Pierre Pujo, born on November 19, 1929, in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

and died on November 10, 2007, in Paris's 14th arrondissement, was a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

media proprietor A media proprietor, also called a media executive, media mogul, media tycoon, or press baron is an entrepreneur who controls any means of public or commercial mass media, through the personal ownership or holding of a dominant position within a ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

with a

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

background in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was the son of

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 ...

(co-founder of the ''

Revue d'Action française A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during ...

'' alongside

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 ...

in 1899) and Élisabeth Bernard.Maternal lineage sourced from ''À la découverte de leurs racines,'' Volume I, chapter "Maurice Pujo," by Joseph Valynseele and Denis Grando, L'Intermédiaire des Chercheurs et Curieux, 1988.

Biography

During the Occupation, Pujo attended the Jesuit college in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, and after the

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, he transferred to the Collège Stanislas in Paris. At the age of 15, he began his activism with 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 ...

. Later, he joined the

Institut d'études politiques de Paris Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

, where he was a classmate of

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 ...

. After earning a law degree and a degree in literature, Pujo trained at the Institut technique de banque (ITB) and embarked on a banking career, working for eleven years at

Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cen ...

. From 1962 to 1966, he directed the student journal of the

Restauration nationale The Restauration Nationale (often abbreviated as RN) is a French political movement rooted in the royalist tradition and aligned with the legacy of the Action française. Positioned on the far-right of the political spectrum, it was founded in 195 ...

, ''

AF Université ''Aspects de la France'' (initially titled ''Aspects de la France et du Monde''), subtitled "The Weekly of Action Française", served as the official publication of the Restauration nationale. It became the hub around which Action Française was ...

'', and later the weekly ''

Aspects de la France ''Aspects de la France'' (initially titled ''Aspects de la France et du Monde''), subtitled "The Weekly of Action Française", served as the official publication of the Restauration nationale. It became the hub around which Action Française was ...

'', which became ''

L'Action française hebdo ''L'Action Tunisienne'' (sometimes abbreviated to L'Action) is a former Tunisian Francophone newspaper founded by Habib Bourguiba and published from November 1, 1932, to March 19, 1988. Working for the Destour party, at first, it later became p ...

'' in 1992. His editorials, titled "Lessons in French Politics," appeared regularly in the publication. Pujo served as the president of the Action française's steering committee and as the director of the biweekly royalist,

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

, and

sovereigntist Sovereigntism, sovereignism or souverainism (from , , meaning "the ideology of sovereignty") is the notion of having control over one's conditions of existence, whether at the level of the self, social group, region, nation or globe. Typically ...

journal ''

L'Action française 2000 ''L'Action française 2000'' was a French newspaper founded in Paris in 1998 by Pierre Pujo, from the Centre royaliste d'Action française (CRAF). It served as the organ of the Action française political movement and ceased publication in 2018. ...

'' (formerly ''L'Action française hebdo''), which was affiliated with the

Centre royaliste d'Action française Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He authored several works chronicling the history of the

movement, co-founded by his father, Maurice Pujo, alongside

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 ...

and

. A firm believer in the royalist tradition originating with the Capetians, he supported the legitimacy of the House of Orléans. Occasionally, Pujo wrote under the pseudonym "Jacques Cépoy",The pseudonym "Jacques Cépoy" was inspired by the town of

Cepoy Cepoy () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Population See also * Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of France. The communes cooperate ...

, located near

Ferrières-en-Gâtinais Ferrières-en-Gâtinais (; literally "Ferrières in Gâtinais", before 2001: ''Ferrières'') is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Ferrières was the site of the Benedictine monastery Ferrières Abbey, which had an ext ...

(Loiret), where Maurice Pujo was born and where Pierre Pujo stayed periodically. particularly when penning editorials for ''

''. Key moments in his career included opposition to

Algerian independence An independence referendum was held in French Algeria on 1 July 1962. It followed French approval of the Évian Accords in an April referendum. Voters were asked whether Algeria should become an independent state, co-operating with France; 99.7 ...

and his successful efforts to retain the island of Mayotte within the French national community in 1976. Later, he critically observed the rise of the National Front. In 2002, Pujo endorsed

Jean-Pierre Chevènement Jean-Pierre Chevènement (; born 9 March 1939) ...

in the first round of the presidential election, attracted by Chevènement’s traditional and patriotic approach to politics. In 2007, he supported

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 ...

due to Le Pen’s opposition to the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...

, though he expressed reservations about Le Pen, particularly regarding the commemoration of the

Battle of Valmy The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of Kingdom of France (1791–92), France during the French Revolutionary Wars, Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battl ...

by the National Front in September 2006."Le dernier des ralliés," ''L'Action française 2000'' , October 5, 2006. He had a sister, Marielle Pujo.

Works

* ''Aspects de la Vie Politique'' (4 vols., 1968). * ''La Droite Nationale et Nous'' (1969). * ''Actualité de la Monarchie'' (1974). * ''Mayotte 79. La France dans l'Océan Indien'' (1979). * ''L'Action Française et la Maison de France'' (1987). * ''La Monarchie aujourd'hui'' (1988). * Postface to a new edition of Maurice Pujo's ''Les Camelots du Roi'' (1989). * ''Mayotte la Française'' (1993). * Preface to François Marie Algoud's ''France, Notre Seule Patrie'' (2001). * ''Un Demi-siècle d'Action Française, 1944-1999'' (1999). * ''L'Autre Résistance: L'Action Française sous l'Occupation'' (2004).

References

External links

Portrait of Pierre Pujo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pujo, Pierre 1929 births 2007 deaths Activists from Boulogne-Billancourt Politicians from Boulogne-Billancourt People affiliated with Action Française French journalists French nationalists French essayists Sciences Po alumni French activists French media executives 20th-century French politicians