'The people' are one of the most controversial characters in modern French history: irrupting into the streets in revolutions, riots and demonstrations, they have been adulated as a sovereign power and decried as an unruly mob. In the 1930s, as European politics was dramatically transformed by leaders and parties vaunting their 'popular' credentials, the fate of France hung in the balance, with political leagues and parties battling to imagine and realize a united popular community. How were the 'people' pursued? How could the antagonistic crowd, workers, or electorate be transformed into a reconciled community? In Pursuit of the People addresses these questions, and in so doing provides the first comparative analysis of left and right in 1930s France. Challenging the polarization of previous research, it reveals the hidden 'community of thought' that coexisted with very real political differences, as militants, leaders, journalists, theatre and film directors all competed to organize and depict the masses as the people. This book offers an original contribution to the study of political culture, and is essential reading for those interested in the symbolism, ideology, and activism of interwar France.