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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. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
() tradition in France finds its origins in the Third Republic with
Boulangism 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 ...
and the Dreyfus affair. In the 1880s, General
Georges Boulanger 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 ...
, called "General Revenge" (), championed demands for military revenge against
Imperial Germany The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
as retribution for the defeat and fall of the
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
during the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
(1870–71). This stance, known as
revanchism Revanchism (, from ''revanche'', "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse the territorial losses which are incurred by a country, frequently after a war or after a social movement. As a term, ''revanchism'' originated i ...
, began to exert a strong influence on
French nationalism French nationalism () usually manifests as civic nationalism, civic or cultural nationalism, promoting the cultural unity of France. History French nationalism emerged during the Hundred Years' War, which consisted of a series of intermitte ...
. Soon thereafter, the Dreyfus affair provided one of the political division lines of France. French nationalism, which had been largely associated with left-wing and Republican ideologies before the Dreyfus affair, turned after that into a main trait of the right-wing and, moreover, of the far right. A new right emerged, and nationalism was reappropriated by the far-right who turned it into a form of
ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnostate/ethnocratic) approach to variou ...
, blended with
anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
,
xenophobia 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 ...
,
anti-Protestantism Anti-Protestantism is bias, hatred or distrust against some or all branches of Protestantism and/or its followers, especially when amplified in legal, political, ethic or military measures. Protestants were not tolerated throughout most of ...
and
anti-Masonry Anti-Masonry (alternatively called anti-Freemasonry) is "avowed opposition to Freemasonry",''Oxford English Dictionary'' (1979 ed.), p. 369. which has led to multiple forms of religious discrimination, Religious violence, violent Religious persec ...
. The ''
Action française ''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...
'' (AF), first founded as a journal and later a political organization, was the matrix of a new type of
counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...
right-wing, which continues to exist today. During 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 ( ...
, the ''Action française'' and its youth militia, the ''
Camelots du Roi The King's Camelots, officially the National Federation of the King's Camelots () was a far-right youth organization of the French militant royalist and integralist movement Action Française active from 1908 to 1936. It is best known for taking ...
'', were very active.
Far right leagues The far-right leagues () 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 often used in the 1930s to distin ...
organized riots. After
World War II 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 ...
, the ''
Organisation armée secrète The ''Organisation armée secrète'' (OAS, "Secret Army Organisation") was a far-right dissident French paramilitary and terrorist organisation during the Algerian War, founded in 1961 by Raoul Salan, Pierre Lagaillarde and Jean-Jacques S ...
'' (OAS) was created in Madrid in 1961 by French military personnel opposed to the
independence of Algeria Independence Day (, ), observed annually on 5 July, is a National Holiday in Algeria commemorating colonial Algerian independence from France on 5 July 1962. Algerian War (1954–1962) The Algerian War of Independence began in November ...
.
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
founded the ''
Front National The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...
'' (FN) party in 1972. At the 1986 legislative elections, the FN managed to obtain 35 seats, with 10% of the votes.
Mark Frederiksen Mark Fredriksen (18 November 1936 – 25 August 2011) was a French extreme right figure and the founder, in 1966, of the neo-Nazi '' Fédération d'action nationaliste et européenne''. Biography Fredriksen co-edited ''Notre Europe'', which was ...
, a French Algeria activist, created in April 1966 a
neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
group, the FANE (''Fédération d'action nationaliste et européenne'', Nationalist and European Federation of Action). However, in 1978, neo-Nazi members of the GNR-FANE broke again with the FN. During the 1980s, the National Front managed to gather, under
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
's leadership, most rival far-right tendencies of France, following a succession of splits and alliances with other, minor parties, during the 1970s.


Third Republic (1871–1914)

The
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
(1871–1940) was established after France's defeat in the 1870
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
and the subsequent
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
of 1871. From 1894 to 1906, French society became deeply divided by the Dreyfus affair, a major political scandal that proved to be a turning point in the history of France. The modern "far right", or radical right, formed as a distinct political current during the Dreyfus affair. However, it had some antecedents in earlier years of the Third Republic. Many French nationalists came to oppose the Third Republic soon after its founding, believing that it had adopted an "English" constitution by creating a strong
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and a weak
presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
; in place of this, nationalists favored a political system led by a strong ruler, originally a
presidential republic A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system (sometimes also congressional system) is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled " president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and l ...
, although some eventually came to support the idea of a restored
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
. Across French society, there was also a common feeling of pride in the
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and resentment about its defeat by the Germans. This defeat was blamed on the politicians who later became leaders of the Third Republic, and there were increasing
anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
tendencies that accused Jewish politicians and officers of disloyalty to the nation. For the nationalists, the army was "the people armed", the truest representative of the nation, and any criticism of the army was seen as an attack on France itself. Thus, they rallied to "defend the army" when they felt it was under threat from internal enemies, such as first during the Boulanger affair and later during the Dreyfus affair. The political coalitions originally built to support the army during these affairs, provided the foundations for the 20th century radical right. The "Boulanger Affair", which culminated in 1889, championed the vague demands of the former Minister of War, General
Georges Boulanger 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 ...
. Boulanger had earlier attracted popular support by ordering lenient treatment of strikers when the army was called upon to suppress strikes. He also rattled his saber against Germany, which pleased French patriots intent on taking revenge. But this alarmed the other ministers, who dropped Boulanger from the government. When his champions mounted an electoral campaign to have him elected to the Chamber of Deputies, the government reacted by forcing him out of the army. Violent agitation in Paris on the election night in 1889 convinced the government to prosecute Boulanger in order to remove him from the political scene. Instead of facing trumped up charges, Boulanger fled to Belgium. His supporters, called "Boulangists", afterward nursed an intense grievance against the Republic and reunited during the Dreyfus affair to oppose the Republic and "back the army" once again.


