André Renard (; 25 May 191120 July 1962) was a Belgian trade union leader who, in the aftermath of World War II, became an influential figure within the Walloon Movement.
Born into a working-class family, Renard was as a metalworker in the Liège region in Wallonia in the era of the Great Depression before becoming involved in the Federation of Metalworkers of Liège (Fédération des métallurgistes de Liège) in 1937. He established an underground trade union in German-occupied Belgium during the Second World War which sought to unite socialist and communist unions within a united trade union (syndicat unique). He emerged as a powerful figure within trade unionism in the aftermath of the Liberation of Belgium.
Renard entered the newly established General Labour Federation of Belgium (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique, FGTB) in 1945 and emerged as a political figure with a national reputation in following years. He became increasingly interested in federalism at the time of the Royal Question in 1950 in which he was a vocal critic of the return of King Leopold III. He was prevented from becoming secretary-general of the FGTB in 1952 but was able to take the deputy secretary-general role with responsibility for Wallonia. The acrimonious failed general strike of 1960–1961 revealed the split between Walloon and Flemish aspirations and led to Renard's resignation in 1961.
Renard's political thinking, which became termed "Renardism" after his death, reflected the belief that left-wing political groups in Belgium should embrace federalism as a means to achieve radical social reform in a way not possible in a unitary state. After his resignation, Renard founded the (Mouvement Populaire Wallon, MPW) but died prematurely in July 1962. His ideals remained influential within the Walloon Movement after his death.
Biography
Early life, 1911–1944
André Gilles Guillaume Renard was born into a working-class family in Valenciennes in France on 25 May 1911. His parents were Belgian and he grew up in the industrial region around Liège in Wallonia in eastern Belgium. He began working at the steelworks of SA John Cockerill in Seraing in 1927 and soon moved to the Société métallurgique d'Espérance-Longdoz but was fired in 1935 in the midst of the Great Depression. Although re-hired at Cockerill, he participated in the general strike of 1936. He had taken evening classes in his spare time and was able to begin a career within the Federation of Metalworkers of Liège (Fédération des métallurgistes de Liège) in 1937. In trade union circles, he acquired a reputation as a leading figure among younger radical leaders.
Renard was mobilised into the Belgian Army at the start of the Second World War. He participated in the 18 Days' Campaign in May 1940 and spent two years as a prisoners of war in Nazi Germany. He was allowed to return to German-occupied Belgium in 1942 and made contact with the resistance group (Armée de la libération, AL). He became involved in resistance activities himself and was involved in the attempt to form an underground trades union called the Unified Syndical Movement (Mouvement syndical unifié, MSU) which was intended to unite workers of all political persuasions in opposition to the officially-sanctioned (Union des travailleurs manuels et intellectuels, UTMI) established with an explicitly corporatist objective. He married Renée Lurquin on 10 September 1942.
It was during the latter stages of the occupation that Renard first consolidated his ideas on trade unionism that would become known as Renardism. He published a collection of political essays entitled Pour la révolution constructive (1944) shortly after the Liberation of Belgium.