François de la Rocque
Encyclopedia
François de La Rocque was leader of the French right-wing league
named the Croix de Feu from 1930–1936, before forming the more moderate Parti Social Français (1936–1940), seen as a precursor of Gaullism
.
, Brittany
, the third son to a family from Haute-Auvergne
. His parents were General Raymond de La Rocque, commander of the artillery on the Lorient Naval Base, and Anne Sollier.
He entered Saint Cyr Military Academy
in 1905, the class of "Promotion la Dernière du Vieux Bahut", and graduated in 1907. He was posted to Algeria
and the edge of Sahara
, and the in 1912 to Lunéville
. The next year he was called to Morocco
by General Lyautey
, despite the outbreak of World War I he remained there until 1916 as officer of indigenes affaires when he was gravely wounded and repatriated to France. Meanwhile his older brother Raymond, a Major
in the army, had been killed in action during 1915. Despite this he volunteered to fight on the Western Front
and was sent to the trenches of Somme to command a battalion.
After the war he was assigned to the Inter-allied staff of Marshal Foch
, but in 1921 he went to Poland with the French Military Mission under General Weygand
. In 1925 he was made chief of the 2nd Bureau during Marshal Pétian
's campaign against Abd el-Krim. He was resigned from the army in 1927 as a Lieutenant Colonel
.
and social Catholic movement created by Lamennais at the end of the 19th century. He then joined the Croix de Feu in 1929, two years after it was formed, and took them over in 1930. He quickly transformed the veterans' league, creating a paramilitary organization (les dispos, short for disponibles — availables) and formed a youth organization, the Sons and Daughters of the Croix de Feu (les fils et filles de Croix de Feu). He also accepted anybody who accepted the league's ideology, in the Volontaires nationaux group (National Volunteers). Due to the crisis
, La Rocque added to the nationalist
ideology a social program of defense of the national economy against foreign concurrency, protection of the French manpower, decreased taxes, struggle against speculation and criticisms of the state's influence on the economy. All in all, this was a vague program, and La Rocque stopped short of giving it a clearly anti-republican and fascist aspect as some National Volunteers demanded him.
La Rocque concentrated on organizing military parades, and was very proud of having taken over the Interior Ministry by two Croix de Feu columns on the eve of the February 6, 1934 riots. The Croix de Feu took part in these far right demonstrations, with two groups, one on Bourgogne street, the other near the Petit Palais
, were to converge on the Palais Bourbon
, seat of the National Assembly. But colonel de La Rocque ordered the disbandement of the demonstration around 8:45 p.m., when the others far-right leagues started rioting on Place de la Concorde
in front of the Palais Bourbon. Only lieutenant-colonel de Puymaigre, a member of the Croix de Feu and also a Parisian municipal counsellor, unsuccessfully tried to force the police barrage. After these riots, the French far right and parts of the right wing reproached him from not having attempted to take down the Republic
.
were dissolved as all others leagues in June 1936, by the Popular Front
government, and de La Rocque formed the Parti Social Français or PSF (1936), which lasted until the German invasion
of 1940. Until 1940, the PSF took a more and more moderate position, being the first French right-wing mass party (600 000 to 800 000 members between 1936 and 1940), and as such a precursor of gaullism. He was neither antisemitic, nor fascist. On the contrary, French historians (Pierre Milza
, René Rémond
, etc.) consider that the success of the moderate, Christian social
and democratic PSF prevented French middle class from falling into fascism
. Pierre Milza wrote: "Populist
and nationalist, the PSF is more anti-parliamentarist then anti-republican.", and reserves the term "fascism" for Jacques Doriot
's Parti populaire français
(PPF), insisting on the latter party's anti-communism
as an important trait of this new right (fascism).
After the 1940 Battle of France
, La Rocque accepted "without restrictions" the terms of the June 1940 Armistice
and reorganized the PSF which became the Progrès Social Français (French Social Progress). La Rocque accepted the "principle of Collaboration
", upheld by Marshal Philippe Pétain
, in December 1940. However, at the same time, he was attacked by sectors of the far right who claimed he had founded his newspaper with funds from a "Jewish consortium". His attitude remained ambiguous, as he wrote an article in Le Petit Journal
of October 5, 1940, concerning "The Jewish Question in Metropole and North Africa" (La question juive en métropole et en Afrique du Nord). La Rocque approved the repeal of the Crémieux decrees which had given French citizenship
to Jews in Algeria
but did not follow the Vichy regime in its racist radicalization. He also condemned the ultra-collaborationist Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism.
