Eams said:
What, even Scandinavia's turned rightist?
Nope, you're right to point this out, all of Scandinavian nations are Social Democracies, with the exception of Finland which is Conservative. But I always felt social dialog and demands in Scandinavian nations never saw the same excesses as central/Western Europe. The French Communist Party has always been closely associated and subordinated to the Soviet Union, for example - hardly a model in our timeline, and even worse in the "Crossfires" timeline. They're heavy in the "world revolution" department, and light in the "running the country responsibly" one.
In France, having Communist ministers was still a big issue for many in 1981, despite of the past and not unsuccessful experiences of 1936 and 1946. Nowadays, of course, it wouldn't make the headlines, because the French Communist Party (or what little is left of it) has ceased to either frighten or fascinate, and because they have radically changed their perspectives when compared to even 1979.
As for the 1936 Popular Front, it was made possible only because Communists were seen as anti-Fascists. In the "Crossfires" timeline, all the goodwill Communists have earned in 1936, fighting Spanish Fascism, has evaporated only one year after. The Communist Party has been made illegal just as it had reached enough stature to run local governments, so "Crossfires" Communists still lack popular support coming from honorable records in running cities, local governments or ministries, and the necessary dose of realism that would have come from such an experience. Therefore, I think they'll be longer to wake up to these responsibilities than historically, and that French society will also be longer in seeing them as just another batch of political activists.