Restoring the ruins: the social context of reconstruction in the countrysides of Northern France in the aftermath of the great war

The reconstruction of devastated farms, villages and market towns in northern France was not masterminded by the state or carried out by its emergency agencies, which were concerned with filling trenches, removing shells, restoring farmland and patching up ruins. Segments of French society needed to mobilize themselves to declare their losses and claim compensation from the state. Proposals by French trades unionists to bring in German building workers to reconstruct rural settlements were rejected. Instead, general purpose reconstruction co‐operatives were established, first in Lorraine and then throughout the régions dévastées. It is argued that the differing attitudes to religion and trades unionism in the countryside of northern France were reflected in the varying efforts made to effect rural reconstruction during the 1920s. The dream of international labour solidarity through reconstruction was not realized. Rather, restoration of northern France was undertaken by private construction companies, often contracted to general‐purpose co‐operatives.