Marc Augier
Encyclopedia
Marc Augier (born 19 March 1908 in Bordeaux
– died 16 December 1990 in Paris) was a French far right writer and politician.
, although the main focus of his youthful energies was the Centre laïc des auberges, a non-political group central to the development of youth hostels in France. Although its leader Jean Giono
was not a fascist it was Augier's fascination with Giono's primitivism
that eventually led to the young Augier adopting that ideology. He was also a supporter of paganism
against Christian "decadence".
, a leading figure in the Groupe, and was for a time business manager of his journal La Gerbe
.
Augier then joined the political bureau of Jacques Doriot
's French Popular Party (PPF). He enlisted in the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
and served on the Eastern Front
whilst also launching and editing the group's paper Le Combattant Européen. He served in both the LVF and the French Waffen SS as a war correspondent. He was also responsible for the French Waffen SS' official organ, Devenir ("To become" or "Becoming"). However Augier, who still supported economic socialism and hoped that Nazism
would take seriously the 'socialism' part of its name, grew disillusioned by the distinct lack of anti-capitalism
amongst the SS men with whom he served.
he acted as a technical adviser to Juan Perón
and also enlisted in the Argentine Army
, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He also acted as Eva Peron
's ski instructor.
He was pardoned and returned to France in 1953. Once back in France he published La Nuit commence au Cap Horn ("The Night begins in Cap Horn") as Saint-Loup. He may have won the prestigious Prix Goncourt for the book but Le Figaro Littéraire exposed Augier as the true author. Of the entire jury only Colette
refused to retract her vote for Saint-Loup during the ensuing uproar.
Saint-Loup continued to work as an author and journalist, writing several books about the LVF (Les Volontaires; "The Volunteers") and the both the French (Les Hérétiques; "The Heretics", Les Nostalgiques; "The Nostalgics") and Belgian Waffen SS (Les SS de la Toison d'or; "The SS of the Golden Fleece"). His writing was marked by a pursuit of adventure, the desire to surpass the self and an antipathy to Christian philosophy. He was an apologist for the foreign SS volunteers with whom he had served. He published several works about regionalist movements and about man's struggle to survive in wild and savage environments. He was also fascinated by cars and motorised transport and wrote biographies of Louis Renault
and Marius Berliet. His last novel, La République du Mont-Blanc ("The Republic of Mont-Blanc"), was about the survival of a small Savoyard community that took refuge on the mountain to escape intermixing and decadence.
Saint-Loup influenced certain pagan and far right authors such as Pierre Vial and Jean Mabire.
whilst also acting as president of Dominique Venner
's Comité France-Rhodesia
. He was featured heavily in France's far right journals until his death.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
– died 16 December 1990 in Paris) was a French far right writer and politician.
Early years
Augier's earliest direct political involvement began in the Republican-Socialist PartyRepublican-Socialist Party
The Republican-Socialist Party was a French socialist political party during the French Third Republic, founded in 1911 and dissolved in 1934. It was founded by socialists who refused to join the SFIO founded in 1905. The PRS was a non-Marxist "reformist socialist" party located between the SFIO...
, although the main focus of his youthful energies was the Centre laïc des auberges, a non-political group central to the development of youth hostels in France. Although its leader Jean Giono
Jean Giono
Jean Giono was a French author who wrote works of fiction set in the Provence region of France.-First period:...
was not a fascist it was Augier's fascination with Giono's primitivism
Primitivism
Primitivism is a Western art movement that borrows visual forms from non-Western or prehistoric peoples, such as Paul Gauguin's inclusion of Tahitian motifs in paintings and ceramics...
that eventually led to the young Augier adopting that ideology. He was also a supporter of paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
against Christian "decadence".
Collaboration
Augier formed his own group, the Les Jeunes de l'Europe Nouvelle, in 1941, attracting 4000 members and affiliating to the Groupe Collaboration. He became associated with the Breton nationalist Alphonse de ChâteaubriantAlphonse de Châteaubriant
Alphonse Van Bredenbeck de Châteaubriant 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 1923....
, a leading figure in the Groupe, and was for a time business manager of his journal La Gerbe
La Gerbe
La Gerbe was a weekly newspaper of the French collaboration with Nazi Germany during World War II that appeared in Paris from July 1940 till August 1944. Its political-literary line was modeled after Candide and Gringoire, two right-wing newspapers founded in the interwar period.Founder and editor...
.
Augier then joined the political bureau of 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 French Popular Party (PPF). He enlisted in the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded on July 8, 1941. It gathered various collaborationist parties, including Marcel Bucard's Mouvement Franciste, Marcel Déat's National Popular Rally, Jacques Doriot's French Popular Party, Eugène...
and served on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
whilst also launching and editing the group's paper Le Combattant Européen. He served in both the LVF and the French Waffen SS as a war correspondent. He was also responsible for the French Waffen SS' official organ, Devenir ("To become" or "Becoming"). However Augier, who still supported economic socialism and hoped that Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
would take seriously the 'socialism' part of its name, grew disillusioned by the distinct lack of anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
amongst the SS men with whom he served.
Post-war writing
In 1945 he went underground and published Face Nord ("North Face") under the pseudonym M-A de Saint-Loup to pay for his passage to Argentina. The book had some success in France. In ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
he acted as a technical adviser to Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
and also enlisted in the Argentine Army
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...
, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He also acted as Eva Peron
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...
's ski instructor.
He was pardoned and returned to France in 1953. Once back in France he published La Nuit commence au Cap Horn ("The Night begins in Cap Horn") as Saint-Loup. He may have won the prestigious Prix Goncourt for the book but Le Figaro Littéraire exposed Augier as the true author. Of the entire jury only Colette
Colette
Colette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
refused to retract her vote for Saint-Loup during the ensuing uproar.
Saint-Loup continued to work as an author and journalist, writing several books about the LVF (Les Volontaires; "The Volunteers") and the both the French (Les Hérétiques; "The Heretics", Les Nostalgiques; "The Nostalgics") and Belgian Waffen SS (Les SS de la Toison d'or; "The SS of the Golden Fleece"). His writing was marked by a pursuit of adventure, the desire to surpass the self and an antipathy to Christian philosophy. He was an apologist for the foreign SS volunteers with whom he had served. He published several works about regionalist movements and about man's struggle to survive in wild and savage environments. He was also fascinated by cars and motorised transport and wrote biographies of Louis Renault
Louis Renault (industrialist)
Louis Renault was a French industrialist, one of the founders of Renault and a pioneer of the automobile industry....
and Marius Berliet. His last novel, La République du Mont-Blanc ("The Republic of Mont-Blanc"), was about the survival of a small Savoyard community that took refuge on the mountain to escape intermixing and decadence.
Saint-Loup influenced certain pagan and far right authors such as Pierre Vial and Jean Mabire.
Later years
He would later return to France where he worked closely with René BinetRené Binet (neo-Fascist)
René Valentin Binet was a French militant political activist who was linked to both Trotskyism and fascism....
whilst also acting as president of Dominique Venner
Dominique Venner
Dominique Venner is an award-winning French historian, journalist and writer. Venner is a former militant of the ultra-right and later became a European nationalist before withdrawing from politics to focus on a career as a historian. He specializes in military and political history...
's Comité France-Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
. He was featured heavily in France's far right journals until his death.