Léon Blum remains here, at length and breadth, an illustrious unknown. In fact, even in France, his name remains mainly attached to a few clichés, including the totem of compulsory and paid leave of 1936. However, he is one of the most fascinating characters of the first half of the 20th century.e century. Born in Paris in 1872, into a Jewish family, a pure product of republican meritocracy, a gifted student, a talented writer, he turned towards committed, enlightened and democratic socialism (anti-Bolshevik from the start), then chaired the Council of ministers of the Popular Front in the 1930s before being deported to Buchenwald and returning to state affairs before his death in 1950. This very informative biography, richly illustrated, taken from a podcast documentary series produced by France Inter, at the same time allows a journey through the debates and battles of a crazy era marked by the totalitarian temptation and two apocalyptic self-destructions of Europe.
To watch on video