French General Confederation of Labour

The French General Confederation of Labour appears in the account of the planned general strike in Italy on July 20, 1919. Its last-minute withdrawal helped leave Italian workers isolated as they gathered in Milan in support of their Russian comrades.

The July 1919 Strike

The strike was presented as an expression of solidarity with workers in Russia. On the morning of July 20, a crowd assembled at the Labor Office on Via Manfredo Fanti, in premises made available by the Humanitarian Society. The account describes a festive gathering rather than a mutiny: workers enjoyed an unexpected morning of idleness while mounted troops patrolled nearby streets.

Withdrawal and Its Consequence

The French General Confederation of Labour backed out of the planned action at the last moment; British trade unions did the same. The withdrawals left Italian workers to support their Russian counterparts without the international participation anticipated by the strike’s organizers. The account gives no reason for the French union’s decision and identifies no individual leaders or internal debate around it.

Place in the Narrative

The organization is mentioned only in this episode, as part of the international labor context against which the Milan gathering unfolds. Its withdrawal sharpens the contrast between the scale of the workers’ solidarity with Russia and their isolation in practice; the account does not describe further actions by the union.