Since the mid-1960s, Western public opinion has focused
on the issue of human rights violations in the Soviet
bloc, which has been a matter for increasing concern.
Growing Dissent in Eastern European countries and the CSCE
process compelled the Left in Western Europe to face the contradictions
and inconsistencies of the communist countries. This
issue became a key topic in domestic political debate in France
\u2013 a country of freedom by definition \u2013 where many Eastern European
\ue9migr\ue9s established themselves.
In this book, Dissent is used as a prism through which to study
relations between the Parti Communiste and the Parti Socialiste
in France, and Eastern European governments. The main focus
is the political confrontation between the two main parties of
the French Left \u2013 from the union de la gauche to their cohabitation
in government in the early 1980s.
The study is based on wide-reaching research using primary
archive documents, as well as press analyses and interviews,
mainly in France and Italy, but also in the United Kingdom, the
United States, Spain and the Netherlands. The book examines
international relations, domestic policies and cultural history
to paint a complex picture of the fight for leadership of the French
Left during the 1970s