Dreyfus affair and foundation of the Action française

In 1894, a Jewish officer,
Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...
, was arrested on accusations of treason and sharing intelligence with the German Empire. The Dreyfus affair provided one of the political fault lines of France. Before the Dreyfus affair,
Nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
had been a left-wing and Republican ideology; after, it became a main trait of the right-wing and, moreover, of the far-right.
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
entered the political scene with his open letter "
J'Accuse…! "''J'Accuse...!''" (; "I Accuse...!") is an open letter, written by Émile Zola in response to the events of the Dreyfus affair, that was published on 13 January 1898 in the newspaper ''L'Aurore''. Zola addressed the president of France, Fél ...
", followed by other writers, artists and scholars supporting him with a "Manifesto of the Intellectuals", helping to define the meaning of the term "
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...
", while the left and right were at loggerheads, mainly over the questions of
militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
,
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
,
justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
and
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
. Until then, nationalism was a Republican, left-wing ideology, related to the French Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars. It was a
liberal nationalism Civic nationalism, otherwise known as democratic nationalism, is a form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights, and is not based on ethnocentrism. Civic nationalists of ...
, formulated by
Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; ; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, writing on Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote wo ...
's definition of the nation as a "daily plebiscite" and as formed by the subjective "will to live together". Related to "revanchism", the belligerent will to take revenge against Germany and retake control of Alsace-Lorraine, nationalism could then be sometimes opposed to
imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
. In the 1880s, a debate thus opposed those who opposed the " colonial lobby", such as
radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...
Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...
, who declared that colonialism diverted France from the "blue line of the
Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...
" (referring to Alsace-Lorraine), socialist
Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; ), was a French socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became a social democrat and one of the first possibi ...
and nationalist
Maurice Barrès Auguste-Maurice Barrès (; 19 August 1862 – 4 December 1923) was a French novelist, journalist, philosopher, and politician. Spending some time in Italy, he became a figure in French literature with the release of his work ''The Cult of the S ...
, against Moderate Republican
Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...
, republican
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, ...
and
Eugène Etienne Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek language, Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnostate/ethnocratic) approach to variou ...
, itself blended with anti-Semitism,
xenophobia 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 ...
, anti-Protestantism and
anti-Masonry Anti-Masonry (alternatively called anti-Freemasonry) is "avowed opposition to Freemasonry",''Oxford English Dictionary'' (1979 ed.), p. 369. which has led to multiple forms of religious discrimination, Religious violence, violent Religious persec ...
.
Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet and critic. He was an organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...
(1868–1952), founder of "
integralism In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism () is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues the principle that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and public policy within civil society, wherever the ...
" (or "integral nationalism"), created the term "Anti-France" to stigmatize "internal foreigners", or the "four confederate states of Protestants, Jews, Freemasons and foreigners" (his actual word for the latter being the far less polite ''
métèques In ancient Greece, a metic (Ancient Greek: , : from , , indicating change, and , 'dwelling') was a resident of Athens and some other cities who was a citizen of another polis. They held a status broadly analogous to modern permanent residency, bei ...
''). A few years later, Maurras would join the monarchist ''
Action française ''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...
'', created by
Maurice Pujo Maurice Pujo (; 26 January 1872 – 6 September 1955) was a French journalist and co-founder of the nationalist and monarchist Action Française movement. He became the leader of the Camelots du Roi, the youth organization of the Action Français ...
and
Henri Vaugeois Henri Vaugeois (25 April 1864 – 11 April 1916) was a French teacher and journalist who was one of the founders of right-wing nationalist Action Française movement. Biography Vaugeois was born in L'Aigle, Orne, on 25 April 1864. He settled in ...
in 1898. Maurras, who was an agnostic, spearheaded a monarchist and Catholic revival. He pragmatically conceived of religion as an
ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
useful to unify the nation. Most French Catholics were conservatives, a trait that continues today. On the other hand, most Protestants, Jews and atheists belonged to the left. Henceforth, the republicans' conception was, to the contrary, that only
state secularism is an idea pertaining to secularity, whereby a state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religio ...
could peacefully bind together diverse religious and philosophical tendencies, and avoid any return to the
Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent ...
. Furthermore, Catholic priests were seen as a major reactionary force by the republicans, among whom
anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to clergy, religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secul ...
became common. The Ferry laws on public education had been a first step for the Republic in rooting out the clerics' influence: they would be completed by the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State. ''Action française'', first founded as a review, was the matrix of a new type of counter-revolutionary right-wing, and continues to exist today. ''Action française'' was quite influential in the 1930s, in particular through its youth organization, the ''
Camelots du Roi The King's Camelots, officially the National Federation of the King's Camelots () was a far-right youth organization of the French militant royalist and integralist movement Action Française active from 1908 to 1936. It is best known for taking ...
'', founded in 1908, and which engaged in many street brawls. The ''Camelots du Roi'' included such figures as Catholic writer
Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as d ...
and Jean de Barrau, member of the directing committee of the National Federation, and particular secretary of the duc d'Orléans (1869–1926), the son of the
Orléanist Orléanist () was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during France in the long nineteenth ...
count of Paris Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of the Franks in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived ...
(1838–1894) and hence Orléanist heir to the throne of France. Many members of the OAS terrorist group during the
Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
(1954–62) were part of the monarchist movement.
Jean Ousset Jean Ousset (28 July 1914 – 20 April 1994) was a French ideologist of National Catholicism born in Porto, Portugal. He was an activist of the ''Action française'' monarchist movement in the 1930s, and personal secretary of its leader, Char ...
, Maurras' personal secretary, created the Catholic fundamentalist organization ''
Cité catholique The Cité Catholique is a Traditionalist Catholic organisation created in 1946 by Jean Ousset, originally a follower of Charles Maurras (founder of the monarchist '' Action Française'' in 1899) and Jean Masson (1910–1965), not to be confused ...
'', which would include OAS members and founded a branch in Argentina in the 1960s. Apart from the ''Action française'', several
far-right league The far-right leagues () 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 often used in the 1930s to distin ...
s were created during the Dreyfus affair. Mostly anti-Semitic, they also represented a new right-wing tendency, sharing common traits such as
anti-parliamentarism A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...
, militarism, nationalism, and often engaged in street brawls. Thus, the nationalist 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 '' ...
created in 1882 the anti-semitic
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 ...
(League of Patriots), which at first focused on advocating 'revanche' (revenge) for the French defeat during the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
. Along with
Jules Guérin Jules Guérin (; 14 September 1860 – 10 February 1910) was a French journalist and anti-Semitic activist. He founded and led the Antisemitic League of France (), an organisation similar to the , and edited the French weekly (Paris, 1896–19 ...
, the journalist Edouard Drumont created the
Antisemitic League of France The Anti-Jewish League of France () was founded in 1889 by journalist Edouard Drumont, with the support of other right-wing French antisemites such as Jacques de Biez, Albert Millot, and Marquis de Morès. First known under the name of (Nationa ...
in 1889. Also anti-Masonic, the League became at the start of the 20th century the ', a name chosen in reaction against the Masonic lodge of the ''
Grand Orient de France The Grand Orient de France (, abbr. GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbe ...
''.


