Social Tensions and Transformations

Peace revealed how profoundly war had transformed French society. Women who had managed businesses and farms resisted returning to subordination. Veterans who had commanded men in battle refused deference to civilian authority. Colonial subjects who had fought for France questioned continued subjugation. These tensions created social conflicts that would define interwar France.

The "return to normalcy" proved impossible for women. Though dismissed from factories and excluded from professions opened during war, they could not forget capabilities demonstrated. Women's fashion reflected changed consciousness—short hair, short skirts, and cigarettes signaled rejection of prewar constraints. The "garçonne" style scandalized conservatives but expressed irreversible liberation.

Veterans formed powerful organizations demanding recognition and support. The Union Nationale des Combattants became France's largest association. Veterans claimed moral authority based on sacrifice, challenging civilian politicians' legitimacy. Their demands—pensions, preference in employment, and respect—created new social hierarchy based on war service. "We who bled for France deserve more than those who profited," became common refrain.

Generational conflict intensified. Youth who had survived trenches despised elders who had sent them there. Traditional values—patriotism, honor, duty—seemed hollow lies. Veterans' literature expressed profound alienation. Henri Barbusse's "Le Feu" and Roland Dorgelès's "Les Croix de bois" depicted war's reality, shocking civilians who preferred heroic myths. The "generation of fire" created its own culture, incomprehensible to those who hadn't shared their experience.

Class tensions, suppressed during war, exploded in peace. Workers who had sacrificed for victory demanded their share of prosperity. The bourgeoisie, enriched by war profits, faced accusations of blood money. Rural France, having lost proportionally more men, resented urban prosperity. These resentments found political expression in strikes, demonstrations, and electoral upheavals.