Happy birthday, Benoît Frachon! (May 13, 1893)

A leading member of the French Communist Party, Benoît Frachon was born into a working class family in Le Chambon-Feugerolles, an industrialized commune in central France. Frachon began to labor as a metalworker at the age of 13, and by 16 was an active member of the union, participating in strikes and radical organizing. Frachon was opposed to the unions’ and conservative socialists’ position of support for the French government during World War I, and was an early supporter of the Communist movement in France, helping to forge links between the Communists and organized labor. He quickly became a leader in the Communist Party and in the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), one of the major trade union centers in France. After France fell in World War II, Frachon, along with other Communists, became active in the French Resistance, striking against the Germans and the collaborationist Vichy government. Frachon focused on organizing labor against the fascists. Frachon became Secretary-General of the CGT, and would continue to serve in this role until 1967. He died in 1975.