La Vérité
La Vérité is a French Trotskyist journal founded in 1929 that has served as a political newspaper and, since 1990, as a theoretical review associated with efforts to rebuild the Fourth International.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
La Vérité, meaning “The Truth,” is a French Trotskyist political journal and one of the earliest publications associated with the international Trotskyist movement. Its first issue appeared on 15 August 1929, following efforts led by Leon Trotsky to consolidate French militants opposed to the bureaucratic direction of the French Communist Party. The title deliberately echoed the name of the Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda, while expressing the Trotskyist conviction that confronting workers with an unvarnished account of their political and social conditions was a revolutionary task. The journal began as a weekly publication of the Communist Opposition. In 1930 it became the organ of the Communist League, a separate organization formed by militants who had been excluded from or had broken with the French Communist Party. In the mid-1930s the publication was connected to the Bolshevik-Leninist current inside the French Section of the Workers' International. This phase ended in January 1936, when the Bolshevik-Leninists were expelled amid conflicts over the Popular Front and the changing relationship between socialists and Stalinists. The original run ended with issue 255. A new series appeared in 1938 under the Internationalist Communist Party. That series was short-lived: its publishers entered Marceau Pivert's Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party in 1938, were expelled in 1939, and issued only six numbers before the outbreak of the Second World War. Under the German occupation, La Vérité was revived as an underground newspaper by the French Committees for the Fourth International. Its first clandestine issue was dated 30 August 1940, making it one of the earliest publications of the French Resistance and, according to the journal's historical account, the first clandestine newspaper of the French press. The clandestine paper initially relied on typed and mimeographed copies. From its twentieth issue it generally printed approximately 3,000 copies, although some issues had smaller or irregular print runs. Marcel Hic oversaw publication until his arrest in October 1943. The journal's wartime political work focused on opposition to fascism, imperialism, war, forced labor deportations, racism and antisemitism. It supported resistance to the Compulsory Work Service, including efforts to obstruct deportation trains, encourage production sabotage and help workers evade forced labor. It also published early and forceful denunciations of antisemitism, called for solidarity with Jews imprisoned at Drancy, and in May 1943 reported on Auschwitz using testimony from an escapee. After the liberation of France, La Vérité faced a prolonged legal and material struggle. Although the clandestine press received formal recognition and the Internationalist Communist Party became legal in June 1945, the paper was not legalized immediately. Pressure from sections of the established Communist press and disputes over whether its political line sufficiently supported France and its wartime allies contributed to the delay. Because paper remained rationed, the publication used the designation “internal bulletin” through issue 110 before obtaining legal status in 1946. The journal's institutional identity changed again after the 1952 crisis in the Internationalist Communist Party. The majority associated with Pierre Lambert rejected the Fourth International's line on entry into Communist and Socialist parties and retained La Vérité. The minority around Pierre Frank published La Vérité des travailleurs from August 1952. The Lambertist publication continued in newspaper form until 1958. Later, La Vérité became linked to the International Committee of the Fourth International and, after international discussions about reconstructing the Fourth International, was relaunched in November 1990 as the Theoretical Review of the Fourth International. It was renumbered from issue one and translated into languages including Portuguese, Spanish and English. Its modern identity is therefore less that of a mass-circulation newspaper than of a political and theoretical review circulated through organizations connected with the international Trotskyist tradition.