Between the wars

During 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 ( ...
, the ''
Action française ''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...
'' (AF) and its youth militia, the ''
Camelots du Roi The King's Camelots, officially the National Federation of the King's Camelots () was a far-right youth organization of the French militant royalist and integralist movement Action Française active from 1908 to 1936. It is best known for taking ...
'', were very active in Paris. Apart from the AF, various
far-right leagues The far-right leagues () 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 often used in the 1930s to disti ...
were formed and opposed both ''
Cartel des gauches The Cartel of the Left ( ) was the name of the governmental alliance between the Radical-Socialist Party, the socialist French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), and other smaller left-republican parties that formed on two occasions in ...
'' (Coalition of the left) governments.
Pierre Taittinger Pierre-Charles Taittinger (4 October 1887 – 22 January 1965) was the founder of the Taittinger champagne house and chairman of the municipal council of Paris in 1943–1944 during the German occupation of France, in which position he p ...
thus formed the ''
Jeunesses Patriotes The ''Jeunesses Patriotes'' ("Young Patriots", JP) were a far-right league of France, recruited mostly from university students and financed by industrialists founded in 1924 by Pierre Taittinger. Taittinger took inspiration for the group's crea ...
'' in 1924, which imitated the style of the
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 ...
s, although it remained a more traditional authoritarian movement. The following year,
Georges Valois Georges Valois (; born Alfred-Georges Gressent; 7 October 1878 – February 1945) was a French journalist and national syndicalist politician. He was a member of the French Resistance and died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Lif ...
created ''
Le 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 we ...
'', heavily inspired by
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's
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 ...
. In 1933, the year Adolf Hitler gained power in Germany, 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 ...
founded ''
Solidarité française Solidarité Française ("French Solidarity") was a French fascist, far-right league founded in 1933 by the perfume manufacturer François Coty (1874-1934) as the "Parti national corporatif républicain". After Coty's death, it was commanded by ...
'' and
Marcel Bucard Marcel Bucard (7 December 1895 – 13 March 1946) was a French Fascist politician. Early career A decorated soldier who earned a reputation for bravery in World War I, Bucard became active in politics after 1918, initially as a member of '' ...
formed the ''
Francisme The Francist Movement (, MF) was a French fascist and anti-semitic league created by Marcel Bucard in September 1933 that edited the newspaper ''Le Francisme''. Mouvement franciste reached a membership of 10,000 and was financed by the Italia ...
'', which was subsidised by Mussolini. Another important league was
François de la Rocque François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; ...
's ''
Croix de Feu The Croix-de-Feu (, ''Cross of Fire'') was a nationalist French league of the interwar period, 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) ...
'', which formed the base for the ''
Parti Social Français The French Social Party (, PSF) was a French nationalist political party founded in 1936 by François de La Rocque, following the dissolution of his Croix-de-Feu league by the Popular Front government. France's first right-wing mass party, pre ...
'' (PSF), the first mass party of the French right-wing. Mussolini was much more popular in right-wing circles than Hitler due to the negative reaction many French conservatives had to Hitler's repression of dissident German conservatives and Catholics in 1933 and 1934. Apart from the leagues, a group of
Neosocialist Neosocialism was a political faction that existed in France and Belgium during the 1930s and which included several revisionist tendencies in the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO). During the 1930s, the faction gradually distan ...
s (
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 19 ...
,
Pierre Renaudel Pierre Renaudel (19 December 1871 – 1 April 1935) was a French socialist politician and journalist. Biography He served as central committee member of the League of Human Rights (''Ligue des droits de l'homme'', LDH), was a founder and '' ...
, etc.) were excluded in November 1933 from the
French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO) was a major socialist political party in France which was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the present Socialist Party. The SFIO was founded in 1905 as the French representativ ...
(SFIO, the socialist party) because of their revisionist stances and admiration for fascism. Déat would become one of the most ardent collaborationists during World War II. Another major player in France's right-wing world between the wars was
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 French Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Pa ...
. Doriot had been expelled by the
French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...
after proposing a Popular Front with other leftist parties, which at that time was seen as
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
by his party's hierarchy. Personally hurt and embittered by his expulsion, Doriot would slowly change sides, eventually openly denouncing communism and going on to found the Parti Populaire Francais or PPF, the largest pre-war right wing party. Other important figures of the 1930s include
Xavier Vallat Xavier Vallat (December 23, 1891 – January 6, 1972) was a French politician and antisemite who was Commissioner-General for Jewish Questions in the wartime collaborationist Vichy government, and was sentenced after World War II to ten years ...
, who would become General Commissioner for Jewish Affairs under
Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...
, members of the ''
Cagoule A cagoule (, also spelled cagoul, kagoule or kagool), is the British English term for a lightweight weatherproof raincoat or anorak with a hood (usually without lining), which often comes in knee-length form.The Chambers Dictionary, 1994, The Ca ...
'' terrorist group (
Eugène Deloncle Eugène Deloncle (20 June 1890 – 17 January 1944) was a French politician and fascist leader who founded the organisation “Secret Committee of Revolutionary Action" (CSAR), better known as . He became a prominent Nazi collaborator during Wo ...
,
Eugène Schueller Eugène Paul Louis Schueller (20 March 1881 – 23 August 1957) was a French chemist and entrepreneur who was the founder of L'Oréal, a leading company in cosmetics and beauty. Founding of L'Oréal Schueller was of Alsatian origin. He graduat ...
(the founder of ''
L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris
'' cosmetic firm),
Jacques Corrèze Jacques Corrèze (11 February 1912 – 28 June 1991) was a French businessman and politician. He was the chief executive officer of the United States-based operation of L'Oréal for the Americas (Cosmair), the world's leading company in cosmetics ...
,
Joseph Darnand Joseph Darnand (19 March 1897 – 10 October 1945) was a French far-right political figure, Nazi collaborator and convicted war criminal during the Second World War. A decorated veteran of the First World War and the Battle of France in 1940, h ...
, who later founded the ''
Service d'ordre légionnaire Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
'' militia during Vichy, etc.). To obtain arms from
fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
, the group assassinated two Italian antifascists, the Rosselli brothers, on June 9, 1937, and sabotaged aeroplanes clandestinely supplied by the French government to the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
. They also attempted a coup against the Popular Front government, elected in 1936, leading to arrests in 1937, ordered by Interior Minister
Marx Dormoy René Marx Dormoy (, 1 August 1888 – 26 July 1941) was a French socialist politician, noted for his opposition to the far right. Under his leadership as Minister of the Interior in the government of Léon Blum, the French police infiltrated '' ...
, during which the police seized explosives and military weapons, including anti-tank guns.
Far right leagues The far-right leagues () 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 often used in the 1930s to distin ...
organised major riots on 6 February 1934. The groups did not coordinate their efforts and the riots were suppressed by the police and military. Elements on the left were convinced that unity was essential to suppress fascism, and in 1936 they formed the Popular Front and dissolved the leagues. However the right-wing leagues promptly reorganized as political parties and continued vocal attacks on the left.


Vichy France


Fifth Republic

The
Organisation armée secrète The ''Organisation armée secrète'' (OAS, "Secret Army Organisation") was a far-right dissident French paramilitary and terrorist organisation during the Algerian War, founded in 1961 by Raoul Salan, Pierre Lagaillarde and Jean-Jacques S ...
(OAS) was created in Madrid by French military officers opposed to the
independence of Algeria Independence Day (, ), observed annually on 5 July, is a National Holiday in Algeria commemorating colonial Algerian independence from France on 5 July 1962. Algerian War (1954–1962) The Algerian War of Independence began in November ...
. Many of its members would later join various
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
struggles around the world. Some, for example, joined the
Cité catholique The Cité Catholique is a Traditionalist Catholic organisation created in 1946 by Jean Ousset, originally a follower of Charles Maurras (founder of the monarchist '' Action Française'' in 1899) and Jean Masson (1910–1965), not to be confused ...
fundamentalist group and went to Argentina, where they were in contact with the
Argentine Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic () are the combined armed forces of Argentina. It is controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force An air ...
. Jean Pierre Cherid, former OAS member, took part in the 1976
Montejurra massacre The Montejurra incidents, was a neo-fascist terrorist attack that took place on 9 May 1976, when two Carlist members were killed and another three seriously wounded by right-wing gunmen at the annual Carlist Party celebration that was held in ...
against left-wing Carlists., PDF He was then part of the Spanish GAL death squad, and participated in the 1978 assassination of Argala, one of the
ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...
members who had killed
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...
's Prime minister,
Luis Carrero Blanco Admiral-General Luis Carrero Blanco (; 4 March 1904 – 20 December 1973) was a Spanish Navy officer and politician. A long-time confidant and right-hand man of dictator Francisco Franco, Carrero served as Prime Minister of Spain. Upon gr ...
, in 1973.
Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour (; 12 October 1907 – 29 September 1989) was a French lawyer and Far-right politics, far-right politician. Elected to the National Assembly (France), National Assembly in 1936, he initially collaborated with the Vichy ...
was the far-right candidate at the 1965 presidential election. His campaign was organised by
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
.
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
said of Tixier-Vignancourt: "Tixier-Vignancour, that is Vichy, the
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 ...
proud of itself, the
Milice The (French Militia), generally called (; ), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy France, Vichy régime (with Nazi Germany, German aid) to help fight against the French Resistance during World War ...
, the OAS".
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
founded the
Front National The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...
(FN) party in 1972, along with former
Occident The Occident is a term for the West, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Western world. It is the antonym of the term ''Orient'', referring to the Eastern world. In English, it has largely fallen into disuse. The term occidental ...
member Jacques Bompard, former
Collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...
Roland Gaucher Roland Gaucher (; 13 April 1919 – 27 July 2007) was the pseudonym of Roland Goguillot, a French far-right journalist and politician. One of the main thinkers of the French far-right, he had participated in Marcel Déat's fascist party Rassembl ...
,
François Duprat François Duprat (; 26 October 1940 – 18 March 1978) was a French essayist and politician, a founding member of the Front National party and part of the leadership until his assassination in 1978. Duprat was one of the main architects in the ...
, who introduced the
negationist Historical negationism, also called historical denialism, is falsification or distortion of the historical record. This is not the same as ''historical revisionism'', a broader term that extends to newly evidenced, fairly reasoned academic reint ...
thesis to France, and others nostalgics of
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, ...
, Catholic fundamentalists, etc.Le Pen, son univers impitoyable
''
Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...
'', September 1, 2006
Le Pen presented himself for the first time in the 1974 presidential election, obtaining 0.74%. The electoral rise of the FN did not start until
Jean-Pierre Stirbois Jean-Pierre Stirbois (; 30 January 1945 – 5 November 1988) was a French far-right politician. Elected deputy mayor in 1983 of Dreux, a city of around 30,000 inhabitants at the time, he was one of the main architects, along with his wife Mari ...
's victory, in 1983, in
Dreux Dreux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise (river), Blaise, a tributary of the Eure (river), Eure, about 35 km north of Cha ...
. The FN became stronger throughout the 1980s, managing to unite most far-right tendencies, passing electoral alliances with the right-wing
Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...
(RPR), while some FN members quit the party to join the RPR or the Union for a French Democracy (UDF). At the 1986 legislative elections, the FN managed to obtain 35 seats, with 10% of the votes. Meanwhile, other far-right tendencies gathered in
Alain de Benoist Alain de Benoist ( ; ; born 11 December 1943), also known as Fabrice Laroche, Robert de Herte, David Barney, and other pen names, is a French political philosopher and journalist, a founding member of the ''Nouvelle Droite'' (France's European Ne ...
's ''
Nouvelle Droite The ''Nouvelle Droite'' (, ), sometimes shortened to the initialism ND, is a far-right politics, far-right political movement which emerged in France during the late 1960s. The ''Nouvelle Droite'' is the origin of the wider European New Right ( ...
'' think-tank, heading a pro-European and neopagan line. Some radical members of the "national revolutionary" tendency quit the FN to form other minor parties (
Party of New Forces Parti des forces nouvelles (PFN) or Party of New Forces was a French far-right political party formed in November 1974 from the ''Comité faire front'', a group of anti-Jean-Marie Le Pen dissidents who had split from the National Front (FN). De ...
, PFN, and
French and European Nationalist Party The French and European Nationalist Party ( or PNFE) was a French nationalist militant organization active between 1987 and 1999. Led by Claude Cornilleau until 1996, its slogan was "France first, white always" (''France d'abord, blanche toujours ...
, PNFE).


