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Special pages :
Notes Concerning the Conflict in the Paris Section (March 1865)
First published: in Russian, in Generalny Sovet Pervogo Internatsionala. 1864-1866, 1961
Early in 1865 a conflict arose among the Paris members of the International: a group of Proudhonist workers headed by Henri Tolain and Charles Limousin, on the one hand, and, on the other, a French lawyer and bourgeois republican Henri Lefort, who claimed to be the founder and leader of the International Working Men’s Association in France. Those close to Lefort accused Tolain and other members of the Paris Administration of being in contact with the Bonapartists (Marx and Engels exposed this insinuation in the statement to Der Social-Demokrat). Nevertheless, wishing to draw into the International the workers grouped around Lefort, Marx supported the Central Council resolution of February 7, 1865, on Lefort’s appointment as “Counsel for the literary defence” of the International in France. Those present at the meeting of the Paris Section, however, lodged a protest against this decision, and sent Tolain and Fribourg to London on February 28 to speak on this point at the Central Council meeting. The Council referred the problem to the Sub-Committee which discussed it on March 4 and 6. Marx proposed a draft resolution which has survived in his notebook. When Marx drew it up, he tried to protect the French organisation of the International from attacks by bourgeois elements and to strengthen the leadership of the Paris Section by bringing in revolutionary proletarians.
This draft formed the basis of the relevant Central Council resolutions adopted on March 7, 1865 (published below). The resolutions also criticised certain Proudhonist dogmas defended by members of the Paris Administration.
The text of the resolutions has survived in the Council Minute Book and as a handwritten copy which was appended to Marx’s letter to Engels of March 13, 1865 and also contained the private instruction to Schily.
The document was published in English for the first time in The General Council of the First International. 1864-1866, Moscow, 1962.
The proposal temporarily to postpone the sending of membership cards to Paris was made by, Marx at this meeting as his letter to Engels of January, 25, 1865 indicates.
21 Febr. (Tuesday). Central Council resolves to send Le Lubez over there. Leaves.
Wednesday. 22 Febr. (Evening.) Lubez leaves.
Paris. 23 Febr. Invitation to a meeting with Lefort at Fribourg’s, etc. (See Letter of Fribourg.) Lefort’s reply in Schily’s letter (p. 2).
24 Febr.[1] Evening. Meeting Fribourg, etc.
25 Febr. Morning. Lefort and Lubez visit Schily.
Leaving Lefort in the vicinity for the time being, Schily then goes to Fribourg’s, Where they found different friends, amongst others a friend of Leforts. All were decidedly against his intrusion. Schily — then went away to fetch him, and did not conceal from him that he considered his claim such as formulated by him untenable (p. 2). Lefort was deceived on this occasion (l.c.). [2] Steps taken to meet Lefort halfway (2, 3).
25 (!) Febr. Evening. meeting Le Lubez absent; went to Lefort’s soirée (3, 4).
Description of this meeting of 25 Febr. (pp. 4, 5, 6).
- ↑ Marx made a slip of the pen here: — February 24” instead of “February 23”. Hence the events of February 24, in particular the Council’s evening meeting, were erroneously attributed to February 25. An exclamation mark suggests that Marx himself was puzzled by this date.
- ↑ It is evident from Schily’s letter to Marx that in the morning of February 24 Lefort expressed his apprehension that the Paris Administration might be “deceived by Bonapartists”. A guarantee against this, he believed, was his appointment as “literary defender” of the International Working Men’s Association in Paris.