La Rocque changed orientation in September 1942, declaring that "Collaboration was incompatible with Occupation" and entered into contact with the Réseau Alibi tied to the British Intelligence service. He then formed the Réseau Klan Resistance
network with some members of the PSF. La Rocque rejected the laws on the STO
that forced young Frenchmen to work in Germany, and also threatened to exclude any member of the PSF who joined Joseph Darnand
's Milice
or the LVF.
Arrested in Clermont-Ferrand
on March 9, 1943 by the SIPO-SD German police along with 152 PSF responsibles in Paris allegedly because he had been trying to convince Pétain to go to North Africa. Deported first to Eisenberg
, Germany, then to Itter Castle
, he found former president of the Council Édouard Daladier
and generals Maurice Gamelin
and Maxime Weygand
. Sick, he was interned in March 1945 in a hospital in Innsbruck
and was freed by US soldiers on May 8, 1945. He returned to France on May 9, 1945 and placed under administrative internment, allegedly to keep him away from political negotiations, especially from the Conseil national de la Résistance
(CNR, the Resistance unified organization). After being freed, he was put uinder house arrest
and died on April 28, 1946.
Historians now consider that he paved the way to the French Christian democratic parties: the post-war Popular Republican Movement
(MRP) and Gaullist
Rally for France.
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 distinguish these political movements from parliamentary parties...
named the Croix de Feu from 1930–1936, before forming the more moderate Parti Social Français (1936–1940), seen as a precursor of Gaullism
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Resistance leader then president Charles de Gaulle.-Foreign policy:...
.
Early life
François de La Rocque was born on 6 October 1885 in LorientLorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, the third son to a family from Haute-Auvergne
Cantal
Cantal is a department in south-central France. It is named after the Cantal mountain range, a group of extinct, eroded volcanic peaks, which covers much of the department. Residents are known as Cantaliens or Cantalous....
. His parents were General Raymond de La Rocque, commander of the artillery on the Lorient Naval Base, and Anne Sollier.
He entered Saint Cyr Military Academy
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
in 1905, the class of "Promotion la Dernière du Vieux Bahut", and graduated in 1907. He was posted to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and the edge of Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
, and the in 1912 to Lunéville
Lunéville
Lunéville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and lies on the Meurthe River.-History:...
. The next year he was called to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
by General Lyautey
Hubert Lyautey
Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey was a French Army general, the first Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925 and from 1921 Marshal of France.-Early life:...
, despite the outbreak of World War I he remained there until 1916 as officer of indigenes affaires when he was gravely wounded and repatriated to France. Meanwhile his older brother Raymond, a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the army, had been killed in action during 1915. Despite this he volunteered to fight on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
and was sent to the trenches of Somme to command a battalion.
After the war he was assigned to the Inter-allied staff of Marshal Foch
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...
, but in 1921 he went to Poland with the French Military Mission under General Weygand
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...
. In 1925 he was made chief of the 2nd Bureau during Marshal Pétian
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
's campaign against Abd el-Krim. He was resigned from the army in 1927 as a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
.
The Croix de Feu and the February 6, 1934 crisis
François de La Rocque came from the patrioticPatriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
and social Catholic movement created by Lamennais at the end of the 19th century. He then joined the Croix de Feu in 1929, two years after it was formed, and took them over in 1930. He quickly transformed the veterans' league, creating a paramilitary organization (les dispos, short for disponibles — availables) and formed a youth organization, the Sons and Daughters of the Croix de Feu (les fils et filles de Croix de Feu). He also accepted anybody who accepted the league's ideology, in the Volontaires nationaux group (National Volunteers). Due to the crisis
Great Depression in France
The Great Depression affected France from about 1931 through the remainder of the decade. The depression had drastic effects on the local economy, which can partly explain the 6 February 1934 crisis and even more the formation of the Popular Front, led by SFIO socialist leader Léon Blum, who won...