French Third Position's relations with the National Front

Mark Frederiksen Mark Fredriksen (18 November 1936 – 25 August 2011) was a French extreme right figure and the founder, in 1966, of the neo-Nazi '' Fédération d'action nationaliste et européenne''. Biography Fredriksen co-edited ''Notre Europe'', which was ...
, a French Algeria activist, created in April 1966 a
neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
group, the FANE (''Fédération d'action nationaliste et européenne'', Nationalist and European Federation of Action). The FANE boasted at most a hundred activists, including members such as
Luc Michel Luc Michel (14 January 1958 – 1 April 2025) was a Belgian political activist. He was the leader and founder of the Parti Communautaire National-Européen (PCN). According to research by the BBC and Logically, he was also behind Russosphere, ...
, now leader of the ''
Parti communautaire national-européen Parti may refer to: *Parti (service), an online video platform, web hosting, livestreaming, and cloud services business. *Parti (surname), a Hungarian surname, and a list of people with the name * ''Parti'' (architecture), the organizing concepts b ...
'' (National European Communautary Party), Jacques Bastide,
Michel Faci Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
, and
Henri-Robert Petit Henri Petit (alias: Henri-Robert or Henry-Robert) (1899–1985) was a French journalist, Collaborationism#France, collaborationist under the Vichy regime, and French far-far-right activist. Henri Petit wrote several Anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic and ...
, a journalist and former
Collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...
who directed under the
Vichy regime 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 defeat against ...
the newspaper '' Le Pilori''. The FANE maintained international contacts with the British group the
League of Saint George The League of St George is a neo-fascist organisation based in the United Kingdom. It has defined itself as a "non-party, non-sectarian political club" and, whilst forging alliances with different groups, has eschewed close links with other extrem ...
. The FANE rallied
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
's National Front in 1974, gathered around
François Duprat François Duprat (; 26 October 1940 – 18 March 1978) was a French essayist and politician, a founding member of the Front National party and part of the leadership until his assassination in 1978. Duprat was one of the main architects in the ...
and 's Revolutionary Nationalist Groups (GNR), which represented the nationalist revolutionary tendency of the FN. But in 1978, neo-Nazi members of the GNR-FANE broke again with the FN, taking with them sections of the FN youth movement, the Front National de la Jeunesse.Annuaire de l'extrême droite en France
On the other hand, GNR activists closer to the
Third Position The Third Position is a set of neo-fascist political ideologies that were first described in Western Europe following the Second World War. Developed in the context of the Cold War, it developed its name through the claim that it represented ...
(Jacques Bastide and Patrick Gorre) joined
Jean-Gilles Malliarakis Jean-Gilles Malliarakis (born 22 June 1944 in Paris) is a French far-right politician and writer. Biography Early far-right activism Jean-Gilles Malliarakis is the son of Greek painter 'Mayo' (Antoine Malliarakis) and of a French mother. He gre ...
to found, on February 11, 1979, the (''Mouvement nationaliste révolutionnaire''), which became in 1985
Third Way The Third Way is a predominantly centrist political position that attempts to reconcile centre-right and centre-left politics by advocating a varying synthesis of Right-wing economics, right-wing economic and Left-wing politics, left-wing so ...
(''Troisième Voie''). After this brief passage at the National Front, Mark Fredriksen created the ''Faisceaux nationalistes européens'' ( FANE) in July 1980. These would eventually merge with the '' Mouvement national et social ethniste'' in 1987, and then with the
PNFE The French and European Nationalist Party ( or PNFE) was a French nationalist militant organization active between 1987 and 1999. Led by Claude Cornilleau until 1996, its slogan was "France first, white always" (''France d'abord, blanche toujours ...
(French and European Nationalist Party) in January 1994, which also gathered former National Front members. Dissolved first in September 1980 by
Raymond Barre Raymond Octave Joseph Barre (; 12 April 192425 August 2007) was a French politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three presidents ( Rey, Malfatti a ...
's government, Fredriksen's group was recreated, and dissolved again in 1985 by
Laurent Fabius Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. Fabius was 37 years old when he was a ...
' government. Finally, it was dissolved a third time in 1987 by
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
's government, on charges of "violent demonstrations organised by this movement, which has as one of its expressed objective the establishment of a new
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
regime", the "
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
organisation of this association and its inciting of
racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...
".


Alain de Benoist's ''Nouvelle Droite'' and the ''Club de l'Horloge''

In the 1980s,
Alain de Benoist Alain de Benoist ( ; ; born 11 December 1943), also known as Fabrice Laroche, Robert de Herte, David Barney, and other pen names, is a French political philosopher and journalist, a founding member of the ''Nouvelle Droite'' (France's European Ne ...
became chief theorist of the ''
Nouvelle Droite The ''Nouvelle Droite'' (, ), sometimes shortened to the initialism ND, is a far-right politics, far-right political movement which emerged in France during the late 1960s. The ''Nouvelle Droite'' is the origin of the wider European New Right ( ...
'' movement, creating the think-tank
GRECE The Groupement de Recherche et d'Études pour la Civilisation Européenne ("Research and Study Group for European Civilization"), better known as GRECE, is a French ethnonationalist think tank founded in 1968 to promote the ideas of the Nouvell ...
in 1968, some of whose members were involved with the formation of the
Club de l'Horloge The Carrefour de l'Horloge (literally ''The Clock Crossroad''), formerly Club de l'Horloge (1974–2015), is a French far-right national liberal think tank founded in 1974 and presided by Henry de Lesquen. The organization promotes an "integral ne ...
in 1974. They advocated an
ethno-nationalist Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnostate/ethnocratic) approach to variou ...
stance focused on European culture, which advocated a return of
paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
. Members of the GRECE quit the think tank in the 1980s, such as
Pierre Vial Pierre Vial (born 25 December 1942) is an academic medievalist tied to the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. A Nouvelle Droite leader, he is the founder of the far-right, neopagan association Terre et Peuple. Biography Pierre Vial was born on 25 ...
who joined the FN, or
Guillaume Faye Guillaume Faye (; 7 November 1949 – 6 March 2019) was a French political theorist, journalist, writer, and leading member of the French New Right. Continuing the tradition of Giorgio Locchi, his various articles and books sought to posit Isla ...
who quit the organisation along with others members in 1986. Faye participated in 2006 in a conference in the US organised by ''
American Renaissance The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance hu ...
'', a
white separatist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine of ...
magazine published by the
New Century Foundation The New Century Foundation is a white supremacist organization founded in 1994 by Jared Taylor known primarily for publishing a magazine, '' American Renaissance'', which promotes white supremacy. From 1994 to 1999, its activities received cons ...
. Alain de Benoist occasionally contributed to the ''
Mankind Quarterly ''Mankind Quarterly'' is a pseudoscientific journal that covers physical and cultural anthropology, including human evolution, intelligence, ethnography, linguistics, mythology, archaeology, and biology. It has been described as a "cornersto ...
'' review, which supports
hereditarianism Hereditarianism is the research program according to which heredity plays a central role in determining human nature and character traits, such as intelligence and personality. Hereditarians believe in the power of genetic influences to explain ...
and is associated with the US think tank the
Pioneer Fund The Pioneer Fund is an American non-profit foundation established in 1937 "to advance the scientific study of heredity and human differences". The organization has been described as racist and white supremacist in nature. The Southern Pover ...
, headed by J. Philippe Rushton, the author of '' Race, Evolution and Behavior'' (1995), which argues in favour of a biological conception of " race". GRECE and the Pioneer Fund are actively involved in the race and intelligence debate, postulating that there is an identifiable link between levels of intelligence and distinct
ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
s. The Club de l'horloge itself had been founded by
Henry de Lesquen Henry Bertrand Marie Armand de Lesquen du Plessis-Casso (; born 1 January 1949) is a French politician. A retired official and former radio director, De Lesquen has been the president of the Carrefour de l'Horloge, a national-liberal think tan ...
, a former member of the conservative
Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...
, which he quit in 1984. Others members of the Club de l'horloge, such as
Bruno Mégret Bruno Mégret (; born 4 April 1949) is a French former nationalist politician. He was the leader of the Mouvement National Républicain political party, but retired in 2008 from all political action. Youth and studies Born in Paris, Mégret stud ...
, later joined the FN after a short time in the RPR.


