Mouvement de la Paix

The Mouvement de la Paix is an organisation which promotes a culture of peace initiated by the United Nations. The movement was created in the aftermath of the Second World War by the large resistance movements, particularly those associated with communists, Christians and free-thinkers, and was linked directly to the Mouvement mondial des partisans de la paix whose aim was to struggle for peace.

The origin of the Movement was to be found in the creation of "Combattants de la Liberté" in the aftermath of the Second World War. It was the communist leader, Charles Tillon who, at the end of 1947, launched an appeal for the creation of an organisation devoted to "supporting the republican régime and preventing the return of fascism and dictatorship". On 22 February 1948, about 60 people who had been active in the resistance founded "les Combattants de la Liberté" in a meeting at the l'Hôtel des 2 Mondes in Paris. The leader was to be Yves Farge whoa had been appointed prefect of the Rhône-Alpes region by Charles de Gaulle at the liberation of France. The constitution of this young movement which aimed to preserve the resistance spirit of unity was laid down by Raymond Aubrac.

After the 1948 Congrès des peuples pour la paix de Wroclaw, the Mouvement mondial des partisans de la paix was formed, and encouraged the creation of national committees. In France, the "Combattants de la Liberté", which had become "les Combattants de la Liberté et de la Paix", then "les Combattants de la Paix et de la Liberté" finally in 1951 became "le conseil national français du Mouvement de la Paix", commonly known as the "Mouvement de la Paix".

The period of the Cold War was for the Movement the most rich in operations, influence and effect. The Movement participated in the 1949 Congrès mondial des Partisans de la Paix in Paris, at which the World Peace Council was created. The leadership was given to the intellectual and scientist Frédéric Joliot-Curie. The Movement organised a massive campaign of support in France for the which gathered millions of signatures, including that of Jacques Chirac. The Stockholm campaign marked the apogee of the Movement in France.

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