1936-2026 : 90 ans du Front populaire

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Popular Front, paid holidays and major social reforms. An anniversary celebrating solidarity, popular education and the right to holidays for everyone. 1936: a historic advance for the rights of French women and men In 1936, the victory of the Popular Front, during a period of severe economic crisis and the rise of fascism in Europe, marked a historic advance for the rights of French workers. Paid holidays, one of the defining achievements of the period, gave millions of employees their first real time off, away from the constraints of work. Modest families enjoyed the pleasures of holidays, the sea, the mountains, or simply shared free time. This founding moment in our country’s social history deserves to be honored at its true worth. The National Union of Tourism and Outdoor Associations (UNAT), the National Association for the Coordination of Holiday, Sport and Cultural Activities (ANCAV-SC), the Parcours, Promémo and Léo Lagrange associations, and other local associations are mobilizing throughout the summer to celebrate this anniversary with a friendly program that revives the spirit of that era. Events: ► Exhibition “The Legacy of 1936: Culture, Leisure and Popular Education” Initiated by the Ligue de l’Enseignement, this exhibition traces the cultural impact and societal advances of the period, of which paid holidays were one of the defining symbols. Through posters, testimonies and accounts of first holiday departures, it invites visitors to discover the sweeping transformation in attitudes that characterized the era and also highlights the social struggles that enabled the emergence of this fundamental right: the establishment of paid holidays. ► Screening and Discussion “Summer ’36, the First Holidays for the French” This documentary by Emmanuel Descombes and Georges-Marc Benamou shows the eruption of popular joy associated with the first paid holidays, through archival images and films and numerous testimonies. Two figures are highlighted: Léon Blum, newly elected, who had just granted the French two weeks of paid holiday, and Léo Lagrange, Undersecretary of State for Sports and Leisure. This young deputy from the Nord, with the small team around him and the limited resources at his disposal, went on to democratize leisure and sport. Families packed into trains bound for holiday destinations, beaches filled with amazed faces, the first youth hostels, the voices of the people: everything comes together to relive the intensity of this social upheaval. ► Popular Dance A festive event recreating the atmosphere of workplaces occupied in 1936, which were transformed into dance halls to celebrate the workers’ victory. Built around excerpts from songs from 1934 to 1939, this show portrays both the collective jubilation that swept across France at the time and the threats hanging over the world. JUNE AND JULY Lecture “The Beautiful Illusion”: Sport in Marseille during the Popular Front As part of the History Tuesdays series and in connection with the event “1936–2026, Tribute to the Popular Front.” Tuesday, June 16 at 6 p.m. – Marseille History Museum (1st arrondissement) At the social centers of the Léo Lagrange association Exhibition and popular dance Friday, June 19 from 4 p.m. - Saint-Mauront Social Center (3rd arrondissement) Screening, discussion and popular dance Tuesday, July 7 from 4 p.m. - Panier Social Center (2nd arrondissement) Festival - Exhibition Wednesday, July 6 from 4 p.m. - Saint-Louis Social Center – Cité Campagne Lévêque (15th arrondissement) Screening and discussion Thursday, July 16 from 4 p.m. - Friche de la Belle de mai - 41 rue Jobin (3rd arrondissement) SEPTEMBER Lecture “The Popular Front, from Spain to Provence and Marseille, 1936 to 1938” Tuesday, September 15 at 6 p.m. - Marseille History Museum (1st arrondissement) Find out more And more events to come...