Rise of the National Front in the 1980s and Mégret's split

During the 1980s, the National Front managed to gather, under
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
's leadership, most rival far-right tendencies of France, following a succession of splits and alliances with other, minor parties, during the 1970s.


Party of New Forces

One of those parties, the
Party of New Forces Parti des forces nouvelles (PFN) or Party of New Forces was a French far-right political party formed in November 1974 from the ''Comité faire front'', a group of anti-Jean-Marie Le Pen dissidents who had split from the National Front (FN). De ...
(PFN, ''Parti des forces nouvelles''), was an offshoot of the National Front, formed from a 1973 split headed by
Alain Robert Alain Robert (; born Robert Alain Philippe; 7 August 1962) is a French rock climber and urban climber. Nicknamed "the French Spider-Man" or "the Human Spider", Robert carries out free solo climbs of skyscrapers using no climbing equipment ex ...
and
François Brigneau François Brigneau (; 30 April 1919 – 9 April 2012) was a French far-right journalist and author who was a leading figure in '' Ordre Nouveau'', the National Front and the Party of New Forces. Early years Brigneau was born in Concarneau; P ...
who first organised the '' Comité faire front'' which subsequently merged into the PFN. The PFN was formed mainly by former members of New Order (''Ordre nouveau'', 1969–1973), who had refused to merge into the FN at its 1972 creation. New Order, dissolved by Interior Minister
Raymond Marcellin Raymond Marcellin (; 19 August 1914 in Sézanne, Marne – 8 September 2004) was a French politician. Biography The son of a banker, he studied law at the University of Strasbourg and the University of Paris. He worked as a lawyer for three ...
in 1973, was itself a successor to
Occident The Occident is a term for the West, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Western world. It is the antonym of the term ''Orient'', referring to the Eastern world. In English, it has largely fallen into disuse. The term occidental ...
(1964–1968) and of the Union Defense Group (GUD, ''Groupe union défense''). Close to the
Third Position The Third Position is a set of neo-fascist political ideologies that were first described in Western Europe following the Second World War. Developed in the context of the Cold War, it developed its name through the claim that it represented ...
and supporting a "national-revolutionary" thesis, this tendency maintained links with the FN, despite some tensions. The GUD, in particular, had published the satiric monthly ''Alternative'' with the
Youth Front Youth Front (; FJ) was a Spanish political youth organization and far-right militant group, sometimes considered a terrorist organization. History FJ emerged as a 1978 split of New Force, the main neofrancoist party in Spain at the time. The s ...
(''Front de la jeunesse''), the youth organisation of the FN. They also had attempted alliances with other far-right parties in Europe, with New Order organising the alliance "A Fatherland for Tomorrow" (''Une patrie pour demain'') with the Spanish
Falange Falange () is the name of a political party whose ideology is Falangism. Falange primarily refers to: * Falange Española, a Spanish political party active 1933–1934, it merged with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS) * Falange ...
, the
Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement (, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national conservatism. In 1972, the Itali ...
(MSI) and the German National Democratic Party. This European strategy was continued by the PFN, who launched the Euroright alliance, with the MSI, the Spanish New Force and the Belgian PFN, for the 1979 European elections. Headed by
Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour (; 12 October 1907 – 29 September 1989) was a French lawyer and Far-right politics, far-right politician. Elected to the National Assembly (France), National Assembly in 1936, he initially collaborated with the Vichy ...
, the PFN won 1.3% of the vote. This electoral failure prompted
Roland Gaucher Roland Gaucher (; 13 April 1919 – 27 July 2007) was the pseudonym of Roland Goguillot, a French far-right journalist and politician. One of the main thinkers of the French far-right, he had participated in Marcel Déat's fascist party Rassembl ...
and
François Brigneau François Brigneau (; 30 April 1919 – 9 April 2012) was a French far-right journalist and author who was a leading figure in '' Ordre Nouveau'', the National Front and the Party of New Forces. Early years Brigneau was born in Concarneau; P ...
to quit the party and join Le Pen's National Front.


1981 presidential election

The French far-right was divided in the 1981 presidential election, with both Pascal Gauchon (PFN) and Le Pen (FN) attempting, without success, to secure the 500 signatures from mayors necessary to stand as candidates.
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 ...
(
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
) won those elections, competing against
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
(
Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...
, RPR).


1983 elections and rise

These succeeding electoral defeats prompted the far-right to unify itself. In 1983, the FN managed to make its first electoral breakthrough, taking control of the town of
Dreux Dreux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise (river), Blaise, a tributary of the Eure (river), Eure, about 35 km north of Cha ...
:
Jean-Pierre Stirbois Jean-Pierre Stirbois (; 30 January 1945 – 5 November 1988) was a French far-right politician. Elected deputy mayor in 1983 of Dreux, a city of around 30,000 inhabitants at the time, he was one of the main architects, along with his wife Mari ...
obtained 17% of the votes in the first round, for the FN municipal list. In the second round, he merged his list with Chirac's RPR list (headed by Jean Hieaux), enabling the right to claim a victory against the
left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...
. Chirac supported the alliance with the far-right, claiming that the Socialist Party, allied with the Communist Party in government, had no lessons to give. This first electoral success was confirmed at the 1984 European elections, the FN obtaining 10% of the votes. Two years later, the FN gained 35 deputies (nearly 10% of the votes) at the 1986 legislative elections, running under the label of "''Rassemblement national''". Those elected included the monarchist Georges-Paul Wagner. Internal disputes continued however to divide the far-right. Following the 1986 elections, which brought
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
to power as
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, some hardliners inside the FN broke away to create the
French and European Nationalist Party The French and European Nationalist Party ( or PNFE) was a French nationalist militant organization active between 1987 and 1999. Led by Claude Cornilleau until 1996, its slogan was "France first, white always" (''France d'abord, blanche toujours ...
(PNFE, Parti Nationaliste Français et Européen), along with members of
Mark Frederiksen Mark Fredriksen (18 November 1936 – 25 August 2011) was a French extreme right figure and the founder, in 1966, of the neo-Nazi '' Fédération d'action nationaliste et européenne''. Biography Fredriksen co-edited ''Notre Europe'', which was ...
's Third Position FANE. Three former members of the PNFE were charged of having desecrated, in 1990, a Jewish cemetery in
Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the ...
. The PNFE was also implicated in the
1988 Cannes and Nice attacks The 1988 Cannes and Nice attacks were two bombings carried out by neo-Nazis posing as Jewish extremists, targeting immigrant hostels. One person was killed and sixteen others were injured. Attacks On 9 May 1988, a Sonacotra hostel in Cannes tha ...
.


