The historian Michel Winock, at his home in Paris, on April 18, 2023. STEPHANE LAGOUTTE / CHALLENGES-REA
Renowned historian Michel Winock, an expert in French political and intellectual life, looked into the Liberation period in a book published in 2021, La France libérée. 1944-1947 (“Liberated France: 1944-1947,” untranslated). In it, he writes that alongside the joy of regained peace and the “fireworks” of new laws (social security, works councils, civil service status, nationalizations…), the birth of the Fourth Republic was particularly difficult, against the backdrop of the Cold War and colonial unrest.
In 1945, the Liberation carried the hope of political renewal, quickly thwarted by partisan divisions. You have spoken of a “missed opportunity” in the reconstruction of the Republic…
After the war, the [Nazi] Occupation and the [collaborationist] Vichy regime, the desire to recreate a democratic state stood out in all the writings of the Resistance. This was confirmed by the October 21, 1945, referendum, which asked: “Should the elected Assemblée be constituent?”, 96% of voters answered yes. A return to the Third Republic was rejected by nearly all citizens. But what kind of Republic did they want?
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