Renouncing the left: working-class conservatism in France, 1930-­1939
Histories of the working class in France have largely ignored the existence of working-­‐class conservatism. This 
is particularly true of histories of the interwar period. Yet, there were an array of Catholic and right-­‐wing groups 
during these years that endeavoured to bring workers within 
their orbit.Moreover,many workers judged that their interests were better served by these groups.This thesis 
explores the participation of workers in Catholic and right-­‐wing groups during the 1930s. What did these groups 
claim to offer workers within the wider context of their 
ideological goals? In which ways did conservative workers 
understand and express their interests, and why did they 
identify the supposed ‘enemies of the left’ as the best means 
of defending them? What was the daily experience of 
conservative workers like, and how did this experience contribute to the formation of‘non-­‐left’political identities? 
 
These questions are addressed in a study of the largest 
Catholic and right-­‐wing groups in France during the 1930s. 
This thesis argues that, during a period of left-­‐wing ascendancy, these groups made the recruitment of workers 
a top priority. To this end, they harnessed particular elements of mass political culture and adapted them to 
their own ideological ends. However, the ideology of 
these groups did not simply reflect the interests 
of the workers that supported them. This thesis argues 
that the interests of conservative workers were a rational 
and complex product of their own experience. They were formed by a large range of materials, from preconceived 
attitudes to issues such as gender and race, to the everyday 
experience of bullying and intimidation on the factory floor. This thesis shows that workers could conceive of 
their interests in a number of different ways,and chose 
from a range of different groups to try and further 
them.