Paul Jules André Marion (27 June 1899,

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of ...

– 2 March 1954) was a French Communist and subsequently far right journalist and political activist. He served as the French Minister of Information from 1941 to 1944.

Early years

Marion joined the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

in 1922 and wrote for ''

L'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

'' as well as being elected to the party's central committee in 1926. After a spell in Moscow working for Comintern he left the Communist Party to join the more moderate Socialist Republican Union, which counted

Marcel Déat Marcel Déat (7 March 1894 – 5 January 1955) was a French politician. Initially a socialist and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he led a breakaway group of right-wing ' Neosocialists' out of the SFIO in 1933 ...

amongst its membership, in 1929. He switched his allegiance to the

Parti Populaire Français The French Popular Party (french: Parti populaire français) was a French fascist and anti-semitic political party led by Jacques Doriot before and during World War II. It is generally regarded as the most collaborationist party of France. ...

(PPF) in 1936. Despite his political origins Marion was quoted as saying that the PPF would ally itself with the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

and his grandmother in order to defeat communism. In 1938 he published the Programme of the PPF, a document that defended capitalism as well as endorsing

corporatism Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

. Marion was widely associated with the more moderate tendency within the PPF, which emphasised anti-communism above all, as opposed to the openly fascist tendency loyal to

Pierre Drieu La Rochelle Pierre Eugène Drieu La Rochelle (; 3 January 1893 – 15 March 1945) was a French writer of novels, short stories and political essays. He was born, lived and died in Paris. Drieu La Rochelle became a proponent of French fascism in the 1930s, ...

. He also wrote for a number of right-wing journals, including

Jean Luchaire Jean Luchaire (21 July 1901 – 22 February 1946) was a French journalist and politician who became the head of the French collaborationist press in Paris during the German military occupation. Luchaire supported the ''Révolution nationale'' d ...

's ''Notre Temps''. The same year he was one of a group of leading members who split from the PPF, feeling that

Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (; 26 September 1898 – 22 February 1945) was a French politician, initially communist, later fascist, before and during World War II. In 1936, after his exclusion from the Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Party (P ...

had become too fulsome in his support for

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

whilst also endorsing accusations that Doriot had been using his position to personally enrich himself. Marion was part of a loose group of leading members, unofficially led by Pierre Pucheu, who left the party together in early 1939.

Vichy

Reunited with Doriot under the Vichy regime, he served as

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

from 1941 to 1944. His power grew as he was elected to the controlling committee of the

Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (french: Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme, LVF) was a unit of the German Army during World War II consisting of collaborationist volunteers from France. Officially design ...

and, along with Jacques Benoist-Méchin, pushed to

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occ ...

the idea that the group should become an official arm of the Vichy government. In his government office he also helped to create an Association of Friends of the

Waffen SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from th ...

, which played a central role in recruitment. He also attempted to use his position to politicise France's youth groups although in this endeavour he was unsuccessful. He remained in office until 1944 when a group of radicals briefly took power and he was replaced by

Philippe Henriot Philippe Henriot (7 January 1889 – 28 June 1944) was a French poet, journalist, politician, and minister in the French government at Vichy, where he directed propaganda broadcasts. He also joined the Milice part-time. Career Philippe Henriot, ...

. Marion returned to office soon afterwards following Henriot's death and served in his former position when the Vichy government was shifted to

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...

, although by then it was effectively powerless.

Post-war

Sentenced on 14 December 1948 to ten years in prison, he was pardoned in 1953 for medical reasons, and died of illness in 1954. Although he took no further role in politics Marion was reported as advising friends and supporters to vote for the

Rally of the French People The Rally of the French People (french: Rassemblement du Peuple Français, RPF) was a French political party, led by Charles de Gaulle. Foundation The RPF was founded by Charles de Gaulle in Strasbourg on 14 April 1947, one year after his resign ...

in the immediate post-war elections.Anderson, ''Conservative Politics in France'', p. 310

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marion, Paul 1899 births 1954 deaths People from Asnières-sur-Seine French Communist Party politicians French Section of the Workers' International politicians Socialist Republican Union politicians French Popular Party politicians Ministers of Information of France Comintern people People of Vichy France French collaborators with Nazi Germany French male writers Former Marxists French politicians convicted of crimes Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism 20th-century French journalists