The Revolutionary Social Movement (in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire'' MSR) was a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

movement founded in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in September 1940. Its founder was

Eugène Deloncle Eugène Deloncle (20 June 1890 – 17 January 1944) was a French politician and Fascist leader, who founded of the “Secret Committee of Revolutionary Action" (CSAR), known as "The Hood" (la Cagoule), and became a prominent Nazi collaborator d ...

, who was previously associated with ''

La Cagoule La Cagoule (''The Cowl'', press nickname coined by the '' Action Française'' nationalist Maurice Pujo), originally called the ''Organisation secrète d'action révolutionnaire nationale'' (Osarn or OSAR; Secret Organisation for revolutionary na ...

'' . The MSR supported the return of

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 ...

to the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

, led by Petain, who removed Laval from the government in December 1940. The MSR collaborated with and was a factions of the

Rassemblement National Populaire The National Popular Rally (french: Rassemblement national populaire, ''RNP'', 1941–1944) was a French political party and one of the main collaborationist parties under the Vichy regime of World War II. Created in February 1941 by former mem ...

(RNP), which was founded in January 1941. A split in the RNP came after the Eastern Front opened up in July 1941, and 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 ...

was formed. Another frontman in the RNP was

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 ...

, who had the confidence of Laval. When he found out that Deloncle was plotting against him, he had him and his faction removed from the RNP. Deloncle also took many member of the RNP's paramilitary wing with him. In October 1941, Deloncle plotted against seven Parisian synagogues with the help of a local SS officer,

Hans Sommer Hans Sommer may refer to: *Hans Sommer (composer) (1837–1922), opera composer * (1904–2000), film music composer for ''Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war'' and other films *Hans Sommer (cyclist) (1924–2004), Swiss cyclist *Hans Sommer (SS offi ...

, who provided the explosives for the attack. Further splits in the MSR happened over the next year, as Deloncle became more occupied with the LVF. The other factions then coalesced around

Jean Filliol Jean Paul Robert Filiol (9 May 1909 – date of death unknown) was a French militant, who was active in ''La Cagoule'' before the Second World War. After the war, he fled to Spain, where he worked for the local office of L'Oréal. Filliol was o ...

, a former ''Cagoulard'', and revolutionaries

Georges Soulès Georges Soulès (11 November 1907 – 26 August 1986), known by his pen name Raymond Abellio, was a French writer. Life Abellio went to the École Polytechnique and then took part in the X-Crise Group. He advocated far-left ideas, but like many ...

and André Mahé. A coup against the Deloncle faction was completed on May 14, 1942, which left Deloncle without a political future. He was killed two years later in a shootout with the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

, which had suspected him of having obtained ties to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. For a time in 1942, leadership passed to Jean Fontenoy. Philip Rees, '' Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'', 1990, p. 130 Filiol began plotting against Laval, whose government interned him in October 1942. The remaining Soulès faction of the MSR moved into an anti-German position but disappeared at the end of the war.

References

* * 1940 establishments in France Fascist parties in France The Holocaust in France Political parties of the Vichy regime Organizations established in 1940 Fascist parties Anti-communist organizations {{gov-stub