Antisemitic League of France
Encyclopedia
The Antisemitic League of France was founded in 1889 by the journalist Edouard Drumont
. First known under the name of Ligue nationale antisémitique de France (National Antisemitic League of France) or Ligue antisémite française (French Antisemitic League), this nationalist league was created in the midst of the Dreyfus Affair
. Beside spreading anti-Semitic propaganda, the League was also anti-Masonry
and anticommunist. It had as general delegates Jacques de Biez. Jules Guérin
was an active member of it. The League was located on rue Lepic in Paris
.
Its 1889 foundation was inspired by the success of the antisemitic pamphlet of Drumont, La France juive, and also by the Boulangist crisis. It was supported by newspapers such as Drumont's La Libre Parole, Jules Guérin's L'Antijuif, Maurice Barrès
's La Cocarde, Henri Rochefort's L'Intransigeant
and the Catholic newspaper La Croix
.
Beside propaganda, the League also organized antisemitic demonstrations and provoked some riots, a method later generalized by the far-right leagues in France. It denounced the Panama scandals
, took side against Alfred Dreyfus
and spread conspiracy theories concerning the Masonry's alleged activities in the Third Republic
.
After a disagreement between Drumont and Guérin in 1899, the League became, under the direction of Guérin, the Grand Occident de France, still anti-Semitic but even more anti-Masonic, the name itself been a reaction against the Grand Orient de France
. It was thereafter essentially linked to Guérin's newspaper, L'Antijuif. The League progressively disappeared after the Fort Chabrol affair and the arrest of Guérin. After an initial surge during the Dreyfus Affair, far right leagues appeared again during the interwar period
.
Edouard Drumont
Édouard Adolphe Drumont was a French journalist and writer. He founded the Antisemitic League of France in 1889, and was the founder and editor of the newspaper La Libre Parole.- Early life :...
. First known under the name of Ligue nationale antisémitique de France (National Antisemitic League of France) or Ligue antisémite française (French Antisemitic League), this nationalist league was created in the midst of the Dreyfus Affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
. Beside spreading anti-Semitic propaganda, the League was also anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry is defined as "avowed opposition to Freemasonry". However, there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement...
and anticommunist. It had as general delegates Jacques de Biez. Jules Guérin
Jules Guérin
Jules Guérin was the founder and leader of the French Ligue Antisemitique, an organisation similar to the Ligue des Patriotes. The Ligue was involved in many anti-semitic and anti-Dreyfus protests during the Dreyfus Affair. Guérin was indicted, with Déroulède and his Ligue de Patriotes for...
was an active member of it. The League was located on rue Lepic in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Its 1889 foundation was inspired by the success of the antisemitic pamphlet of Drumont, La France juive, and also by the Boulangist crisis. It was supported by newspapers such as Drumont's La Libre Parole, Jules Guérin's L'Antijuif, Maurice Barrès
Maurice Barrès
Maurice Barrès was a French novelist, journalist, and socialist politician and agitator known for his nationalist and antisemitic views....
's La Cocarde, Henri Rochefort's L'Intransigeant
L'Intransigeant
L'Intransigeant was a French newspaper, founded in July 1880 by Henri Rochefort. Initially representing the left-wing opposition, it developed towards the right during the Boulangism affair and became a major right-wing newspaper by 1920s. The newspaper was vehemently anti-Dreyfusard, reflecting...
and the Catholic newspaper La Croix
La Croix
La Croix is a daily French general-interest Roman Catholic newspaper. It is published in Paris and distributed throughout the country, with a circulation of just under 110,000 as of 2009...
.
Beside propaganda, the League also organized antisemitic demonstrations and provoked some riots, a method later generalized by the far-right leagues in France. It denounced the Panama scandals
Panama scandals
The Panama scandals was a corruption affair that broke out in the French Third Republic in 1892, linked to the building of the Panama Canal...
, took side against Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most tense political dramas in modern French and European history...
and spread conspiracy theories concerning the Masonry's alleged activities in the Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
.
After a disagreement between Drumont and Guérin in 1899, the League became, under the direction of Guérin, the Grand Occident de France, still anti-Semitic but even more anti-Masonic, the name itself been a reaction against the Grand Orient de France
Grand Orient de France
The Grand Orient de France is the largest of several Masonic organizations in France and the oldest in Continental Europe, founded in 1733.-Foundation:...
. It was thereafter essentially linked to Guérin's newspaper, L'Antijuif. The League progressively disappeared after the Fort Chabrol affair and the arrest of Guérin. After an initial surge during the Dreyfus Affair, far right leagues appeared again during the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
.