Gaston Monmousseau

Gaston Monmousseau (17 January 1883) is French railway worker, trade union leader, politician and author, from a rural working-class background. He served as Chairman of the Commune of France from 1919-1927 and was instrumental in the establishment of the Federation.

Early Life
Gaston Monmousseau was born on 17 January 1883 in Luynes, Indre-et-Loire. His parents were Jean and Marie-Silvine Monmousseau. In his autobiography he describes himself as coming from a family of serfs attached to the Duke of Luynes. His grandfather was a Republican during the Second French Empire and his father was a radical after the Paris Commune, then a socialist against the decay of radicalism, and then a communist against the decay of socialism. Gaston Monmousseau grew up in the village of Azay-sur-Cher. After leaving school he apprenticed with a carpenter in Luynes, then moved to Tours where he worked as a carpenter. Although he had no more than elementary education, he later managed to teach himself to write and speak effectively.

Work within the CGT
In 1910 Monmousseau became a railway worker in Paris and quickly became a major leader in the local Railworkers Union. He adopted an Anarcho-Syndicalist ideology and became an important figure within the CGT. By 1913 he was a leader of an anti-war rally in Paris. During the Weltkrieg he served in railway maintenance. With the 1917 Russian Revolution Monmousseau became much more active in left wing politics, being inspired by Lenin's revolution. At the last pre-Commune congress of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT: Confédération générale du travail), held in Lyon from 15–21 September 1919, Monmousseau was among the leaders of the majority, with Pierre Monatte, Raymond Péricat and Joseph Tommasi who wanted to push the CGT in a more revolutionary direction and establish a dictatorship of the Proletariat.

Revolutionary Leader
As a working class leader and a major union figure Gaston Monmousseau was elected Chairman of the CGT during the 1919 congress and lead the union in a revolutionary direction against the French Republic. Monmousseau was responsible for negotiating the peace with Germany. Though the concessions were unpopular with the public they were necessary in order to protect the revolution from being snuffed out by the Germans. As the Chairman throughout the French Civil war Monmousseau became one of the most famous figures of the third French Revolution and when his position was up for re-election he was elected with a unanimous vote. In 1927 he willing stepped down in order to encourage internal democracy and to retire for the time being.