The Pas-de-Calais "conseillers generaux" from 1945 to 1958: the renewal of a group of notables?

The Second World War results in a major upheaval of the political circles of the Pas-de-Calais: more than 80% of the people elected in 1945 did not have a seat in the Conseil General before the war. A new political personnel, among whom a majority of teachers, is taking root in the department and often holds several elective positions: the majority of the "conseillers generaux" are also mayors of their communes and a large proportion of them is also elected at the national level. The stability of these new councillors may even lead to a certain immobility: thus no woman ever sat at the "Conseil General" during the Fourth Republic. The 1945 elections mark also the beginning of a long period of Socialist domination in the Department's Assembly. From 1947 onwards, the SFIO manages to fight with a certain efficiency against a double opposition, that of the right wing parties and that of the Communist Party.