The French Turn refers to the policy advocated by Leon Trotsky as a plan of action for his followers at various stages throughout the 1930s. It was called the "French Turn" because it was first formulated in 1931 while Trotsky was in Paris. The doctrine advocated that the Trotskyists should enter the Social Democratic parties en masse and steer them toward Leninism, thus advocating the view that social democracy could potentially serve as a Leninist vanguard. Leon Trotsky ▶(?) (Russian: Лев Давидович Троцкий; also transliterated Leo, Lev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij and Trotzky ) (October 26 (O.S.) = November 7 (N.S.), 1879 – August 21, 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein (Лев Давидович Бронштейн), was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism (the forerunner of Communism) and is a branch in its own right (it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ...

The French turn was generally favored by the European Trotskyists but bitterly opposed by the Americans, with the most notable and consequential exception of Max Shachtman. Shachtman relentlessly advocated the French turn policy throughout the 1930s, even at those times when it was against the grain to do so. It was essentially over this view, combined with a growing revulsion at the Soviet Union, that Shachtman broke with Trotsky shortly before the latter's death in 1940. It bears acknowledgement, however, that Trotsky's writings around the time of his death strongly indicated that he was moving toward Shachtman's views, prompting speculation that had he lived Trotsky would have followed along the same trajectory as Shachtman. This belief is also supported by the fact that Trotsky's widow made clear her identification with Shachtman right up to her death in 1959. Max Shachtman (September 10, 1904 - 1972) is best known as an American Trotskyist theorist. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Indeed, considering Shachtman's role as a forefather of neoconservatism, combined with the actual content of the doctrine itself, the French Turn can quite easily be viewed as nothing less than the genesis of neoconservatism itself. Neoconservatism refers to the political movement, ideology, and public policy goals of new conservatives in the United States, who are mainly characterized by their relatively interventionist and hawkish views on foreign policy, and their lack of support for the small government principles and restrictions on social spending, when compared with...