Mégret's split, 2002 election results and subsequent electoral fall

The most important split was headed by
Bruno Mégret Bruno Mégret (; born 4 April 1949) is a French former nationalist politician. He was the leader of the Mouvement National Républicain political party, but retired in 2008 from all political action. Youth and studies Born in Paris, Mégret stud ...
in 1999. Taking many FN elected representatives and party officials with him, he then created the
National Republican Movement The National Republican Movement (''Mouvement national républicain'' or MNR) is a French nationalist political party, created by Bruno Mégret with former Club de l'Horloge members Yvan Blot (also a member of GRECE) and Jean-Yves Le Gallou, ...
(MNR). However, with an eye to the 2007 legislative elections, he supported Le Pen's candidacy for the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
. During these presidential elections,
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
only took 10.4% of the vote, compared to his 16.9% first round result in 2002, qualifying him for the second round, where he achieved 17.79% against 82.21% for
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
(
Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...
, RPR). With only 1.85% in the second round of the 2002 legislative elections, the FN failed to gain any seats in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
. In the
2007 presidential election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto list of sovereign states, sovereign states and their list of dependent territories, dependent territories. Referendums are included ...
, Le Pen finished fourth, behind
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
,
Ségolène Royal Ségolène Royal (; born Marie-Ségolène Royal; 22 September 1953) is a French politician who took part in the 2007 French presidential election, losing to Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round. She was the first woman in France's history to r ...
and
François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since December 2024. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (France ...
.
Philippe de Villiers Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers (; born 25 March 1949), is a French entrepreneur, politician and novelist.Catholic traditionalist Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Tr ...
candidate of the
Movement for France The Movement for France (, MPF; ) was a Conservatism, conservative Soft Euroscepticism, Eurosceptic List of political parties in France, French political party, founded on 20 November 1994, with a marked Regions of France, regional stronghold in ...
(especially strong in the conservative
Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.2007 legislative elections, the FN obtaining only 0.08% of the votes in the second round, and therefore no seats.


Le Pen's succession

These electoral defeats, which contrasted with the high score obtained at the 2002 presidential elections, caused financial problems for the FN, which was forced to sell its headquarters, the ''
Paquebot Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...
'', in
Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French 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 wealthie ...
. Le Pen then announced, in 2008, that he would not compete again in presidential elections, leaving the way for contest for the leadership of the FN between his daughter,
Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...
, whom he favoured, and
Bruno Gollnisch Bruno Gollnisch (; born 28 January 1950) is a French academic and politician of the far-right National Rally (RN), formerly known as National Front. He was a member of the European Parliament and was chairman of the European Parliamentary group ...
. The latter had been condemned in January 2007 for
Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...
, while Marine Le Pen attempted to follow a slicker strategy to give the FN a more "respectable" image.


FN 2010s surge

Since her election as the leader of the party in 2011, the popularity of the FN continued to grow apace as the party won several municipalities at the 2014 municipal elections; it topped the poll in France at the 2014 European elections with 25% of the vote; and again won more votes than any other party in the 2015 departmental elections. The party once again came in first place in the 2015 regional elections with a historic result of just under 28% of the vote. By 2015, the FN had established itself as one of the largest political forces in France, unusually being both most popular and most controversial political party. For the
2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...
, Le Pen came third in the first round, scoring 17.9% – the partys then best showing ever for the FN. For the 2017 presidential election, Le Pen came second in the first round, scoring 21.3% – the best showing ever for the FN. in the second round she came second with 33.9% a best for NF. In 2018, the National Front was renamed ''National Rally''.


2020s and onwards: between polarisation of the rights and dediabolisation strategies

Far right parties have never enjoyed such a big popularity as they have done since the results of the 2017 and 2022 elections. For the 2022 presidential election, Le Pen came second in the first round, scoring 23.15% – the best showing ever for the RN. Eric Zemmour got 7.07%. Total Far Right vote was 32%, the highest vote ever in a French election. Marine Le Pen may have lost in the second round, but nonetheless her defeat had a taste of victory: the score of 41.46% was the best showing ever for the RN or for a Far Right candidate. The main reason of the success of the ''Rassemblement National'' lies with the political strategies of normalisation and dediabolisation led by Marine Le Pen and her fellow members of the party, to rally votes of right wing centrists, and to sweep away the extremism her father had cast upon the party. However, the most radical fraction of the ''Rassemblement National'' accused Marine Le Pen of not being radical enough. In parallel,
Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French History of far-right movements in France, far-right politician, essayist, writer and political journalist and pundit. He was an editor and panelist on ''Face à l'Info'', a daily show ...
, a far-right pundit with no previous party affiliation or political experience, created his own party,
Reconquête Reconquête (, ), stylised as Reconquête! (often shortened as R!), is a far-right political party in France founded in late 2021 by Éric Zemmour, who has since served as its leader. He was a candidate in the 2022 presidential election, in w ...
. His views, as a former journalist, in topics such as immigration are much more outspoken and radical than Le Pens. He even overtook Le Pen in one of the polls in the early days of the creation of his party. Le Pen's niece, Marion Maréchal Le Pen, former member of RN became a member of Reconquête in 2021 while arguing herself and her aunt had "ideological differences". She was excluded of the party on the 18th June, accused of high treason by the head-of-party Eric Zemmour after she showed support for the Central- Far Right coalition between Eric Ciotti's Party
The Republicans (France) The Republicans (, ; LR) is a liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the tradition of Gaullism. The party was formed in 2015 as the refoundation of the Union for a Popular Movem ...
and Rassemblement National. In the June 2022
Assemblée Nationale The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known as () or deputies. There are 577 , each elected by ...
election, the RN gained 89 seats in the national assembly, winning the party enough seats to form a parliamentary group for the first time since 1986.


European elections of 2024: the approach to power

The result of the European election was a long-awaited result for Le Pen. Arriving ahead of all other parties, Jordan Bardella's party "''La France revient!''" (''lit.'' "France is coming back") cumulated 31,37% of votes. Turnout rate reached 51.49% and was 1.37 points higher than in 2019. To this, President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the French Assembly and called for anticipated legislative elections on 30th and 3 July, acknowledging "that he wouldn't act as is nothing had happened." and arguing that far right parties are the impoverishment of French people.


