The French army and the problem of Communist subversion in the early 1930s

Around 1930, the high-command of the French army considered that in case of a "sudden attack" from the Germans, the Communist party would trigger off an insurrection, especially in the Paris area. Counter-insurrection measures which would contain the Communist subversion were to be found in several headstaff surveys, to prevent an internal front in case of war. Marshal Petain in 1932 wished he was given the command of the counter-insurrection forces as early as in peace time. To let the government know this, he officially approved of the contents of an important survey entitled "Memo on the Defense of the Paris area against the interior enemy in wartime". This document shows Communism as a threat, essentially a military one and advocates the enforcement of a strategy based on preventive strategy offensive.