"French Commune" doesn't make sense

[Qatlas]

I think the best name would be Peoples Republic of France (short: PR France),
like comunist Yugoslavia real name SFR Yugoslavia (also in WWW). it means: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

 

[Xyrion]

Considering Paradox is Swedish and that the swedish local government consists of 290 "communes" Im gonna guess they understand the meaning of the word but consider the flair appropriate.

 

[sirrichard]

"Union of French Workers' Councils"?

Very hard to change that for it to make sense, I can see your point.

 

[Bromista]

This name makes sense if you're a native English speaker. I bet they will call it something else in the French localization.

 

[ecololuc]

This name makes sense if you're a native English speaker. I bet they will call it something else in the French localization.

I got this but I sadly can't edit the topic's title. However, it doesn't change the fact that it doesn't make sense to have a "French Commune" ingame.

"Union of French Workers' Councils"?

Very hard to change that for it to make sense, I can see your point.

Well, if I'm not mistaking, the workers' councils were no longer in fashion, the French Communist Party (I'll go for FCP) became plain stalinist around 1930-1931, when Maurice Thorez became the de facto general secretary after a trip to Moscow. During the first years of the decade, the party will oust the "dissidents". And in 1936, the FCP is integrated in the Comintern.

Stalinism is characterized by a strong and autoritarian state and revolves around nationalism (and not internationalism like leninism or trotskyism) and hardcore productivism. If the 1936-1948 FCP took over the country, it would have created something like this. And a stalinist France could have been called French Socialist Republic or People's Republic of France. Both seems good candidates, they respect the french love of the republic, and red France's flag in game uses the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia's flag star so... Or you could use the plain old Communist France, like Nationalist Spain.

 

[kviiri]

I got this but I sadly can't edit the topic's title.

Thread tools --> Edit title

 

[adil3tr]

Worker's Republic of France makes sense, but it being called a commune in reference to the Paris Commune of 1871 makes enough sense.

 

[ecololuc]

Thread tools --> Edit title

Haha it was well hidden, thanks!

Worker's Republic of France makes sense, but it being called a commune in reference to the Paris Commune of 1871 makes enough sense.

And not really, both historically (the 1930' FCP was stalinist and not bakuninist or proudhonian) and logically (it then should be United Communes of France or Federation of French Communes or something like this, but a commune is a city, not a government form).

 

[Clueless636]

It is probably a slight hat tip to Kaiserreich as well.

 

[Super-Soviet]

You guys are assuming that the French will want to copy USSR type naming conventions, but France is a unitary nation state so they won't be a united or union of anything, least of all of communes. There will be just one French Republic.

 

[Sanny]

I would guess it's not a reference to communes as French administrative units, but rather communes as in a collective society. I think it's a general name for Communist countries, like Nationalist Foo is for Fascists.

So all nationalists are fascist?

 

[kviiri]

So all nationalists are fascist?

I never said that. It's a naming pattern used by the game; countries switch to "Nationalist <countryname>" when turning Fascist for countries, except for some with unique names (British Empire for UK, Legionary Romania for Romania, Reorganized Nationalist China for KMT China...). In addition the Non-Aligned Kuomintang China is "Nationalist China".

 

[Nicolas I]

...And really, as a french, it really sounds horrible. Which is sad since a lot of France players will be french players.)

Really as a French you should go back to some history books.

What I learned in history courses and history books, French history books by the way, is that La Commune refers to both the early revolutionary government of French revolution and the leftist insurrection movement of 1871.

Here: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commune_de_Paris_(Révolution_française)
Here: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commune_de_Paris_(1871)

So it would be plausible that to rally people around a French communist government they instrumentalize (manipulate) this historic name and the symbols it conveys.

If after that they turn in another stalinist obedient satellite, this is another story.


PS Also to re-translate in French a French name used in english and pretend it don't fit makes no sense.

Bonus: The song La commune est en lutte, interpreted by Isabelle Huppert (renowned French actress).

 

[Nicolas I]

La Commune est en lutte (Jean-Roger Caussimon)

Sans doute, mon amour, on n’a pas eu de chance
Il y avait la guerre
Et nous avions vingt ans
L’hiver de 70 fut hiver de souffrance
Et pire est la misère
En ce nouveau printemps...
Les lilas vont fleurir les hauteurs de Belleville
Les versants de la Butte
Et le Bois de Meudon...
Nous irons les cueillir en des temps plus faciles...
La Commune est en lutte
Et demain, nous vaincrons...

