The League of Patriots (french: Ligue des Patriotes) was a French

far-right league The far-right leagues (french: ligues d'extrême droite) were several French far-right movements opposed to parliamentarism, which mainly dedicated themselves to military parades, street brawls, demonstrations and riots. The term ''ligue'' was ...

, founded in 1882 by the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

poet

Paul Déroulède Paul Déroulède (2 September 1846 – 30 January 1914) was a French author and politician, one of the founders of the nationalist League of Patriots. Early life Déroulède was born in Paris. He was published first as a poet in the magazine '' ...

, historian Henri Martin and politician

Félix Faure Félix François Faure (; 30 January 1841 – 16 February 1899) was the President of France from 1895 until his death in 1899. A native of Paris, he worked as a tanner in his younger years. Faure became a member of the Chamber of Deputies for ...

. The Ligue began as a non-partisan nationalist league, supported among others by writer

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, calling for ' revanche' (revenge for the French defeat during the Franco-Prussian War) against the German Empire. One of the original purposes of the Ligue was to offer pre-military training, allowing members to participate in

gymnastic Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

s and rifle shooting.

History

Ligue des Patriotes, manifestation, 14 juillet 1912

The league was formed with

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...

's blessing; Gambetta's education ministry included Déroulède in its Military Education Commission, which was also formed in 1882. However, during the

Boulanger affair Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

, Déroulède co-opted the Ligue to support the general, alienating many Republican members. After Boulanger's exile in 1889, the Ligue was suppressed by the government. Upon the discovery that Victoria, the future German Empress, had stayed in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

and

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest tow ...

(a town destroyed during the Franco-Prussian War) during her unofficial visit to France in 1891, the Ligue incited a public uproar. The disorder surrounding the visit eventually resulted in the Crown Princess cutting her trip short and being escorted under French military protection, for her safety, to Calais to board a ship to England. In 1898, the Ligue was revived to become involved in the

Dreyfus affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

engaging in noisy and often violent anti-Semitic, right-wing protests. At this stage, the Ligue is estimated to have had 60,000 members, largely in Paris. After a failed coup d'état attempt in 1899 at the state funeral of President

, one of the Ligue's founders who later distanced himself from its positions,

was sentenced to exile from France for 10 years; the Ligue was again dissolved. Nevertheless, the nationalist author Maurice Barrès became again its leader in 1914, at the eve of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Biographical notice
of Barrès on the Académie française's website Upon Barrès's death, General Édouard de Castelnau became leader, with

Alexandre Millerand Alexandre Millerand (; – ) was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 20 January to 23 September 1920 and President of France from 23 September 1920 to 11 June 1924. His participation in Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet at the s ...

as president of honour. De Castelnau became head of the

Fédération Nationale Catholique The Fédération Nationale Catholique (FNC) ( en, National Catholic Federation) was a French movement that was active in the 1920s and 1930s, with the purpose of defending the Catholic Church against secular trends in the governments of the time. T ...

, which made him resign the leadership in 1926, as well as the presidency in 1932. The Ligue was definitely dissolved in the late 1930s, after General

Denis Auguste Duchêne Denis Auguste Duchene (23 September 1862 - 9 June 1950) was a French World War I general. He was born on 23 September 1862 at Juzennecourt, Haute-Marne and died on 9 June 1950 at Bihorel, Seine-Inférieure. He was promoted General de Brigade (b ...

briefly reformed it in 1939.

Notable members

* Ernest Boulanger, leader *

, founder * Maurice Barrès, nationalist writer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligue Des Patriotes French Third Republic French far right leagues Proto-fascists Members of the Ligue des Patriotes