Georges René Louis Marchais was a French politician who served as the head of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1972 to 1994 and was a candidate in the French presidential elections of 1981.
Born on June 7, 1920, Marchais came from a Roman Catholic family and initially worked as a mechanic before World War II. He joined the Société Nationale d'Étude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation, a company that manufactured aircraft engines.
During the war, Marchais went to Nazi Germany to work in the Messerschmitt aircraft manufacturing plant. After the fall of France, he returned to France in May 1943 with forged documents.
After the war, Marchais became involved in trade union activities and joined the French Communist Party in 1947. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming secretary of the metalworkers' trade union in Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1946 and advancing in the Confédération générale du travail in his commune from 1951.
Marchais was appointed a member of the extended Central Committee of the PCF in 1956 and led the South-Seine PCF local federation. He became a full member of the Central Committee and the Politburo in 1959, a position he held until 1994.
In the 1960s, Marchais supported the policies of General Secretary Waldeck Rochet, including his conciliatory approach to other left-wing parties. He also intervened in the media, criticizing the May 1968 riots and accusing some students of being "false revolutionaries" coming from the bourgeoisie.
When Rochet fell ill in 1970, Marchais was promoted to junior General Secretary and became the de facto leader of the PCF. He co-signed the Common Programme with the Socialist Party (PS) and the Movement of Left Radicals (MRG) in June 1972.
Marchais served as a deputy for the Val de Marne département from 1973 to 1997 and was a candidate in the French presidential elections of 1981. He remained the head of the PCF until 1994, when he retired from politics. Marchais died on November 16, 1997, at the age of 77.
