André Renard

André Renard (Valenciennes 25 May 1911 - Seraing 20 July 1962) was a Belgian trade union leader. Influential within the Walloon Movement and left-wing circles, Renard would give his name to a political ideology known as Renardism.

For the French cyclist, see André Renard (cyclist).
André Renard in 1961

Resistance and a new faction in the Syndicalism

In World War II, a left-wing syndicalist faction grew up in the underground labour movement that was opposed to close ties with any political parties.[1] Renard was the leader of that faction and gave his name to Renardism, the programme of the Walloon Movement in the general strike of 1960-1961 in Wallonia led by the General Federation of Belgian Labour.

Against Leopold III of Belgium

In 1950, Leopold III came back to Belgium and was met with a general strike. As Secretary-General of the General Federation of Belgian Labour, Renard made a statement to Le Soir: Starting today, the words insurrection and revolution will have a practical sense for us. We will use them in our everyday vocabulary.[2]

Economic and Social Committee

André Renard was member of the Consultative Committee, similar in the European Coal and Steel Community, to the Economic and Social Committee. He was president of this Committee from 1954 to 1955, pushing unsuccessfully for more social and economical competences for it (prices and wage setting, investment).[3]

Walloon movement

He was the leader of the 1960-1961 Winter General Strike: "For a Walloon Wallonia: against the Loi Unique: against the misery in Borinage: against the oppression of unitary government: against the Flemish Government: against the murderers of the Walloon people" (The Times, January 10, 1961).[4]

Sources
  • Pierre Tilly, André Renard, Le Cri, Fondation Renard, Bruxelles-Liège, 2005. ISBN 2-87106-378-8

See also

Notes
  1. Walter Galenson, Trade Union Democracy in Western Europe, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1961.
  2. A partir d'aujourd'hui, les mots révolution et insurrection auront pour nous un sens pratique. Nous les emploierons dans votre vocabulaire de tous les jours. in Le Soir, 28 july 1950.
  3. Pierre Tilly, André Renard, Liège-Bruxelles, 2005 pp. 478-496, Wolfram Kaiser, Peter Starie, Transnational European Union: towards a common political space, Routledge, 2009, p.114. ISBN 978-0-415-49899-9
  4. The Belgian General Strike
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