Poujadism is a
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 ...
political ideology and movement, named after
Pierre Poujade
Pierre Poujade (; 1 December 1920 – 27 August 2003) was a French right-wing populist politician after whom the Poujadist movement was named.
Biography
Pierre Poujade was born in Saint-Céré (Le Lot), France, and studied at Collège Saint- ...
. Current British political parties which claim to be heirs to his tradition are the
Populist Party (UK) and
Third Way (UK). Margaret Thatcher was often (incorrectly) described as a Poujadist due to her beginnings as the daughter of a grocer.
History
After , Poujade was the owner of a book and stationery store.
On 23 July 1953, with a group of about 20 persons, Poujade prevented inspectors of the tax board from verifying the income of another shopkeeper. This was the start of a
tax protest
A tax protester is someone who refuses to pay a tax claiming that the tax laws are unconstitutional or otherwise invalid. Tax protesters are different from tax resisters, who refuse to pay taxes as a protest against a government or its policies ...
movement by shopkeepers, first in the
Lot department, then in the
Aveyron
Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...
department, and finally the whole south of the
Massif Central.
On 29 November 1953, Pierre Poujade created the ''
Union de Défense des Commerçants et Artisans'' (UDCA; Defense Union of Shopkeepers and Craftsmen), to organize the tax protesters. This movement would soon be called "Poujadism" (French: ''Poujadisme'').
Poujadism flourished most vigorously in the last years of the
Fourth Republic, and articulated the economic interests and grievances of shopkeepers and other proprietor-managers of small businesses facing economic and social change. The main themes of Poujadism concerned the defense of the
common man against the elites.
In addition to the protest against the income tax and the price control imposed by finance minister
Antoine Pinay
Antoine Pinay (; 30 December 1891 – 13 December 1994) was a French conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1952 to 1953 and French Foreign Minister from 1955 to 1956.
Life
Antoine Pinay was born on 30 December 1891 ...
to limit inflation, Poujadism was opposed to
industrialization
Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...
,
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...
, and American-style
modernization
Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...
, which were perceived as a threat to the identity of rural France.
[Serieys, Jacques (23 July 2009). "23 juillet 1953 : Pierre Poujade lance le poujadisme sur le Lot, l'Aveyron puis la France rurale entière. Remarques sur le mouvement des commerçants et artisans". Parti de Gauche: Midi-Pyrénées, 23 July 2009. Retrieved from http://www.prs12.com/spip.php?article3648 .]
References
Sources
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Eponymous political ideologies
Far-right politics in France
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