History
La Vérité was launched in Paris on 15 August 1929 as a weekly newspaper of the French Communist Opposition. Its creation followed Leon Trotsky's discussions with French militants including Alfred Rosmer, Raymond Molinier, Pierre Barozine, Jan van Heijenoort, Pierre Frank, Pierre Naville and Gérard Rosenthal. The publication sought to unite militants who opposed the bureaucratic leadership of the French Communist Party, whether they remained inside the party or had already been excluded. Trotsky helped shape its political purpose and defended the title as a declaration that truthful political analysis could have revolutionary consequences. By April 1930, La Vérité had become the organ of the Communist League. A separate theoretical periodical, La Lutte de Classe, continued alongside it. In 1934 the Communist League's militants entered the French Section of the Workers' International, and La Vérité became associated with its Bolshevik-Leninist faction. The faction grew influential in internal debates, but the shift toward a Popular Front alliance between socialists and Stalinists made the Trotskyists increasingly unwelcome. Their expulsion in January 1936 ended the first series, which stopped at issue 255. The Internationalist Communist Party revived the title in January 1938 as a theoretical magazine with a new numbering sequence. Its publishers joined the Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party in October of that year, but the party expelled the Trotskyist militants in June 1939. The new series ended after six issues in August 1939. A third and historically significant phase began during the German occupation. On 30 August 1940, the French Committees for the Fourth International issued another La Vérité clandestinely. Marcel Hic directed its production until his arrest in October 1943. The first 19 issues were typed and reproduced by mimeograph; from issue 20 the paper generally printed around 3,000 copies per issue, subject to exceptions. It served as a means of political communication and organization under occupation, campaigning against fascism, forced labor, imperialism, racism and antisemitism. Its campaigns against the Compulsory Work Service encouraged resistance among workers sent to Germany, including sabotage and obstruction of deportation trains. By 1943, the network also helped people evade forced labor by going into hiding. The paper treated antisemitism as a central part of fascist barbarism. It published an anti-antisemitic statement in its first issue, later denounced the persecution of Jews at Drancy, and called for organized solidarity with imprisoned Jewish workers and militants. In May 1943, issue 45 carried an account of Auschwitz based on testimony from a person who had escaped the camp. The report was later cited through Radio Londres, although the attribution to La Vérité was not fully preserved in the broadcast. After the fall of the Vichy regime, the Trotskyists reorganized in the Internationalist Communist Party and issued dozens of regular and special editions. The restored French authorities initially acknowledged that the publication met the formal conditions associated with the clandestine press, but legalization was delayed until 1946. The paper was kept from using rationed paper stocks and circulated as an “internal bulletin” through issue 110. The dispute reflected both administrative restrictions and political hostility from the established Communist press, which attacked the Trotskyists and questioned their wartime legitimacy. A major crisis in the Internationalist Communist Party in July 1952 divided the movement over the tactic of entry into Communist and Socialist parties. The majority around Pierre Lambert rejected the policy adopted by the Fourth International and retained La Vérité. The minority around Pierre Frank published La Vérité des travailleurs from August 1952. The Lambertist version continued as a newspaper until November 1958. Subsequent developments connected the publication with the International Committee of the Fourth International and with campaigns to reconstruct the Fourth International. In 1972, an international conference helped establish the Organizing Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International, involving organizations from Europe and Latin America. In November 1990, La Vérité was relaunched as the Theoretical Review of the Fourth International. It started a new numbering sequence and was translated into languages including Portuguese, Spanish and English. The publication's long history therefore encompasses several distinct formats and organizational affiliations, but maintains a continuous identity within currents of French and international Trotskyism.
- 1990
Becomes a theoretical review
[1]The title was relaunched as the Theoretical Review of the Fourth International and began wider multilingual circulation.
- 1972
International reconstruction project advances
[1]An international conference contributed to the formation of the Organizing Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International.
- 1958
Newspaper phase ends
[1]The Lambertist newspaper edition continued until November 1958.
- 1952
Publication retained after party split
[1]The majority faction of the Internationalist Communist Party retained La Vérité after the movement's major split.
- 1946
Legalization achieved
[1]After postwar restrictions, the publication was legally recognized in France.
- 1943
Auschwitz report published
[1]Issue 45 reported on Auschwitz using testimony from an escapee.
- 1940
Clandestine publication resumes
[1]La Vérité reappeared underground during the German occupation and became a publication of the French Resistance.
- 1938
New series begins
[1]The Internationalist Communist Party revived the title as a theoretical magazine with a new series numbering.
- 1936
First series ends
[1]The original newspaper ceased publication at issue 255 after the expulsion of the Bolshevik-Leninist faction.
- 1930
Organ of the Communist League
[1]The journal became the official organ of the Communist League after the group separated from the French Communist Party.
Products and positioning
A Trotskyist political publication positioned as an oppositional voice within the labor movement, first against the bureaucratization of the French Communist Party and later as a vehicle for the political and theoretical reconstruction of the Fourth International.
