The French new left and the Cuban revolution 1959-1971: parallel histories?

Abstract

This article revisits the reception given to the Cuban Revolution by the French New Left in the 1960s. It does so by describing the dominant currents of the French New Left and the various attractions that the Revolution held in it throughout the decade. The article argues that the reasons for the New Left’s continuing interest in Cuba changed during the 1960s in ways that mimicked Cuba’s own development. In addition, the article argues that two key concepts dominated the New Left’s interest in Cuba. The first was the issue of the Third World, which Cuba represented, whereas the second was the question of the intellectual. The eventual distancing of the French New Left from Cuba was compounded by failure to find a resolution to these definitions.