2024 Legislative Elections: alliance of the rights and countermovements

On the night of June 9, following the announcement of new elections,
Marion Maréchal Marion Jeanne Caroline Maréchal (; ; born 10 December 1989), known as Marion Maréchal-Le Pen from 2010 to 2018, is a French politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2024 European Parliament election in Fran ...
called for a "coalition of the rights" in the hopes of forming a union between the RN, LR, Reconquête! and DLF, mixing right-wing and far-right parties. In the following days,
Marion Maréchal Marion Jeanne Caroline Maréchal (; ; born 10 December 1989), known as Marion Maréchal-Le Pen from 2010 to 2018, is a French politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2024 European Parliament election in Fran ...
met with RN officials to discuss the modalities of a potential RN and Reconquête! coalition. However, on June 11, talks between the two parties failed as
Jordan Bardella Jordan Bardella (; born 13 September 1995) is a French politician who has been the president of the National Rally (RN) since 2022, after serving as acting president from September 2021 to November 2022 and as vice-president from 2019 to 2022. ...
refused "any direct or indirect association with Éric Zemmour". Despite not reaching an agreement,
Marion Maréchal Marion Jeanne Caroline Maréchal (; ; born 10 December 1989), known as Marion Maréchal-Le Pen from 2010 to 2018, is a French politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2024 European Parliament election in Fran ...
exhorted her followers to vote for the RN-LR alliance the next day.
Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French History of far-right movements in France, far-right politician, essayist, writer and political journalist and pundit. He was an editor and panelist on ''Face à l'Info'', a daily show ...
denounced
Marion Maréchal Marion Jeanne Caroline Maréchal (; ; born 10 December 1989), known as Marion Maréchal-Le Pen from 2010 to 2018, is a French politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2024 European Parliament election in Fran ...
's declaration, calling her out for her "treason" and excluding her from Reconquête!. On June 11,
Éric Ciotti Éric Ciotti ( or , ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who led The Republicans (LR) from 2022 to 2024. He has represented Alpes-Maritimes's 1st constituency in the National Assembly since the 2007 legislative election. Once a m ...
, the president of LR, announced during an interview on
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...
that he intended to form an alliance between his party and the RN, triggering The Republicans crisis. This announcement broke the historical '' cordon sanitaire'' between the French republican right and the far-right. However, many figures of LR criticized
Éric Ciotti Éric Ciotti ( or , ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who led The Republicans (LR) from 2022 to 2024. He has represented Alpes-Maritimes's 1st constituency in the National Assembly since the 2007 legislative election. Once a m ...
's decision to ally with the RN. In an interview in the evening on
France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
,
Jordan Bardella Jordan Bardella (; born 13 September 1995) is a French politician who has been the president of the National Rally (RN) since 2022, after serving as acting president from September 2021 to November 2022 and as vice-president from 2019 to 2022. ...
, president of the RN, confirmed the alliance between the RN and LR, declaring that a "deal" has been made between the two parties and that the RN will support multiple candidates of LR. On June 12, a political committee composed of influential members of LR declared the exclusion of
Éric Ciotti Éric Ciotti ( or , ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who led The Republicans (LR) from 2022 to 2024. He has represented Alpes-Maritimes's 1st constituency in the National Assembly since the 2007 legislative election. Once a m ...
from the party.
Éric Ciotti Éric Ciotti ( or , ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who led The Republicans (LR) from 2022 to 2024. He has represented Alpes-Maritimes's 1st constituency in the National Assembly since the 2007 legislative election. Once a m ...
contested this decision, claiming that he was still president of the party. This issue was brought to justice, where a judge temporarily invalidated the political committee's decision. However, a second political committee again excluded
Éric Ciotti Éric Ciotti ( or , ; born 28 September 1965) is a French politician who led The Republicans (LR) from 2022 to 2024. He has represented Alpes-Maritimes's 1st constituency in the National Assembly since the 2007 legislative election. Once a m ...
from LR on June 14. In response to the threat of a potential RN government, France's 4 major leftist parties, the PS, LFI, Les Écologistes and the PCF, announced a union of the lefts, forming the
New Popular Front The New Popular Front ( , NFP) is a broad Left-wing politics, left-wing electoral alliance with centre-left politics, centre-left and far-left politics, far-left factions in France. It was launched on 10 June 2024 to contest the 2024 French leg ...
. Moreover, around 640 000 people mobilized against the far-right in a nationwide protest on June 15; 75 000 or 250 000 of which, depending on sources, were in Paris.


Individuals and groups


Individuals

*
Raymond Abellio Georges Soulès (11 November 1907 – 26 August 1986), known by his pen name Raymond Abellio, was a French writer. Life Abellio was born in Toulouse and attended courses at the École Polytechnique. He later joined the X-Crise Group. He advocate ...
* Marc Augier *
Jacques Bainville Jacques Pierre Bainville (; 9 February 1879 – 9 February 1936) was a French historian and journalist. A geopolitical theorist, concerned by Franco-German relations, he was a leading figure in the monarchist ''Action Française''. As fascinated ...
*
Maurice Barrès Auguste-Maurice Barrès (; 19 August 1862 – 4 December 1923) was a French novelist, journalist, philosopher, and politician. Spending some time in Italy, he became a figure in French literature with the release of his work ''The Cult of the S ...
*
René Benjamin René Benjamin (; 1885 in Paris, France - 1948 in Tours, France) was a French writer. In 1915 he received the Prix Goncourt for his novel ''Gaspard''. In 1938, he became the first Goncourt laureate to be appointed a member of the Académie Gonco ...
*
Jacques Benoist-Méchin Jacques Michel Gabriel Paul Benoist-Méchin (1 July 1901 – 24 February 1983) was a French far right politician and writer. He was born and died in Paris. Well known as a journalist, he later became prominent for his collaborationism under the ...
*
Henri Béraud Henri Béraud (; 21 September 1885 in Lyon – 24 October 1958 in Saint-Clément-des-Baleines, Ré Island), also known as Tristan Audebert, was a French novelist and journalist. He was sentenced to death in 1945, which was later commuted to ...
*
Abel Bonnard Abel Jean Désiré Bonnard (; 19 December 1883 31 May 1968) was a French poet, novelist and politician. Biography Born in Poitiers, Vienne, his early education was in Marseille with secondary studies at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. A stu ...
*
Paul Bourget Paul Charles Joseph Bourget (; 2 September 185225 December 1935) was a French poet, novelist and critic. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Paul Bourget was born in Amiens, France. He initially abandoned Catholicism ...
*
Pierre Boutang Pierre Boutang (20 September 1916 – 27 June 1998) was a French philosopher, poet and translator. He was also a political journalist, associated with the currents of Maurrasianism and Royalism. Biography Boutang was an alumnus of the '' Eco ...
*
Robert Brasillach Robert Brasillach (; 31 March 1909 – 6 February 1945) was a French author and journalist. He was the editor of '' Je suis partout'', a nationalist newspaper which advocated fascist movements and supported Jacques Doriot. After the liberation o ...
*
Renaud Camus Renaud Camus (; ; born Jean Renaud Gabriel Camus on 10 August 1946) is a French novelist and conspiracy theorist. He is the originator of the far-right "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, which claims that a "global elite" is colluding again ...
*
Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( ; ), was a French novelist, polemicist, and physician. His first novel '' Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the ' ...
*
Jacques Chardonne Jacques Chardonne (born ''Jacques Boutelleau''; 2 January 1884, in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire, Charente – 29 May 1968, in La Frette-sur-Seine) is the pseudonym of French writer Jacques Boutelleau. He was a member of the so-called Groupe de Barbezie ...
*
Alphonse de Châteaubriant Alphonse Van Bredenbeck de Châteaubriant (; 25 March 1877 – 2 May 1951) was a French writer who won the Prix Goncourt in 1911 for his novel ''Monsieur de Lourdines'' and Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française for '' La Brière'' in 192 ...
*
Léon Daudet Léon Daudet (; 16 November 1867 – 2 July 1942) was a French journalist, writer, an active monarchist, and a member of the Académie Goncourt. Move to the right Daudet was born in Paris. His father was the novelist Alphonse Daudet, his m ...
*
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 1930 ...
*
Édouard Drumont Édouard Adolphe Drumont (3 May 1844 – 5 February 1917) was a French journalist, author and politician, most often remembered for his antisemitic ideology and animus. He initiated the Antisemitic League of France in 1889, and was the founder ...
* André Fraigneau *
Pierre Gaxotte Pierre Gaxotte (19 November 1895 – 21 November 1982) was a French historian. Gaxotte was born in Revigny-sur-Ornain, Meuse. He began his career as a history teacher at the Lycée Charlemagne and later worked as a columnist for ''Le Figaro''. Ov ...
* Pierre Gripari *
Kléber Haedens Kléber Haedens (11 December 1913 in Équeurdreville – 13 August 1976), was a French novelist and journalist. He was a monarchist and a member of the Action Française in the 1930s. During World War II he worked as a secretary for Charles Maurra ...
*
Marcel Jouhandeau Marcel Jouhandeau (; 26 July 18887 April 1979) was a French writer. Biography Born in Guéret, Creuse, France, Marcel Jouhandeau grew up in a world of women presided over by his grandmother. Under the influence of a young woman from the Carmel of ...
*
Jacques de Lacretelle Jacques de Lacretelle (14 July 1888 in Cormatin, Saône-et-Loire – 2 January 1985) was a French novelist. He was elected to the Académie Française on 12 November 1936. Bibliography * 1920 ''La vie inquiète de Jean Hermelin'' (Grasset) * ...
*
Jean Mabire Jean Mabire (8 February 1927—29 March 2006) was a French journalist and essayist, author of over a hundred published works. A neo-pagan and nordicist, Mabire is known for the regionalist and euronationalist ideas that he developed in both ''Eu ...
*
Henri Massis Henri Massis (21 March 1886 – 16 April 1970) was a French conservative essayist, literary critic and literary historian. Biography Massis was born in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, and attended Lycée Condorcet and University of Paris. He ...
*
Thierry Maulnier Thierry Maulnier (born Jacques Talagrand; 1 October 1909 – 9 January 1988) was a French journalist, essayist, dramatist, and literary critic who was born in Alès and died in Marnes-la-Coquette. He was married to theatre director Marcelle ...
*
Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet and critic. He was an organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...
*
Jean-Pierre Maxence Jean-Pierre Maxence (20 August 1906 – 16 May 1956) was a French writer who was one of the so-called Non-conformists of the 1930s. Maxence was a leading figure within the so-called ''Jeune Droite'' tendency and was associated with other Catholic ...
*
Henry de Monfreid Henry de Monfreid (14 November 1879 in Leucate – 13 December 1974) was a French adventurer and author. Born in Leucate, Aude, France, he was the son of artist painter Georges-Daniel de Monfreid and knew Paul Gauguin as a child. Monfreid ...
*
Lucien Rebatet Lucien Rebatet (15 November 1903 – 24 August 1972) was a French fascist, writer, journalist, and intellectual. He is known as an exponent of fascism and also as the author of '' Les Deux étendards''. Biography Early life Rebatet was born and ...
*
Hugues Rebell Georges Grassal de Choffat or Hugues Rebell (27 October 1867 in Nantes – 6 March 1905 in Paris) was a French author. He wrote against Christianity and professed paganism while remaining a Catholic. An exponent of Friedrich Nietzsche, he was asso ...
*
Paul Sérant Paul Sérant is the pen name of Paul Salleron (19 March 1922 – 4 October 2002), a French journalist and writer. He was the brother of the Catholic theoretician Louis Salleron. He was a great lover of the French language, but was also a love ...
* Pierre Sidos *
Alain Soral Alain Bonnet, known as Alain Soral (; born 2 October 1958), is a far-right Franco-Swiss ideologue, essayist, filmmaker, and actor. Having been a member of the French Communist Party in the 1990s, Soral worked for the National Front before lea ...
*
Georges Vacher de Lapouge Count Georges Vacher de Lapouge (; 12 December 1854 – 20 February 1936) was a French anthropologist and a theoretician of eugenics and scientific racism. He is known as the founder of anthroposociology, the anthropological and sociological study ...
*
Dominique Venner Dominique Venner (; 16 April 1935 – 21 May 2013) was a French historian, journalist, and essayist. Venner was a member of the Organisation armée secrète and later became a European nationalist, founding the neo-fascist and white national ...
*
Pierre Vial Pierre Vial (born 25 December 1942) is an academic medievalist tied to the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. A Nouvelle Droite leader, he is the founder of the far-right, neopagan association Terre et Peuple. Biography Pierre Vial was born on 25 ...
*
Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French History of far-right movements in France, far-right politician, essayist, writer and political journalist and pundit. He was an editor and panelist on ''Face à l'Info'', a daily show ...