, La Rocque added to the nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
ideology a social program of defense of the national economy against foreign concurrency, protection of the French manpower, decreased taxes, struggle against speculation and criticisms of the state's influence on the economy. All in all, this was a vague program, and La Rocque stopped short of giving it a clearly anti-republican and fascist aspect as some National Volunteers demanded him.
La Rocque concentrated on organizing military parades, and was very proud of having taken over the Interior Ministry by two Croix de Feu columns on the eve of the February 6, 1934 riots. The Croix de Feu took part in these far right demonstrations, with two groups, one on Bourgogne street, the other near the Petit Palais
Petit Palais
The Petit Palais is a museum in Paris, France. Built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 to Charles Girault's designs, it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts ....
, were to converge on the Palais Bourbon
Palais Bourbon
The Palais Bourbon, , a palace located on the left bank of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concorde, Paris , is the seat of the French National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French government.-History:...
, seat of the National Assembly. But colonel de La Rocque ordered the disbandement of the demonstration around 8:45 p.m., when the others far-right leagues started rioting on Place de la Concorde
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :...
in front of the Palais Bourbon. Only lieutenant-colonel de Puymaigre, a member of the Croix de Feu and also a Parisian municipal counsellor, unsuccessfully tried to force the police barrage. After these riots, the French far right and parts of the right wing reproached him from not having attempted to take down the 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...
.
The Parti Social Français and World War II
The Croix-de-FeuCroix-de-Feu
Croix-de-Feu was a French far right league of the Interwar period, led by Colonel François de la Rocque . After it was dissolved, as were all other far right leagues during the Popular Front period , de la Rocque replaced it with the Parti social français .- Beginnings :The Croix-de-Feu were...
were dissolved as all others leagues in June 1936, by the Popular Front
Popular Front (France)
The Popular Front was an alliance of left-wing movements, including the French Communist Party , the French Section of the Workers' International and the Radical and Socialist Party, during the interwar period...
government, and de La Rocque formed the Parti Social Français or PSF (1936), which lasted until the German invasion
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
of 1940. Until 1940, the PSF took a more and more moderate position, being the first French right-wing mass party (600 000 to 800 000 members between 1936 and 1940), and as such a precursor of gaullism. He was neither antisemitic, nor fascist. On the contrary, French historians (Pierre Milza
Pierre Milza
Pierre Milza is a French historian, well-known as a specialist of fascism.He is a teacher at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris.He wrote many books about Fascism and History of Italy. Some of his books are:I...
, René Rémond
René Rémond
-Biography:Born in Lons-le-Saunier, Rémond was the Secretary General of Jeunesses étudiantes Catholiques and a member of the International YCS Center of Documentation and Information in Paris, presently the International Secretariat of International Young Catholic Students The author of books on...
, etc.) consider that the success of the moderate, Christian social
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
and democratic PSF prevented French middle class from falling into fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. Pierre Milza wrote: "Populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
and nationalist, the PSF is more anti-parliamentarist then anti-republican.", and reserves the term "fascism" for Jacques Doriot
Jacques Doriot
Jacques Doriot was a French politician prior to and during World War II. He began as a Communist but then turned Fascist.-Early life and politics:...
's Parti populaire français
Parti Populaire Français
The Parti Populaire Français was a fascist political party led by Jacques Doriot before and during World War II...
(PPF), insisting on the latter party's anti-communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
as an important trait of this new right (fascism).
