The Croix-de-Feu (, ''Cross of Fire'') was a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

French league of the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, led by Colonel François de la Rocque (1885–1946). After it was dissolved, as were all other leagues during the Popular Front period (1936–38), La Rocque established the '' Parti social français'' (PSF) to replace it.

Beginnings (1927–1930)

The ''Croix-de-Feu'' (CF) were primarily a group of veterans of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, those who had been awarded the '' Croix de guerre 1914-1918''. The group was founded on 26 November 1927 by Maurice d'Hartoy, who led it until 1929. The honorary presidency was awarded to writer Jacques Péricard. Also in 1929, the movement acquired its newspaper, '' Le Flambeau''. At its creation, the movement was subsidized by the wealthy perfumer

François Coty François Coty (; born Joseph Marie François Spoturno ; 3 May 1874 – 25 July 1934) was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty, Coty perfume company, today a multin ...

and was hosted in the building of ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

''. It benefited from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

's 1926 proscription of the '' Action Française'', which prohibited Catholics from supporting the latter. Many

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Catholics became members of the Croix-de-feu instead, including Jean Mermoz and the young

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

. Unlike the Unions latines, which had promoted '' algérianité'' (Algerianness) and gained the support of French settlers, the CF adopted a new approach. European settlers in Algeria tended to support authoritarian and imperialist governments over French republicanism. They were anti-Semitic and

xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

. Believing that Algerian Europeans were a new race, they saw themselves as "youthful, virile and brutal" and

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

as "degenerate, effeminate and weak". They often resorted to the use of force against Muslim and Jewish Algerians. The Croix-de-feu had a massive

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

campaign that won thousands of members in Constantine and

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. It proposed an alliance with local Muslims and attacked the left. Scholars see that as a tactic to funnel extreme and separatist frustrations caused by an economic disparity between European settlers and the local Algerian people. It used different propaganda in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, more similar to Jules Molle and the Union's latines, because Oran had fewer Muslims and was more anti-Semitic.

Under La Rocque (1930–1936)

Under Lieutenant-Colonel François de La Rocque, who took over in 1930, the Croix-de-Feu took its independence from François Coty and left the building of ''Le Figaro'' for rue de Milan. It organised popular demonstrations in reaction to the Stavisky Affair in the hope of overthrowing the Second '' Cartel des gauches'', a left-wing coalition government. La Rocque quickly became a hero of the

far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

, which opposed the influences of

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and "hidden

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

" but was sceptical about becoming counterrevolutionary. Under la Rocque, the movement advocated a military effort against the "German danger" and supported

corporatism Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby Corporate group (sociology), corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come toget ...

and an alliance between capital and labour. It enlarged its base by creating several secondary associations, thus including non-veterans in its ranks. To counter the monarchist '' Action française'' and its slogan ''Politique d'abord!'' "Politics First!"), de la Rocque invented the motto ''Social d'abord!'' ("Social First!"). In his book, ''Le Service Public'' ("Public Service)", which was published in November 1934, he argued in favour of a reform of parliamentary procedures, cooperation between industries according to their branches of activities; a

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

and paid holidays;

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

(also upheld by the monarchist Action française, which considered that women, often devout, would be more favourable to their conservative thesis) etc. The Croix de Feu was one of the right-wing groups that pushed anti-Semitic politics in 1935. Along with Volontaires Nationaux and others, the Croix de Feu used the political developments in

like the election of Léon Blum, a Jewish Prime Minister, and the Popular Front to inflame anti-Semitic sentiment in the colony. The 1936 elections saw the victory of anti-Semitic municipal governments, boycotts against Jewish business (heavily promoted by the Radical Party newspaper '' Le Republicain de Constantine'') and physical violence and attacks against Jews. The Croix de Feu acted in concert with other anti-Semitic parties, including the '' Rassemblement National d'Action Sociale'' led by Abbé Lambert, '' Action française'' and '' Parti Populaire français''. Membership in Croix de Feu grew from 2,500 in 1933 to 8,440 in 1935 and 15,000 in 1936. The Croix-de-Feu did not participate in the 1932 demonstrations organised by the Action française and the far-right leagues '' Jeunesses Patriotes'' against the debt payment to the United States. The Croix-de-feu, however, took part in the massive rally of 6 February 1934, which led to the toppling of the Second '' Cartel des gauches'' (Left-Wing Coalition). Still, La Rocque refused to riot, although parts of the Croix-de-Feu disagreed with him. It had circled the Palais Bourbon and remained grouped several hundred metres away from the others rioting leagues. As one of the most essential paramilitary associations and because of its anti-Semitic position, the Croix-de-Feu and La Rocque were considered by the political left to be among the most dangerous imitators of Mussolini and Hitler. However, as a result of La Rocque's actions during the riots, it subsequently lost prestige among the far-right before it was dissolved by the Popular Front government on 18 June 1936.