Other minor groups

Other minor groups that are or have been active in the Fifth Republic include: *
Groupe Union Défense Groupe Union Défense (originally named ''Groupe Union Droit''), better known as GUD, was a French far-right students' union formed in the 1960s. After a period of inactivity it relaunched in 2022. The GUD was based in Panthéon-Assas Universi ...
is French far-right student association * Bastion Social is a nationalist youth movement *
Unité Radicale Unité Radicale was a French far-right political group close to the Third Position and National Bolshevism thesis. It was founded in June 1998 from the merger of Groupe Union Défense and Nouvelle Résistance/ Jeune Résistance/ Union des Cerc ...
(one of its members, Maxime Brunerie, tried to assassinate President
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
in 2002) *
Les Identitaires Les Identitaires (English: The Identitarians), formerly the Bloc identitaire (English: ''Identitarian Bloc''), is an Identitarian nationalist movement in France. Like the French New Right, some generally consider the movement far-right or s ...
, formerly Bloc identitaire, an offshoot of Unité Radicale, dissolved after Brunerie's assassination attempt, which publicly distributes so-called "identity soups" ("''soupes identitaires''"), that is "popular soups" with pork in order to exclude religious Jews and Muslims from them. *
Parti Nationaliste Français et Européen The French and European Nationalist Party ( or PNFE) was a French nationalist militant organization active between 1987 and 1999. Led by Claude Cornilleau until 1996, its slogan was "France first, white always" (''France d'abord, blanche toujours ...
(PNFE), a Pan-European nationalist group with which Brunerie was also associated. * Parti des forces nouvelles, formed from an early anti-Le Pen faction of the Front National. * Réseau Radical, a study group. * Troisième Voie, a
Third Position The Third Position is a set of neo-fascist political ideologies that were first described in Western Europe following the Second World War. Developed in the context of the Cold War, it developed its name through the claim that it represented ...
movement with links to the far right student movement
Groupe Union Défense Groupe Union Défense (originally named ''Groupe Union Droit''), better known as GUD, was a French far-right students' union formed in the 1960s. After a period of inactivity it relaunched in 2022. The GUD was based in Panthéon-Assas Universi ...
.


See also

*
Rock identitaire français Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
*
Breton Social-National Workers' Movement The Breton Social-National Workers' Movement () 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 pro ...
* Radical right


References


Bibliography

* Davies, Peter. ''The National Front in France. Ideology, Discourse and Power'' (Routledge, 1999) * Fuller, Robert Lynn. ''The Origins of the French Nationalist Movement, 1886-1914'' (McFarland, 2012) * Hainsworth, Paul. "The Extreme Right in France: From Pétain to Le Pen". ''Modern & Contemporary France'' (2012) 20#3 pp: 392-392
abstract
* Hutton, Patrick. "Popular Boulangism and the Advent of Mass Politics in France, 1886-90" ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (1976) 11#1 pp. 85–10
in JSTOR
* Irvine, William. ''The Boulanger Affair Reconsidered, Royalism, Boulangism, and the Origins of the Radical Right in France'' (Oxford University Press, 1989) * Irvine, William D. ''French Conservatism in Crisis: The Republican Federation of France in the 1930s'' (1979). * Kalman, Samuel, and Sean Kennedy, eds. ''The French Right Between the Wars: Political and Intellectual Movements From Conservatism to Fascism'' (Berghahn Books; 2014) 264 pages; scholars examine such topics as veterans and the extreme right, female right-wing militancy, and visions of masculinity in the natalist-familialist movement. * Millington, Chris. ''A History of Fascism in France: From the First World War to the National Front'' (Bloomsbury, 2019
online review
* Passmore, Kevin. "The Historiography of 'Fascism' in France", ''French Historical Studies'' 37 (2014): 469-499 * Passmore, Kevin. ''The Right in France from the Third Republic to Vichy'' (Oxford University Press, 2013) * Russo, Luana. "France: The historic victory of the Front National". in ''The European Parliament Elections of 2014'' (2014): 181-8
online
* Shields, James. "Marine Le Pen and the 'New' FN: A Change of Style or of Substance?" ''Parliamentary affairs'' (2013) 66#1 pp: 179–196
abstract
* Weber, Eugen. ''L'Action Française, Royalism and Reaction in Twentieth-Century France'' (Stanford University Press, 1962) * Winock, Michel. ''Nationalism, anti-semitism, and fascism in France'' (Stanford University Press, 1998) In French * Bertrand Joly, ''Nationalistes et Conservateurs en France, 1885-1902'' (Les Indes Savantes, 2008) * Winock, Michel (dir.), ''Histoire de l'extrême droite en France'' (1993) {{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Far Right Movements In France Political history of France History of political thought