In May 1935, France and the Soviet Union signed a defensive alliance and in August 1935, the 7th World Congress of the Comintern officially endorsed the Popular Front strategy.[4] In the elections of May 1936, the Popular Front won a majority of parliamentary seats (378 deputies against 220), and Léon Blum formed a government.[3] In Italy, the Comintern advised an alliance between the Italian Communist Party and the Italian Socialist Party, but this was rejected by the Socialists.