The Second World War results in a major upheaval of the political circles o
f the Pas-de-Calais: more than 80% of the people elected in 1945 did not ha
ve 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 of
ten holds several elective positions: the majority of the "conseillers gene
raux" are also mayors of their communes and a large proportion of them is a
lso elected at the national level. The stability of these new councillors m
ay even lead to a certain immobility: thus no woman ever sat at the "Consei
l General" during the Fourth Republic. The 1945 elections mark also the beg
inning of a long period of Socialist domination in the Department's Assembl
y. From 1947 onwards, the SFIO manages to fight with a certain efficiency a
gainst a double opposition, that of the right wing parties and that of the
Communist Party.