But the greatest part of the energy of the Confederation was directed against the wave of militarism and nationalism which began to sweep France after the incident of Agadir in the summer of 1910. The Confederation of Labor felt that the labor movement in general and the revolutionary tendencies in particular were endangered by the nationalist spirit and military excitement which was stirring the country. Meetings were organized all over France to protest against war and militarism; several international meetings were arranged in Berlin, Madrid, Paris, and London, at which speakers representing all European countries spoke against war and in favor of international peace. The idea of a general strike in case of war was revived and agitated in the syndicalist organizations as a warning to the French government. In September, 1912, the twelfth congress of the Confederation was held at Toulouse. The report of the Confederal Committee showed that the Confederation was not making as much progress as before. The growth of the General Confederation of Labor in relation to the general labor movement of the country may be judged from the following table: -----+---------+------------+-------------+-------------+------------- | | | Number of | | | Total |Total Number| Federations | | |Number of|of Organized| of industry | Syndicats | |Syndicats| Workingmen | adhering to | adhering to | Members of Year |in France| in France |Confederation|Confederation|Confederation -----+---------+------------+-------------+-------------+------------- 1902 | 3,680 | 614,204 | 30 | 1,043 | | | | | | 1904 | 4,227 | 715,576 | 53 | 1,792 | 150,000 | | | | | 1906 | 4,857 | 836,134 | 61 | 2,399 | 203,273 | | | | | 1908 | 5,524 | 957,102 | 63 | 2,586 | 294,398 | | | | | 1910 | 5,260 | 977,350 | 57 | 3,012 | 357,814 | | | | | 1912 | 5,217 | 1,064,000 | 53 | 2,837 | 400,000 -----+---------+------------+-------------+-------------+------------- The slackening in the growth of the Confederation was attributed partly to the persistent persecutions of the government, but in the main to internal dissensions and struggles. As a result of the latter, many of the old militants who had taken a leading part in the syndicalist organizations had become disillusioned and had left the movement. Many of the syndicats had lost in membership, and new syndicats were formed with great difficulty.