Confédération Générale du Travail-Syndicaliste Révolutionnaire


The Confédération Générale du Travail-Syndicaliste Révolutionnaire was a trade union federation in France founded in 1926 by Pierre Besnard with the help of the Spanish CNT. It was affiliated to the International Workers' Association.
It was an anarchist split from the Confédération générale du travail unitaire and was made illegal in 1939.

Theoretical Legacy

Its legacy comprises the charter of Lyons, which founded anti-political syndicalism.

Syndicalist Activity

It took part in the major struggles of its time, like anti-colonialism, the strikes of June 1936 in France, or the support to Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War and the resistance to the Nazis.
The CGT-SR actively opposed French colonialism, both in Algeria and in France. For the occasion of the centenary of the colonisation of Algeria, in 1930, a declaration denouncing colonialism was signed by the Union Anarchiste, the CGT-SR and the Association des Fédéralistes Anarchistes.

Famous members