ABSTRACT
The Parti Communiste Francais (PCF) is the oldest political party in France. French Communism was founded as a branch of the Third International when it issued from a split in the Section Francaise de l'Internationale Ouvriere at the party's 1920 Congress of Tours. Thus the PCF could have used the first round to bargain for the delivery of 'their' vote and Communists' failure to make an impact at presidential elections cannot be reduced to technical factors or the nature of the institution itself. French Communism was hostile to the Fifth Republic from the outset and has blamed the presidential system for its lack of success since de Gaulle's return to power. French Communism is run along the lines set out by Lenin and departs from the traditions of French socialism in this crucial respect: socialism and democracy were separated at the Bolshevik revolution. French Communism has been able to appeal to a long-standing French tradition of revolution and revolutionary change.
