France, June 14 -- Within weeks of taking office on 6 June, 1936, the Front Populaire - or Popular Front - had established collective bargaining, enshrined the right to strike, capped the working week and granted all employees paid leave.

But the movement that redefined workers' rights in France didn't start out on an economic platform. Instead, it was forged to fight authoritarianism.

By the 1930s, fascists were in power in Germany and Italy, and far-right groups were flexing their muscles in France too. In February 1934, they rallied near the parliament building in Paris, seeking to bring down the centre-left government. The rally ended in a riot, with a dozen people dead and hundreds injured.

This rising tide prompted communist chie...