest are to be granted every right in accordance with their traditions. We will remember Christ at the Temple, of course, but also Christ with Magdalene: our female comrades, who have worked tirelessly to the point of irritation-” The moment of seriousness gave way to a moment of levity, and Foreign Commissioner Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier even smirked at the General Secretary, to be memorialized immediately in photographs for newspapers across the nation. “Have proposed, on their own, a new system of assembly.”

As cries as “Vive!” bubbled up from the contingent of the new 'Marianne Brigades' of patriotic women and extended to the whole crowd, who waved their banners and placards, Thorez appealed for calm once more. "For it is so that a socialist system can be nothing without half of society, the comrades who tended our wounded, ran our messages, and fought the Hitlerites themselves. The Women's Assembly of the Commune will be the sole advisory body to the People's National Assembly on matters pertaining their rights: to each according to her work indeed!” Further cheering ensued, and a band even began to play the old standard, L'appel du Komintern, to the chagrin of those who had chosen to sing the Internationale instead. Amid the roaring, Comrade Thorez was faced with no choice but to conclude:

“The Communist Party does not act alone in this, but as one of many servants to the Revolution. I am one such, a humble son of the revolution acting as a mere mouthpiece for the Popular Front of National Liberation, but I nonetheless must implore you, comrades, to approve this new Constitution. No loyal patriot, no steadfast worker or valiant mother shall have their rights deprived under the leadership of the Popular Front. None shall live in fear of starvation. Education, radical creation, and the joy of production will be as natural of rights as speech and conscience. It is by these measures and more that the revolutionary traditions of France will be strengthened and the good of the old Republic restored as the bad is swept away. It is by these measures that Paris will once again be the vanguard of the civilized world and the rights of all, in partnership instead of domination! It is by these measures that the Popular Front will form a new democracy, the Dictatorship of Conscience, and lead us to the final struggle, and the victory of the disinherited over the monstrous cannibals of Empire!”

“Vive la commune! En avant, à la lutte finale!”

---

[Gesar]

DE GAULLE THREATENS SECESSION AMIDST AMERICAN WARMONGERING

SOUTHERN FRANCE: As spontaneous strikes provoked by Trotskyite and anarchist radicals envelop the nation, working-men and women flock to their cause, protesting the American occupation and the increasing militarization of the occupying government. It is said that Communists and Socialists soon joined the ranks of their natural comrades, befitting their role as the vanguard of the French people, although the actions as of yet have not been endorsed by Paris. Violence, too, has become a way of life in the occupied South, as self-proclaimed and locally organized communes have established "autonomous zones" and barricaded themselves from the inevitable police reprisal. "So it goes," said a wistful Comrade Supreme Commander Marty, when asked for comment. "So it goes when Boulangist forces find themselves outnumbered by the working people, always and forever a majority in the occupied south."

More pressing issues emerged when General de Gaulle denounced any potential for the reunification of France under any government comprised of the working peoples and the Communes, saying "Disabuse yourself of this notion. There will be no reunification with the Muscovites in Paris so long as this Republic endures. I will not sign my beloved homeland over to rule by the iron hand of Stalin and his cronies." The ridiculous allegation of Russian influence in France, where the Soviet Union has already withdrew from and encouraged the Commune to take a leading role in assisting the development of nearby socialist states, ought to be considered an aside, according to members of the Communist Party. Comrade Thorez, of course, took a harder line, saying,

"The Party of 75,000 shot is but a mere fraction of the Communard population of France. From Calais to Lyon to Martinique, Frenchmen and women long for a united nation, one who holds true to the national motto, the words we have fought and fled for, such is their meaning to the people of not just France, but all who seek international solidarity and liberation. But this General, our hero, has the ambitions of a Caesar or Bonaparte. Even still, he no longer seeks all of France returning to the corruption of the old Republics, but a new state - a Vichy nouvelle. This declaration is preposterous and tyrannical: where Paris requests negotiations, Marseilles -a paralyzed Marseilles, whose wicked institutions are besieged by valiant partisans- seeks only criminality.

"Criminality done at the hands of the Americans, no less! Our sovereignty has been fundamentally violated by the transfer of supplies to militarist organizations, and done so brazenly by those we thought allies. We call upon General de Gaulle to retract his words, demand the withdrawal of all American forces, and return to the negotiating table. The 90 days have passed. Any further hostility to the Commune's sovereignty will be considered treason for Frenchmen and espionage for foreigners. We will show no mercy to the terrorists and their sympathizers.

"Vive la commune."

EXPO DE LA LIBÉRATION: SUCCESS, THEN TRAGEDY

PARIS: The much anticipated Expo in Paris, a three-day international art event which in turn celebrated the victory against fascism, memorialized the cruelty inflicted upon the peoples of the world during the war, and finally demonstrated the art of Radical Creation - a principle from the new Commissioner of Culture to act as a patron to the global avant-garde and the artists of the world's downtrodden. Americans, Chinese, Mexicans, Germans, and more joined with Frenchmen to celebrate art, with a particular highlight being the broadcasts across France of the music of African-American musician Paul Robeson. A statement was made by its very being, and two of the most popular works that emerged from it, The Army of the Moors and The Marshal's Woman have achieved a controversial status, their lurid, boundary-pushing narrative style being derided as "smut" by conservative quarters, "difficult" by the moderates, and "rather boring" by the Parisian artistic set.

