La Rose au poing
Presentation copy inscribed by François Mitterrand to Max-Pol Fouchet:
“Pour Max-Pol Fouchet, en bien cordial hommage, François Mitterrand.”
On the occasion of the launch of the Socialist Party’s platform “Changer la vie” in March 1972, “le poing et la rose” (the fist and the rose) appeared everywhere — on posters, leaflets, and banners behind the podiums at rallies. The referendum campaign on Europe provided an opportunity to reach an even wider audience. Although the logo itself underwent no graphic changes, its name took some time to settle. Over two years, the party’s leadership wavered between “le poing à la rose” and “la rose au poing” before finally settling on “le poing et la rose.”
It is no coincidence that Mitterrand himself used the second version — considered too aggressive by the Socialist Party committee — for his manifesto-book: “la rose au poing” suggests above all an action and the assertion of a demand, ideal for a rising candidate who wished to distinguish himself while still keeping control of the essential instrument that was the Socialist Party.
Publisher’s wraparound band preserved.