After the 1940 Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, La Rocque accepted "without restrictions" the terms of the June 1940 Armistice
Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)
The Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed at 18:50 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, in the department of Oise, between Nazi Germany and France...
and reorganized the PSF which became the Progrès Social Français (French Social Progress). La Rocque accepted the "principle of Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
", upheld by Marshal Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
, in December 1940. However, at the same time, he was attacked by sectors of the far right who claimed he had founded his newspaper with funds from a "Jewish consortium". His attitude remained ambiguous, as he wrote an article in Le Petit Journal
Le Petit Journal
Le Petit Journal was a daily Parisian newspaper published from 1863 to 1944. It was founded by Moïse Polydore Millaud. In its columns were published several serial novels of Émile Gaboriau and of Ponson du Terrail.- Publishing :...
of October 5, 1940, concerning "The Jewish Question in Metropole and North Africa" (La question juive en métropole et en Afrique du Nord). La Rocque approved the repeal of the Crémieux decrees which had given French citizenship
French nationality law
French nationality law is historically based on the principles of jus soli , according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German's definition of nationality, Jus sanguinis , formalized by Fichte.The 1993 Méhaignerie Law required children born in France of foreign parents to request...
to Jews in Algeria
French rule in Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
but did not follow the Vichy regime in its racist radicalization. He also condemned the ultra-collaborationist Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism.
La Rocque changed orientation in September 1942, declaring that "Collaboration was incompatible with Occupation" and entered into contact with the Réseau Alibi tied to the British Intelligence service. He then formed the Réseau Klan Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
network with some members of the PSF. La Rocque rejected the laws on the STO
Service du travail obligatoire
The Service du travail obligatoire was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany in order to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II....
that forced young Frenchmen to work in Germany, and also threatened to exclude any member of the PSF who joined Joseph Darnand
Joseph Darnand
Joseph Darnand was a French soldier and later a leader of the Vichy French collaborators with Nazi Germany....
's Milice
Milice
The Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
or the LVF.
Arrested in Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
on March 9, 1943 by the SIPO-SD German police along with 152 PSF responsibles in Paris allegedly because he had been trying to convince Pétain to go to North Africa. Deported first to Eisenberg
Eisenberg
-In Germany:*Eisenberg, Thuringia, a town in the Saale-Holzland district, Thuringia.*Eisenberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, a town in the Donnersbergkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate.*Eisenberg, Bavaria, a municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria.-In Austria:...
, Germany, then to Itter Castle
Itter Castle
Itter Castle is a small castle standing on a high knoll in Itter, a village in North Tyrol , 20 km west of Kitzbühel.The castle was used from 1943–45, during the Nazi occupation of France, to incarcerate prominent French prisoners...
, he found former president of the Council Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier was a French Radical politician and the Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World War.-Career:Daladier was born in Carpentras, Vaucluse. Later, he would become known to many as "the bull of Vaucluse" because of his thick neck and large shoulders and determined...
and generals Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France and his steadfast defense of republican values....
and Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...
. Sick, he was interned in March 1945 in a hospital in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
and was freed by US soldiers on May 8, 1945. He returned to France on May 9, 1945 and placed under administrative internment, allegedly to keep him away from political negotiations, especially from the Conseil national de la Résistance
Conseil National de la Résistance
The Conseil National de la Résistance or the National Council of the Resistance is the body that directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance - the press, trade unions, and members of political parties hostile to the Vichy regime, starting from...
(CNR, the Resistance unified organization). After being freed, he was put uinder house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
and died on April 28, 1946.
Political heritage
The Parti Social Français (PSF) of François de La Rocque was the first major conservative party in France (1936–1940). He advocated :- a presidential regime to end the instability of the parliamentary regime.
- an economic system founded upon "organised professions" (corporatismCorporatismCorporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
). - a social legislation inspired by Social Christianism.
Historians now consider that he paved the way to the French Christian democratic parties: the post-war Popular Republican Movement
Popular Republican Movement
The Popular Republican Movement was a French Christian democratic party of the Fourth Republic...
(MRP) and Gaullist
Gaullism
Gaullism is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Resistance leader then president Charles de Gaulle.-Foreign policy:...
Rally for France.
Studies
- Kevin Passmore, From liberalism to fascism : the right in a French province, 1928-1939, Cambridge university press, 1997.
- Jacques Nobécourt, Le Colonel de la Rocque, ou les pièges du nationalisme chrétien', Fayard, Paris, 1996.
- Michel WinockMichel WinockMichel Winock is a French historian, specializing in the French Republic, intellectual movements, anti-Semitism, nationalism and the far right movements of France. He is a professeur des universités in contemporary history at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and member of L'Histoire...
, Le siècle des intellectuels, Seuil, 1999.