Nous avons entendu la voix des camarades :
"Les Versaillais infâmes
Approchent de Paris..."
Tu m’as dit : "Avec toi, je vais aux barricades
La place d’une femme
Est près de son mari..."
Quand le premier de nous est tombé sur les pierres
En dernière culbute
Une balle en plein front
Sur lui, tu t’es penchée pour fermer ses paupières...
La Commune est en lutte
Et demain, nous vaincrons...

Ouvriers, paysans, unissons nos colères
Malheur à qui nous vole
En nous avilissant...
Nous voulons le respect et de justes salaires
Et le seuil des écoles
Ouvert à nos enfants...
Nos parents ne savaient ni lire ni écrire
On les traitait de brutes
Ils acceptaient l’affront...
L’Égalité, la vraie, est à qui la désire...
La Commune est en lutte
Et demain, nous vaincrons...

Les valets des tyrans étaient en plus grand nombre
Il a fallu nous rendre
On va nous fusiller
Mais notre cri d’espoir qui va jaillir de l’ombre
Le monde va l’entendre
Et ne plus l’oublier...
Soldats, obéissez aux ordres de vos maîtres
Que l’on nous exécute
En nous visant au cœur
De notre sang versé, la Liberté va naître...
La Commune est en lutte
Et nous sommes vainqueurs...

 

[ecololuc]

Really as a French you should go back to some history books.

It only refers to the Paris Commune, no matter when, France was still named Royaume de France or République Française.

And you sir should read the whole two pages before posting, it's not plausible at all according to the FCP's culture and ideas at that time.

(And I too love the Commune and its memories make me dream and think of a better world, but it's not the point here. I want my game to be plausible, for fantasy setups you can still use mods.)

 

[Shatterfury]

Let`s listen to the French fellow, he was first hand information.

If you say that the French communists become Stalinists why not French Soviet Republic ? There was Soviet Hungary, why not Soviet France ?

 

[kviiri]

Let`s listen to the French fellow, he was first hand information.

I think it's a stretch to assume anyone who's French has intricate knowledge of 1930's communist circles...

 

[Gamengervi]

I think it's a stretch to assume anyone who's French has intricate knowledge of 1930's communist circles...

What true Frenchman doesn't have an intricate knowledge of of 1930s communist circles?

 

[ecololuc]

Let`s listen to the French fellow, he was first hand information.

If you say that the French communists become Stalinists why not French Soviet Republic ? There was Soviet Hungary, why not Soviet France ?

I'm not sure about it but the real soviets - the autonomous peoples' and workers' councils - were quickly silenced by the bolchevik government. I know there is a famous anecdote (through I don't remember it correctly) where after the revolution a soviet rebelled because they wanted to act like a real soviet (local decisions by the people) and Lenin sent the army against them. And Stalin was even worse when his power was challenged, so I don't think that a stalinist party would really call for soviets apart to use their heritage for propaganda. And I don't remember seeing the term soviets used in French Communist Party's rhetoric, but I might be wrong.

What true Frenchman doesn't have an intricate knowledge of of 1930s communist circles?

Haha this is absolutely true! But, in my case, aside the fact that I'm quite fond of history and politically a monstrous leftist, I'm also working on a dissertation about the "geopolitics of cinema in the intellectuals' and professionals' discourses in the french press and radio after the WW2" for my master's degree, and since something like half the journals, newspapers and intellectuals were communists or at least socialists, I have a good idea of what is the background around 1940 to 1960.

I'll try to find some archives regarding the communist party programme in the 1930' on online archive websites this evening in order to have a confirmation of it and maybe some clues about what they precisely wanted to do at the time, but I'm pretty sure that, at least, they didn't called for a french commune.

 

[Mug Bubule]

It only refers to the Paris Commune, no matter when, France was still named Royaume de France or République Française.

And you sir should read the whole two pages before posting, it's not plausible at all according to the FCP's culture and ideas at that time.

(And I too love the Commune and its memories make me dream and think of a better world, but it's not the point here. I want my game to be plausible, for fantasy setups you can still use mods.)

Non, non et encore non. French Commune est totalement valable. Comme martelé plusieurs fois, c'est une référence à la Commune de Paris. Rien à voir avec l'aspect administratif de la chose.

Tout comme il y a eu une Commune de Paris, il peut y avoir une Commune de France. Si c'est aujourd'hui énormément connoté, ça n'a pas toujours été le cas. Tu peux jeter un coups d'oeil sur le site du CNRTL.

Dans ce cas, c'est une forme de gouvernement. L'aspect hautement symbolique de la Commune pour les communistes rends ce nom d'autant plus problable. Au pire, si ça te fais tiquer, Union of French Communes, ou quelque chose du même genre. Mais moi ça ne me pose aucun problème.

tl;dr : He's wrong.