Political newspaper · 1929
La Vérité weekly newspaper
The original French-language weekly established in 1929. It functioned as the press organ of successive Trotskyist organizations and addressed Communist Party bureaucracy, labor politics, the Popular Front and the struggle to build the Fourth International.
Underground resistance newspaper · 1940
Clandestine La Vérité
The occupation-era edition published clandestinely from 1940. It combined political reporting with practical calls for resistance to fascism, forced labor deportations, racism and antisemitism. Early issues were typed and mimeographed, while later issues were generally printed in larger clandestine runs.
Theoretical political journal · 1990
Theoretical Review of the Fourth International
The post-1990 form of La Vérité, relaunched with new numbering and focused on political theory, international Trotskyist strategy and the project of reconstructing the Fourth International. The review has also appeared in translated editions, including Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Marketing campaigns
- 1942Opposition to Compulsory Work Service deportations
France · Germany
La Vérité called for resistance to the forced transfer of French workers to Germany, including production sabotage, demonstrations and blockades of deportation trains. From 1943, its network also supported hiding people who refused the service.
Outcome. The campaign became one of the publication's defining wartime political interventions, although no independent measure of its reach is provided.
- 1941Campaign against antisemitism
France
The journal condemned antisemitism as a doctrine of fascist barbarism, reported on Jewish prisoners at Drancy and urged workers to organize solidarity with Jewish victims of persecution.
Outcome. The campaign continued through the occupation and included an early report on Auschwitz in 1943.
- 1940Resistance to fascism and occupation
France
The clandestine journal organized political opposition to Nazi occupation and the Vichy order, linking anti-fascist resistance to international socialist revolution.
Outcome. The campaign helped maintain an underground Trotskyist press until liberation.
Brand decisions
1990
Relaunched as a theoretical reviewGeneration changeBackground
Organizations associated with the reconstruction of the Fourth International sought a common theoretical and international publication.
Action taken
La Vérité was renumbered and repositioned as the Theoretical Review of the Fourth International, with multilingual translations.
Aftermath
The title's principal role shifted from a French political newspaper to an international theoretical journal.
1952
Retained the title after the Internationalist Communist Party splitStrategyBackground
The party divided over the Fourth International's policy of entry into Communist and Socialist parties.
Action taken
The majority around Pierre Lambert continued publishing La Vérité, while the minority launched La Vérité des travailleurs.
Aftermath
The newspaper continued in the Lambertist current until 1958 and later evolved into a theoretical review.
1930
Adopted as the Communist League's organStrategyBackground
The Communist Opposition developed into an organization separate from the French Communist Party.
Action taken
La Vérité became the organization's principal political newspaper.
Aftermath
The title remained attached to successive Trotskyist organizations as their structures changed.
Recent events
- 1990
La Vérité is relaunched as a theoretical review[1]
Product generation
The journal was renumbered and repositioned as the Theoretical Review of the Fourth International, with translation and distribution in several languages.
- 1952
The 1952 split produces a rival publication[1]
Leadership change · Other
After a major division in the Internationalist Communist Party, the majority retained La Vérité while the minority began publishing La Vérité des travailleurs.
- 1946
The publication is legalized after the war[1]
Regulation
Following a period in which it circulated under the label “internal bulletin,” La Vérité obtained legal publication status in postwar France.
- 1943
La Vérité reports on Auschwitz[1]
Other
Issue 45, dated 20 May, published testimony describing Auschwitz and its conditions, making an early denunciation of the camp in the occupied European press.
- 1940
A clandestine La Vérité appears under the Occupation[1]
Product launch · Campaign
The publication resumed on 30 August as an underground newspaper of the French Committees for the Fourth International and addressed resistance to Nazi occupation.
- 1930
La Vérité becomes the organ of the Communist League[1]
Other
The journal became the official publication of the newly established Communist League, a distinct organization of the French Communist Opposition.
- 1929
La Vérité begins publication in France[1]
Product launch
The first issue of the French-language Trotskyist publication appeared on 15 August, emerging from efforts to organize opponents of the French Communist Party leadership.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/la-vérité · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled