Drive for the rolls (5 and 6) defining the main drafting zone of the drafting arrangements of long spinning machines, in which for preventing drafting defects caused by distortion movements of the rolls (5, 6), the latter are driven from one end by a first gear arrangement (22, 23, 24 respectively), and from the other end are interconnected rigidly drive-wise, or slippage-free, respectively, during the standstill of the spinning machine via a second gear arrangement (27, 34, 33) and via a freewheel clutch (28).