Robert Hue
Encyclopedia
Robert Hue, in full Robert Georges Auguste Hue (born October 19, 1946), is a French
politician
who was National Secretary of the French Communist Party
(PCF) from 1994 to 2001 and President of the PCF from 2001 to 2002. He served as a Deputy in the National Assembly of France from 1997 to 2002, and he has served in the Senate of France since 2004.
Hue was a candidate in the 1995 presidential election
, in which he received 8.7 % of the vote, and in the 2002 presidential election
, in which he won 3.37%.
He is married to Marie-Edith, and he is father of two (Charles and Cécilia).
, Val-d'Oise
in 1946. His family professed Communist beliefs, and Hue, as a child, sold issues of the Party newspaper, L'Humanité
. He studied at the technical college in Cormeilles-en-Parisis
, sang in a rock band
called Les Rapaces under the alias Willy Barton, and practiced judo
(winning an intercollegiate medal and receiving a black belt
nidan
).
Age sixteen (1962), he entered the youth section of the PCF, and then the Party itself. After studying in Paris
and becoming an orderly
, he was employed in a psychiatrical
institution in Argenteuil
.
Close to Georges Marchais
, Hue climbed the steps in the Party hierarchy, being also elected mayor of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
in 1977. He was to be reelected for all possible terms, until 2001. In February 1981, he was brought briefly under the spotlight, by starting a campaign against a family of immigrants, whom he had accused of selling drugs (a "charge" that was based mainly on hearsay
). This seemed strange to the public opinion in France, as Hue had been (and was to remain) a strict follower of the Party lines.
In 1987, Hue joined the Party's Central Committee
and, in 1990, its Politburo
. In 1994, while still largely unknown, Hue was appointed successor by Georges Marchais. Hue changed renamed the office of Secretary General "National Secretary" in an effort to refresh the party's image. He did become quite well known only a few hours later, when he uttered a famous lapsus linguae
: I'm not nobody's pawn.
, faced with the rapid erosion of his Party, Robert Hue started a series of political transformations: openness to other political movements, discarding of several doctrines, a double-headed Party executive (with Hue as President and Marie-George Buffet
as National Secretary), etc. He made his approach public through his book, Communisme : la mutation.
Robert Hue's low percentage in 1995 is explained by the competition from Workers' Struggle
, but it was still more than André Lajoinie
's result in 1988. In 1997, he stood by the idea of Gauche Plurielle ("Pluralist Left") which brought the leftist politics back in power with Lionel Jospin
; Hue became a deputy, and the government included a number of Communists.
However, the Party was falling out of favor with the public: from over 200,000 members in 1998, it dropped to 138,000 in 2001. The Party lost a good deal of allegiancies during the 2001 municipal elections.
Hue created and assumed in 2001 the title of President of the Party. His successor as National secretary of the party was Marie-George Buffet
.
The poor result in 2002 made rightwing extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen
cheer the death of the Communist force. In fact, the outcome was so bad that the Party did not have anything to show for the money it had invested in its campaign, and verged on financial collapse. Hue resigned the Presidency while the Party appealed to the generosity of its members. The Presidency was suppressed, the National Secretary (Buffet) remaining as the Party's sole leader.
Member of European Parliament
: 1999-2000 (Resignation). Elected in 1999.
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Val d'Oise : 1997-2002. Elected in 1997.
Senate of France
Senator of Val d'Oise : Since 2004. Elected in 2004.
Regional Council
Regional councillor of Ile-de-France
: 1986-1988 (Resignation) / 1992-1993 (Resignation). Reelected in 1992.
General Council
General councillor of Val d'Oise : 1988-1998 (Resignation). Reelected in 1994.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
: 1977-2009 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2008.
Municipal councillor of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
: 1977-2009 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2008.
Political functions
President of the French Communist Party
: 2001-2002.
National Secretary of the French Communist Party
: 1994-2001.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician
Politics of France
France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
who was National Secretary of the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
(PCF) from 1994 to 2001 and President of the PCF from 2001 to 2002. He served as a Deputy in the National Assembly of France from 1997 to 2002, and he has served in the Senate of France since 2004.
Hue was a candidate in the 1995 presidential election
French presidential election, 1995
Presidential elections took place in France on 23 April and 7 May 1995, to elect the fifth president of the Fifth Republic.The incumbent Socialist president, François Mitterrand, did not stand for a third term. He was 78, had cancer, and his party had lost the previous legislative election in a...
, in which he received 8.7 % of the vote, and in the 2002 presidential election
French presidential election, 2002
The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates on 5 May 2002. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of international attention because of Le Pen's unexpected appearance in...
, in which he won 3.37%.
He is married to Marie-Edith, and he is father of two (Charles and Cécilia).
Early activities
Hue was born at Cormeilles-en-ParisisCormeilles-en-Parisis
Cormeilles-en-Parisis is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in Northern France.Inhabitants are called Cormeillais.-Neighboring communes:* Argenteuil* La Frette-sur-Seine* Franconville* Herblay* Montigny-lès-Cormeilles...
, Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department, created in 1968 after the split of the Seine-et-Oise department and located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "quatre-vingt quinze" or "neuf cinq"...
in 1946. His family professed Communist beliefs, and Hue, as a child, sold issues of the Party newspaper, L'Humanité
L'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...
. He studied at the technical college in Cormeilles-en-Parisis
Cormeilles-en-Parisis
Cormeilles-en-Parisis is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in Northern France.Inhabitants are called Cormeillais.-Neighboring communes:* Argenteuil* La Frette-sur-Seine* Franconville* Herblay* Montigny-lès-Cormeilles...