Parti Social Français (1936–1940)

La Rocque then formed the French Social Party (PSF) as a successor to the dissolved league. Moderate estimates place the membership for the PSF at 500,000 in the buildup to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which would make it the first French conservative mass party. Although its

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

''Travail, Famille, Patrie'' ("Work, Family, Fatherland") was later used by

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

to replace the Republican slogan '' Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité'', the party remained eclectic. The party disappeared with the Fall of France without having had the opportunity to profit from its immense popularity.

Second World War

During the occupation of France, La Rocque joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

but was the subject of considerable controversy immediately after the war.

Political heritage

The Parti Social Français was France's first major conservative party (1936–1940). He advocated a presidential regime to end the instability of the parliamentary regime, an economic system founded upon "organised professions" (

) and social legislation inspired by Social Christianity. Historians now consider that he paved the way for the French Christian democratic parties: the postwar

Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement (, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Schuman, Paul Coste-Floret, Pierre-Henr ...

(MRP) and the Gaullist Rally for France. The historian William D. Irvine stated: :One of the very few things historians of fascism in France can agree upon is that the Croix de Feu and its successor the Parti Social Francais (PSF) are irrelevant to their subject.

Continuing debate

Historians have argued that the Croix-de-Feu were a distinctly-French variant of the European

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

movement. If the uniformed rightist " Leagues" of the 1930s did not develop into classical Fascism, it was because they represented a shading from conservative right-wing nationalism to extremist fascism, in membership and ideology, distinctive to French inter-war society. Most contemporary French historians ( René Rémond, Pierre Milza and François Sirinelli in particular) do not classify the 1930s "leagues" as a native "French Fascism", particularly the Croix-de-Feu. The organisation is described by Rémond as completely secretive about its aims with an ideology kept "as vague as possible." Rémond, the most famous and influential of these postwar historians, distinguishes "Reaction" and the far right from "revolutionary"

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

as an import into France which had few takers. In the 1968 third edition of "''La droite en France''", his major work he defines fascism in Europe as a

revolt of the ''declassés'', a movement of those on half-pay, civilian and military. Everywhere it came to power through social upheavals.... Although with a handful of fascists n 1930s France there was a minority of reactionaries and a great majority of conservatives.

Amongst these he places much smaller groups like the

Faisceau Le Faisceau (, ''The Fasces'') was a short-lived French fascist political party. It was founded on 11 November 1925 as a far right league by Georges Valois. It was preceded by its newspaper, ''Le Nouveau Siècle'', which had been founded as a ...

, a tiny minority compared with the Croix-de-Feu, whose membership peaked at over a million. The Israeli historian Zeev Sternhell, on the other hand, has argued for the existence of a native French fascism and for groups like the

Cercle Proudhon ''Cercle Proudhon'' (; French for Proudhon Circle) was a national syndicalist political group in France. The group was inspired by Georges Sorel, Charles Maurras and a selective reading of anarchist theorist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. History Foun ...

of the mid-to-late 1910s being among the more important ideological breeding grounds of the movement. He, however, does not include the Croix de Feu in that category:

The 'centrist' right always had its own shock troops that served its own purposes, and took good care that they did not become confused with the fascists.

Sternhell, interested in the Fascism as a "anti-material revision of Marxism" or an anti-capitalist, cultish, corporatist extreme nationalism, points out that groups like the Jeunesses Patriotes, the revived

Ligue des Patriotes The League of Patriots () was a French far-right league, founded in 1882 by the nationalist poet Paul Déroulède, historian Henri Martin and politician Félix Faure. The Ligue began as a non-partisan nationalist league, supported among other ...

and the Croix de Feu were derided by French fascists at the time. Fascist leaders in France saw themselves as destroyers of the old order, above politics, and rejecting the corruption of capitalism. To them the Leagues were a bulwark of this corrupt regime. Robert Brasillach called them "old cuckolds of the right, these eternal deceived husbands of politics.." and claimed that "the enemies of national restoration are not only on the left but first and foremost on the right.l".cited by Sternhell, 1983/86, p. 225 Neither Right nor Left: Fascist Ideology in France, Princeton University Press, California (1986 translation of 1983 French work) The American journalist

John Gunther John Gunther (August 30, 1901 – May 29, 1970) was an Americans, American journalist and writer. His success came primarily by a series of popular sociopolitical works, known as the "Inside" books (1936–1972), including the best-sell ...

in 1940 described La Rocque as a "French Fascist No. 1, the chief potential French March-on-Romer" but added that he was "a rather pallid Fascist", did not attempt to seize power during the 6 February riots and peacefully complied with the government's ban of the Croix de Feu. Other scholars, such as Robert Soucy and William D. Irvine, argue that the La Rocque and the Croix de Feu were in fact fascist and a particularly "French" fascism. La Rocque, however, if tempted by a paramilitary aesthetic and initially advocating

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

with the Germans during the Second World War, finally came out against the more radical supporters of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Beginnings (1927–1930)

Under La Rocque (1930–1936)

Parti Social Français (1936–1940)

Second World War

Political heritage

Continuing debate

See also

References

Further reading