French Communist Party

The French Communist Party was founded in 1920.

They have a daily newspaper called L'Humanité, which was started in 1904. Their manifesto has great emphasis on the worker, and their party policies derive from Karl Marx. Robert Hue is the current leader of the party and received only 3.37% of the votes in the 2002 presidential elections, placing 11th in a field of 15 candidates. The party's public image was seriously damaged when it openly supported the Moscow trials and Stalin's terror during the Cold War. Among their most prominent members was Pablo Picasso, who joined the PCF in 1944, and remained an active member until his death. Each September, the party holds the "Fête de l'Humanité", a large party. During the 1940's and 50's the Cambodian dictator Pol Pot also was a member.