, sang in a rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
called Les Rapaces under the alias Willy Barton, and practiced judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
(winning an intercollegiate medal and receiving a black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
nidan
Dan rank
The ranking system is a Japanese mark of level, which is used in modern fine arts and martial arts. Originally invented in a Go school in the Edo period, this system was applied to martial arts by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo and later introduced to other East Asia countries.In the modern...
).
Age sixteen (1962), he entered the youth section of the PCF, and then the Party itself. After studying in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and becoming an orderly
Orderly
A medical orderly , is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and/or nursing staff with various nursing and/or medical interventions. These duties are classified as routine tasks involving no risk for the patient.- Job details :Orderlies are often utilized in various hospital...
, he was employed in a psychiatrical
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
institution in Argenteuil
Argenteuil
Argenteuil is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil....
.
Close to Georges Marchais
Georges Marchais
Georges René Louis Marchais was the head of the French Communist Party from 1972 to 1994, and a candidate in the French presidential elections of 1981 - in which he managed to garner only 15.34% of the vote, which was considered at the time a major setback for the party.-Early life:Born into a...
, Hue climbed the steps in the Party hierarchy, being also elected mayor of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
Montigny-lès-Cormeilles is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 30 March 1922, a part of the territory of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Taverny and a part of the territory of...
in 1977. He was to be reelected for all possible terms, until 2001. In February 1981, he was brought briefly under the spotlight, by starting a campaign against a family of immigrants, whom he had accused of selling drugs (a "charge" that was based mainly on hearsay
Hearsay
Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...
). This seemed strange to the public opinion in France, as Hue had been (and was to remain) a strict follower of the Party lines.
In 1987, Hue joined the Party's Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
and, in 1990, its Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
. In 1994, while still largely unknown, Hue was appointed successor by Georges Marchais. Hue changed renamed the office of Secretary General "National Secretary" in an effort to refresh the party's image. He did become quite well known only a few hours later, when he uttered a famous lapsus linguae
Lapsus
A lapsus is an involuntary mistake made while writing or speaking. According to Freud's early psychoanalytic theory, a lapsus represents a missed deed that hides an unconscious desire....
: I'm not nobody's pawn.
Hue and Party reform
After the fall of the Berlin WallBerlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, faced with the rapid erosion of his Party, Robert Hue started a series of political transformations: openness to other political movements, discarding of several doctrines, a double-headed Party executive (with Hue as President and Marie-George Buffet
Marie-George Buffet
Marie-George Buffet is a French politician. She was the head of the French Communist Party from 2001 to 2010. She joined the Party in 1969, and was the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports from June 4, 1997 to May 5, 2002. Ms...
as National Secretary), etc. He made his approach public through his book, Communisme : la mutation.
Robert Hue's low percentage in 1995 is explained by the competition from Workers' Struggle
Workers' Struggle
Lutte Ouvrière is the usual name under which the Union Communiste , a French Trotskyist political party, is known, after the name of its weekly paper. Arlette Laguiller has been its spokeswoman since 1973 and has run in each presidential election, but Robert Barcia was its founder and central...
, but it was still more than André Lajoinie
André Lajoinie
André Lajoinie is a French politician, and a member of the French Communist Party .He was a member of the French National Assembly for Allier from 1978 to 1993, then from 1997 to 2002, and was president of the Communist group in the Assembly from 1981 to 1993.A close collaborator of party leader...
's result in 1988. In 1997, he stood by the idea of Gauche Plurielle ("Pluralist Left") which brought the leftist politics back in power with Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
; Hue became a deputy, and the government included a number of Communists.
However, the Party was falling out of favor with the public: from over 200,000 members in 1998, it dropped to 138,000 in 2001. The Party lost a good deal of allegiancies during the 2001 municipal elections.
Hue created and assumed in 2001 the title of President of the Party. His successor as National secretary of the party was Marie-George Buffet
Marie-George Buffet
Marie-George Buffet is a French politician. She was the head of the French Communist Party from 2001 to 2010. She joined the Party in 1969, and was the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports from June 4, 1997 to May 5, 2002. Ms...
.
The poor result in 2002 made rightwing extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
cheer the death of the Communist force. In fact, the outcome was so bad that the Party did not have anything to show for the money it had invested in its campaign, and verged on financial collapse. Hue resigned the Presidency while the Party appealed to the generosity of its members. The Presidency was suppressed, the National Secretary (Buffet) remaining as the Party's sole leader.
Political career
European ParliamentMember of European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
: 1999-2000 (Resignation). Elected in 1999.
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Val d'Oise : 1997-2002. Elected in 1997.
Senate of France
Senator of Val d'Oise : Since 2004. Elected in 2004.
Regional Council
Regional councillor of Ile-de-France
Île-de-France (région)
Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
: 1986-1988 (Resignation) / 1992-1993 (Resignation). Reelected in 1992.
General Council
General councillor of Val d'Oise : 1988-1998 (Resignation). Reelected in 1994.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
Montigny-lès-Cormeilles is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 30 March 1922, a part of the territory of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Taverny and a part of the territory of...
: 1977-2009 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2008.
Municipal councillor of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
Montigny-lès-Cormeilles
Montigny-lès-Cormeilles is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 30 March 1922, a part of the territory of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Taverny and a part of the territory of...
: 1977-2009 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2008.
Political functions
President of the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
: 2001-2002.
National Secretary of the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
: 1994-2001.
Works
- Histoire d'un village du Parisis des origines à la Révolution (1981)
- Du village à la ville (1986)
- Montigny pendant la Révolution (1989)
- Communisme : la mutation (1995)
- Il faut qu'on se parle (1997)
- Communisme : un nouveau projet (1999)