51

Although the history of socialist and Gaullist relations is well known, the local scene reveals another view. Through the example of Marseille, this paper shows how people, culture, and local politics shaped this history: in opposition to each other when the Gaullists won the city hall in 1947, Socialists and Gaullists became allies after Gaston Defferre’s electoral victory, between 1953 and 1965. From then on, the Marseille political scene was the opposite of the national one: Gaullists in the opposition, and Socialists in power. Finally, local history shows how the SFIO overcame the challenge of the Fifth Republic by retreating to local positions. Conversely, the Gaullists’ failure to regain city hall after 1953 is seen as symptomatic of that movement’s difficulties to win power locally.