National Front (French Resistance)

National Front Front national
Founders	Communist Party of France
President	Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Secretary General	Pierre Villon
Dates of operation	May 1942 – 1949
Part of	National Council of the Resistance
Opponents	German Occupying Forces Vichy France

The National Front for an Independent France, better known simply as National Front (French: Front national or Front national de l'indépendance de la France) was a World War II French Resistance movement created to unite all of the resistance organizations together to fight the Nazi occupation forces and Vichy France under Marshall Pétain.

Founded in 1941 in Paris by French Communist Party (PCF) members Jacques Duclos, André Pican, Pierre Villon, and their wives, they felt that all of the Resistance movements had to band together no matter their party or religion (Jewish or Catholic) to be a vital force against the Nazis, the collaborationists, and the informers. Its name was inspired by the Popular Front, a left-wing coalition that governed France from 1936 to 1938. This helped them coordinate attacks all across France; to move weapons, food, false identity papers, information and food; protect and move people who were to be arrested or executed; and supply multiple safe houses for the Resistance and for Jews. In 1942, they formed fighting units to assassinate German leaders and soldiers among the occupation forces; perform acts of sabotage on railroads and other transportation infrastructure being used to transport people and goods being taken from France to Germany; and to help organize sabotage in factories forced to produce armaments and goods for the German military.