The Communist Party of Spain and “economic” immigration (1956-1980)

This paper shows that between the Liberation in 1944 and its legalization in 1977, the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) used France as an indispensable backbone for rebuilding itself on the peninsula. From the end of the 1950s, the arrival of seasonal workers and then a very important migratory wave from Spain led its activists to work toward raising the awareness of Spanish migrants, particularly through the General Confederation of Labor (CGT). The paper stresses that initially the aim was to give them information about French labor law and then to inform them about the vicissitudes of Franco’s Spain, in order to try to recruit them. Several cultural vectors were used in that perspective (including literacy courses, film screenings, and conferences). While many activists tackled these tasks with enthusiasm, the example of the preparation of the meeting of Dolores Ibárruri, the mythical “Pasionaria,” and Santiago Carrillo, the secretary general of the party, in a Parisian suburb in June 1971, show that efforts still needed to be made in several French regions.