With the outbreak of war in 1939, Léon Blum did not
hesitate to declare that class interests must be temporarily
set aside in order to present a united front against the
enemy. ¹ His reaction to German aggression was as deter-
mined and sincere as it was in 1914 but circumstances
differed. In 1939, there was no move toward a Union
Sacré since one major party, the Communists, had been
outlawed and the deputies of this party expelled from
the Chamber. In 1939, too, Blum was a prominent figure
in France, and a large section of the populace looked to
him for leadership. Within the Socialist party, though,
Blum was unable to arouse unanimous support of the
war effort due to the continued existence of the pacifist
wing. To those who did follow him, the majority of the
party, Blum had only one message. In accordance with
his view that "without the republic socialism is impos-
sible," the Third Republic had to be defended, not as
necessarily desirable in itself, but as the means of ulti-
mately attaining the long-range goal of socialism.

Throughout the months of the drôle de guerre, Blum
spoke constantly of the necessity to sacrifice social re-

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