Early career He was born in
Montluçon, in
Allier as the youngest son of
Jean Dormoy, a shoemaker and activist of the
French Workers' Party, who later became the first socialist mayor of Montluçon. René Marx Dormoy (called Marx after
Karl Marx) attended local schools and became active in politics. He was elected mayor of his native town in 1926. He was elected in 1931 as representative of the
Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière (SFIO) to the
French National Assembly from the
Allier département.
Popular Front A member of the
Popular Front's government, cabinet secretary to
Léon Blum, he played a part in negotiating the
Matignon Accords. From 1936 to 1938 he was
Minister of the Interior (replacing
Roger Salengro). He worked to suppress violent far right groups such as the
Cagoule. He used his authority to depose
Jacques Doriot, mayor of
Saint-Denis, arguing that the Saint-Denis
commune had become the site of anti-
republican agitation. He opposed
illegal immigration of
Eastern European political refugees to France. On 16 March 1937, Dormoy provoked a crisis inside the Popular Front. The
French Police opened fire on a crowd protesting against a
Croix-de-Feu rally in
Clichy, after the event had degenerated into disorder. Dormoy was subsequently attacked by
Trotskyist groups and by
Maurice Thorez, the leader of the
French Communist Party, who held him responsible for the casualties, as Dormoy had initially authorised the
Croix-de-Feu to march in the city. Dormoy was backed by
Léon Blum, and a
motion of confidence was passed in the Parliament on 23 March. In November 1937, Dormoy ordered the arrest of 70 members of
La Cagoule after the police infiltrated the far-right organization. It had been planning the violent overthrow of the government that month and the installation of a fascist government. The French police seized 2 tons of high explosives, several anti-tank or anti-aircraft guns, 500 machine guns, 65 submachine guns, 134 rifles and 17 sawed-off shotguns. In 1938, as an SFIO
senator for Allier, Dormoy spoke out against the
Munich Agreement with
Nazi Germany.
Imprisonment and death Two years later, after the
Fall of France, he was one of the
minority of parliamentarians who refused to grant full powers to Marshal
Philippe Pétain. Pétain's
Vichy France regime had him suspended from his office as mayor on 20 September 1940, and arrested five days later. Dormoy was imprisoned in
Pellevoisin, then in
Vals-les-Bains, before being placed under
house arrest in
Montélimar. He was killed in July 1941 by a
bomb that exploded at his house; it was believed to have been placed by
Cagoule terrorists. This was believed to be reprisal for his suppression of the group in 1937. Marx Dormoy was given a solemn funeral in his birthplace of Montluçon. ==Legacy and honors==