Nonetheless, they remain quite popular in France, where escapism is an unfortunate must. Some note ("if it wasn't already obvious", said a Spanish born member of the Paris Liberty Review, one Dr. Ortiz) the parallels to the occupation in the south, for it is well know that General de Gaulle's forces were comprised with large contingents of foreigners, and as for Boulange...it is the opinion of L'Humanité that his story bears little repeating outside popular literature.

But then, the unthinkable happened. A peaceful celebration, attended by international dignitaries, was marred by a horrific action on the part of the Ceux de la Libération. A bomb detonated, killing popular artist Diego Rivera. A citizen of Mexico, France has sent their utmost apologies as they return the body, the Red Army of the Workers of France mobilized in response, and vowed revenge.

While this newspaper does not editorialize in this particular section, it is worth nothing that, as mentioned in a previous article, American armaments are known to have been smuggled into the country to aid reactionary forces.

Nonetheless, Paris prevails as a center of radical culture, where the veterans of the Harlem Renaissance, the intellectuals of the Négritude movement, the "degenerate artists" persecuted under Nazism, and those artists questioning their role under Capital may meet as equals, so that radical creation will become the byword for the culture of the final struggle.

ENTENTE OF LIBERATED NATIONS DECLARED, DELEGATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD ATTEND

VERSAILLES: The old palace of the reactionary kings has been repurposed into the headquarters of a new order, one that will dissolve the French Empire and its supposed "Union" by any means necessary. Promising complete autonomy in all matters, the Entente will exist as an affinity group for nations recovering from the twin evils of Capital and Empire in the Francophonie world. Aime Cesaire, representing Martinique and Guadeloupe, was nominated General Secretary unanimously, and it was he who laid down the platform of Three Commissions and One Parliament. This entails the creation of a Commission for Mutual Defense – allowing for the coordination of intelligence, technology, and aid in the case of war without being a binding agreement and the Commission for Political Coordination and Culture – under which we'll promote Francophonie and indigenous culture alike, as well as implement the advisory statements made by the Parliament of the Liberated. The third Commission, in some ways the most significant if the material forces of bourgeois and feudal colonialism are to be overcome, will be the Commission for Economic Development, an organized dedicated to realigning trade and development along systems of social justice, with regard for local conditions and the abolition of any exploitation from a foreign capital.

Notable attending members include:

-Ho Chi Minh, representing the Viet Minh
-Prince Souphanouvong, representing the Lao Issara
-Dap Chhuon, representing the Khmer Issarak
-Aime Cesaire, representing Martinique and Guadeloupe
-Farchat Hachad, representing the Tunisian Independence Movement
-Messali Hadj, representing the National Liberation Front
-Jacques Rabemananjara, representing Madagascar
-Léopold Sédar Senghor, representing the African Democratic Rally in
-Jean-Félix Tchicaya for the African Democratic Rally in French Equatorial Africa
-Khaled Bakdash, representing the Arab Liberation Front of Syria

(list of members pending clarification from Dr. MoO PhD

[Gesar]

DON'T MOURN, CREATE!

COMRADE DIEGO LIVES ON IN THE RADICAL CREATION OF ALL FREE PEOPLES!

FROM THE MARTYRDOM OF ONE COME A THOUSAND INSPIRED COMRADES

LET A THOUSAND MURALS PLASTER THE WALLS OF BOURGEOIS CENTERS

LET THE NAME OF DIEGO RIVIERA BE ON THE CORNERSTONE OF ALL MONUMENTS TO VICTORY

ART WILL BE THE RESISTANCE OF THOSE SEEKING THE MUSE OF LIBERATION

THE LIBERATION OF THE WORLD SHALL BE ART WITHOUT RIVAL

VIVE LA COMMUNE INTERNATIONAL, VIVE LE CRÉATION RADICALE!

HARLEM À PARIS, DE LONDRES À SAIGON!

[Gesar]

PARIS LITERARY REVIEW
Editor: Albert Camus


A REMINDER: EXCERPT FROM ZONE LIBRE

By Comrade Louis Aragon

The fading of sadness forgotten

The throb of the torn heart lessened

The ashes grown colourless

I drank the sweet summer wine

I dreamt through that August time

In a pink chateau in Corrèze

What created that sudden

Aching sob in the garden

The dull reproach in the air

Oh, too soon, don’t wake me so,

A moment, no more, the bel canto

Demobilises despair

For an instant it seemed

I heard in field and stream

Rumours of war, unclear,

Whence came that deep grief

Neither pink nor rosemary

Had retained the scent of tears.

Who knows why they chose to relent

Those dark secrets of my torment

In turn the shadows dismember

I no longer sought release

From that pain without memory

When dawn brought in September.

My love in your arms that day

Outside someone murmured away

At an old ballad of France

I knew my illness at last

That refrain like a bare foot splashed

Stirring the green depths of silence.

(Full version here.)