The historian and historical director of the Resistance Foundation Fabrice Grenard returns, in an interview with Mondeon the historical and symbolic charge of the National Council of the Resistance.
Is the parallel made by Emmanuel Macron between the National Council of Resistance and the National Council of Refoundation legitimate? What is the point of mobilizing this notion?
It is clear that using the same acronym is a way for Emmanuel Macron to place himself in the line of the Resistance which remains, in our contemporary history, the last great heroic page. We understand the power of the symbol.
Elements can create forms of rapprochement. As in 1944, we are in a moment of changeover, of refoundation necessary to get out of a world that no longer works. We need new solutions and engage in structural reforms, as in 1944, by overcoming divisions and finding certain forms of consensus to do so.
What are the differences between these two CNRs?
They are huge. The context of the creation of the National Council of Resistance has nothing to do with that of today. The Resistance was an underground movement, in a context of occupation. We are today in a free country with a possible democratic debate.
“We are now on the defensive: saving the planet, restricting a number of things, and it seems difficult to raise hope, like in 1944”
The prospects are also not the same. At the end of the war, everyone expects a world of progress, more egalitarian, fairer. The context of reconstruction favors economic growth and full employment. This is why the program of the CNR in 1944 was accompanied by the formula “happy days”. Today is very different. It is difficult to foresee structural reforms that are accompanied by happy prospects for the population. We are now on the defensive: saving the planet, restricting a number of things, and it seems difficult to raise hope, like in 1944.
The second major difference concerns the functioning and composition of the two institutions. The CNR was a kind of clandestine government of the Resistance which was able to bring together almost all the political forces, from the Republican right to the Communist left. He will achieve a very broad political consensus around very divisive notions before the war, such as nationalizations. This made it possible to implement the major reforms of the Liberation. On this level, Mr. Macron certainly wants to do the same thing, but we see that it is more difficult since the opposition parties and certain unions have refused to participate in the new body.
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