Léon Blum

French politician and man of letters. Born in Paris as the second son of a wealthy Jewish merchant. He enrolled in the École Normale Supérieure (Ecole Normale Supérieure) but dropped out to study literature and law at the University of Paris. He worked as a lawyer for over 20 years as a councillor judge, but was also active as a literary critic, publishing works such as On Marriage, which endorsed the sexual liberation of women, and his research on Stendhal, which drew attention. During the Dreyfus Affair, he sided with the Dreyfus defenders, and during this time he formed a friendship with the socialist Jaurès. When Jaurès was assassinated at the outbreak of World War I, he took this opportunity to leave literature and enter politics, and served as Chief Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Public Utilities during the war. In 1919, at the age of 47, he ran for the National Assembly for the first time and was elected. When the Socialist and Communist parties split in 1920, he became the theoretical pillar of the right wing and the leader of the new Socialist Party. In the 1930s, the anti-fascist Popular Front was formed, and after the left won the general election in the spring of 1936, he became the leader of the largest party and the prime minister of the Popular Front government. He was the first socialist prime minister in French history, and the first Jewish prime minister. When unprecedented occupations of factories by workers occurred around the time of the formation of his cabinet, he forced the representatives of management to approve a simultaneous wage increase, and quickly passed social legislation such as a two-week paid holiday per year and a 40-hour work week in parliament, which were called the "Blum experiment" and the "French New Deal." However, he was unable to overcome the recession and resigned after just over a year. He also served as prime minister for less than a month in 1938. During the Vichy administration, he was detained by the Pétain government, and was in Germany until the end of the war. After the war, he returned to France in glory and served as prime minister for a short period (1946-1947).

[Tetsuya Hirase]

"On Marriage" translated by Eiji Fukunaga and Takeo Shinseki (1951, Davidsha) " "From Man to Man: Reminiscences of Our Popular Front" translated by Yaeko Yoshida (1975, Jinbun Shoin)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの政治家、文学者。富裕なユダヤ商人の次男としてパリに生まれる。高等師範学校(エコール・ノルマル・シュペリュール)に入学したが中退し、パリ大学で文学、法学を学んだ。20余年間参事院判事として法律家の生活を送る一方、文芸批評家として活躍し、女性の性的解放を是認した『結婚について』やスタンダール研究などを発表して話題をよんだ。ドレフュス事件に際してはドレフュス擁護派に加担し、そのなかで社会主義者ジョレスと親交を結んだ。第一次世界大戦勃発(ぼっぱつ)時にジョレスが暗殺されると、これを機に文学から離れて政治に身を投じ、大戦中は公益事業省官房長を務めた。1919年に47歳で初めて下院議員に出馬し当選。1920年の社共分裂に際しては右派の理論的支柱となり、新しい社会党の指導者となった。1930年代に反ファッショ人民戦線が成立し、1936年春の総選挙で左翼が勝利を収めると、第一党の党首として人民戦線内閣の首相に就任した。フランス史上最初の社会主義者の首相であり、最初のユダヤ人首相であった。組閣と前後して起こった労働者による未曽有(みぞう)の工場占拠の際、一斉賃上げを経営者代表に認めさせたほか、年2週間の有給休暇制、週40時間労働制などの社会立法を議会で矢つぎばやに成立させ、「ブルムの実験」、「フランス・ニューディール」とよばれた。しかし、不況克服に成功せず1年余りで退陣した。1938年にも1か月足らず首相を務めた。ビシー政権時代にはペタン政府により拘留され、ドイツで終戦を迎えた。戦後、栄光に包まれて帰国し、短期間（1946～1947）首相を務めた。

［平瀬徹也］

『福永英二・新関嶽雄訳『結婚について』（1951・ダヴィッド社）』▽『吉田八重子訳『人間から人間へ――わが人民戦線の回想』（1975・人文書院）』

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