Robert Hue: Encyclopedia II - Robert Hue - Early activities

Robert Hue - Early activities

His family professed Communist beliefs, and Hue, as a child, used to sell issues of the Party newspaper, L'Humanité. He studied at the technical college in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, sang in a Rock band called Les Rapaces, and practiced judo (to the point were he won an inter-college medal and winning the black belt nidan).

Age sixteen (1962), he entered the youth section of the PCF, and then the Party itself. After studying in Paris and becoming an orderly, he was employed in a psychiatrical institution in Argenteuil.

Close to Georges Marchais, Hue climed the steps in the Party hierarchy, being also elected mayor of Montigny-lès-Cormeilles in 1977. He was to be reelected for all possible terms, until 2001. In February 1981, he was brought briefly under the spotlight, by starting a campaign against a family of immigrants, whom he had accused of selling drugs (a "charge" that was based mainly on hearsay). This seemed strange to the public oppinion in France, as Hue had been (and was to remain) a strict follower of the Party lines.

In 1987, Hue joined the Party's Central Committee and, in 1990, its Politburo. In 1994, while still largely unknown, Hue was appointed succesor by Georges Marchais - as National Secretary. He did become quite well-known only a few hours later, when he uttered a famous lapsus: I'm nobody's pawn.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Early activities", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki