^{page 189 note 2} This is the quasi-unanimous opinion of the former members of rightist organizations the author has interviewed over the years. It is not without significance that, as late as 1959, François Herbette should publish a collection of the Bulletin quotidien de la Société d'Etudes et d'Informations économiques, for the period 1936–1938, under the title l'Expérience Marxiste en France (Paris, 1959).

^{page 189 note 3} Rémond, René, La Droite en France (Paris, 1954)Google Scholar; Weber, Eugen, “New Wine in Old Bottles: Les Families Spirituelles de la France”, in: French Historical Studies (Vol. I, No. 2, 1959), pp. 200–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

^{page 189 note 4} Les Evénements survenus en France de 1933 à 1945: Témoignages et Documents recueillis par la Commission d'Enquête parlementaire (Paris, 1947), I, pp. 122–123.Google Scholar

^{page 190 note 1} Bodin, Louis & Touchard, Jean, Front populaire: 1936 [Collection Kiosque] (Paris, 1961), p. 27.Google Scholar

^{page 190 note 2} Wright, Gordon, France in Modern Times: 1760 to the Present (Chicago, 1960), p. 481Google Scholar; Siegfried, André, De la IIIe à la IVe République (Paris, 1956), p. 59Google Scholar. Georges Dupeux emphasizes the fact that the Fédération républicaine, the most dynamic parliamentary faction of the right, made a net gain of 17 seats. See his Le Front populaire et les Elections de 1936 (Paris, 1959), p. 139.Google Scholar

^{page 190 note 3} The middle bourgeoisie was composed of businessmen, professional men, owners of medium sized commercial and industrial enterprises, well-to-do gentlemen farmers, and upper level civil servants. In short, people who were a decided cut above the self-employed artisan, the owner of the corner boulangerie, the salaried employee, or low level fonctionnaire. The author would equate the upper bourgeoisie with the world of big business. This included the owners and directors of large companies, the leaders of the banking and financial world, and other top level administrators and professional men.

^{page 191 note 1} This was the case for the author's French relatives and their circle of friends. With a circulation of 640,000 in November, 1936, Gringoire was the most important of the three.

^{page 191 note 2} For a typical example of this approach to political writing, see Laubreaux, Alain, La Terreur rose (Paris, 1939)Google Scholar. Laubreaux was a contributor to Je suis partout.

^{page 191 note 3} “The venom of Gringoire and the Action française had eaten deep into the French soul…” Alexander Werth, France: 1940–1955 (New York, 1956), p. 22.Google Scholar

^{page 191 note 4} In fact, this reaction of the right anteceded the actual electoral campaign by some months. See the answers to Candide's inquiry: “Que se passerait-il avec un Gouvernement de Front populaire?”, November 20, 1935Google Scholar. Gringoire interpreted the reoccupation of the Rhineland as “l'Oeuvre diplomatique du Front populaire”, March 13, 1936Google Scholar.

^{page 191 note 5} Bodin, & Touchard, , Front populaire, p. 28.Google Scholar

^{page 192 note 1} “La politique du Front commun est une politique d'émigrés: il s'agit de réinstaller de force à Berlin et à Rome les épaves du communisme et du socialisme. Le Front populaire veut la guerre contre l'Allemagne et contre l'Italie pour y ramener les débris de l'internationale dans les fourgons de l'Armée française.” Je suis partout, April II, 1956.

^{page 192 note 2} April 26, 1936.

^{page 192 note 3} “…Le caractère fondamental de la campagne des adversaires du Front populaire… est l'exploitation de la peur du communisme; il correspond exactement à l'un des caractères fondamentaux de la campagne des partis du Front populaire, l'exploitation de la peur du fascisme.” Dupeux, Front populaire, p. 120Google Scholar.

^{page 192 note 4} Gringoire, , May 15, 1936.Google Scholar

^{page 192 note 5} Français, , voici la Guerre (Montrouge, 1936), p. 54.Google Scholar

^{page 192 note 6} Journal Officiel de la République Française, Débats Parlementaires, Chambre des Députés, June 7, 1936, p. 1397.Google Scholar

^{page 192 note 7} “Ce que les dernières têtes raisonnables n'arrivaient pas à penser de sangfroid, c'était: la France, chef Léon Blum. Il ne se passait guère de jour sans que j'en ressentisse une in supportable humiliation.” Rebatet, Lucien, Les Décombres (Paris, 1942), p. 39Google Scholar. There were rumors that Blum had been born in Bessarabia, with the name Karfunkelstein. On this point, see Weber, Eugen, Action Française (Stanford, 1962), p. 375.Google Scholar

^{page 192 note 8} For a handy compendium of the right's diatribes against Blum and the Front populaire, see Bodin, & Touchard, , Front populaire, pp. 32–35, 200–216.Google Scholar

^{page 193 note 1} Goguel, François, La Politique des partis sous la IIIe République (Paris, 1946), p. 514.Google Scholar

^{page 193 note 2} Ibid.

^{page 193 note 3} Ibid., pp. 525–526.

^{page 193 note 4} Quoted in Weber, , Action française, p. 364.Google Scholar

^{page 193 note 5} “Peut-on espérer qu'un gouvernement de Front populaire obtiendra la confiance du capital et le repatriement des capitaux évadés? C'est pourtant à la tĉche sans espoir de ‘créer un climat de confiance’ que s'attachent les dirigeants du Front populaire.” Jacques Danos et Marcel Gibelin, Juin 36 (Paris, 1952), p. 224Google Scholar. Italics mine. See also Blum, 's declaration before the Chamber, J.O., Débats, Chambre, June 7, 1936, p. 1335.Google Scholar

^{page 193 note 6} See, for instance, Lorwin, Val R., The French Labor Movement (Cambridge, Mass., 1954). p. 73Google Scholar; Ehrmann, Henry W., French Labor: From Popular Front to Liberation (New York, 1947), p. 38Google Scholar; Colton, Joel, Compulsory Labor Arbitration in France, 1936–1939 (New York, 1951), pp. 13–14Google Scholar; and Wright, , France in Modern Times, p. 485.Google Scholar

^{page 194 note 1} See the editorial of Le Temps, June 13, 1936, reproduced in Bodin, & Touchard, , Front populaire, p. 110Google Scholar. As late as 1947, Pierre-Etienne Flandin still believed that the strikes had been organized by Communist leaders. See his française, Politique, 1919–1940 (Paris, 1947), p. 213.Google Scholar

^{page 194 note 2} Jean Rous tells us that, at the height of the epidemic of strikes, he received the following telegram from Trotsky, who had then found a temporary asylum in Norway: “La Révolution française a commencé.” “Notes d'un militant. Vingt-cinq ans d'essais et de combats”, in: Esprit (May, 1956), p. 796.Google Scholar

^{page 194 note 3} The Action française (New York, 1962), p. 219.Google Scholar

^{page 194 note 4} See Taittinger's and Vallat's speeches during the debate on the dissolution of the Leagues, , J.O., Débats, Chambre, June 30, 1936, pp. 1634–1661Google Scholar. It was a riotous session. At one point, Speaker Herriot complained: “Il n'est même plus possible d'entendre les interruptions, mais celle que l'on me rapporte est inadmissible.”!

^{page 194 note 5} Choc, , November 12, 1936.Google Scholar

^{page 194 note 6} Herbette, François, l'Expérience marxiste en France, pp. 131–132.Google Scholar

^{page 195 note 1} For excellent reproductions of contemporary photographs and political cartoons on this subject, see Rémond, René, Les Catholiques, le Communisme et les Crises [Collection Kiosque] (Paris, 1960), pp. 174–211.Google Scholar

^{page 195 note 2} The above quotations are taken from Micaud, Charles A., The French Right and Nazi Germany, 1933–1939 (Durham, N.C., 1943), pp. 114–117.Google Scholar

^{page 195 note 3} This was an old and favorite epithet of the Action française. See Tannenbaum, , Action française, p. 217.Google Scholar

^{page 195 note 4} This was especially true of the Action française. See Osgood, Samuel M., French Royalism under the Third and Fourth Republics (The Hague, 1960), p. 93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

^{page 195 note 5} “C'est parce que nous sommes depuis toujours des nationaux-socialistes français que le Premier Mai est notre fête.” Robert Brasillach in Je suis partout, May 2, 1941. See also his Notre Avant-guerre (Paris, 1941), p. 184Google Scholar; and Maxence, Jean-Pierre, Histoire de dix ans, 1927–1937 (Paris, 1939), pp. 346–358.Google Scholar

^{page 195 note 6} Je suis partout, June 6 & 20, 1936.

^{page 195 note 7} At least, so the Croix-de-feu believed. See Goguel, , Politique des partis, pp. 475–476.Google Scholar

^{page 196 note 1} Personal Testimony, Paris, 1961Google Scholar.

^{page 196 note 2} The many Petainists interviewed by the author recall fondly that under the Vichy Regime one knew exactly where one stood.

^{page 196 note 3} See Tardieu, André's indignant article, “Les Funérailles du régime”, in: Gringoire, 06 26, 1936.Google Scholar

^{page 196 note 4} “Le Front coculaire est cacophonique.” Je suis partout, September 26, 1936Google Scholar. The following is characteristic of contemporary anti-Semitic attitudes: “Nous serons capables pour assurer la défense du sol sacré de la patrie française de vendre aux enchères nos croix-d'honneur, nos médailles et nos béquilles. Il se trouvera bien quelque juif, n'est-ce-pas? pour nous en donner quelques pièces…” Marcel Bucard in Le Franciste, March 14, 1937.

^{page 196 note 5} For good accounts of this episode, see Weber, , Action française, pp. 388–390Google Scholar; Bodin, & Touchard, , Front populaire, pp. 210–221Google Scholar; and Rémond, , Les Catholiques, le Communisme et les Crises, pp. 165–173.Google Scholar

^{page 196 note 6} , J.O., Débats, Chambre, November 24, 1936, p. 3024Google Scholar. “A la suite d'une campagne de presse, le ministre de l'Intérieur Roger Salengro, sans raison apparente, se suicidait”, was Brasillach's comment, Notre Avant-guerre, p. 188.Google Scholar

^{page 197 note 1} “Sa frémissante sensibilité lui fait ressentir comme blessures cruelles les moindres piqûres d'épingles.” Chastenet, Jacques, Déclin de la Troisième, 1931–1938 (Histoire de la Troisième République, VI) (Paris, 1962), p. 151.Google Scholar

^{page 197 note 2} For an assessment of the influence of both the leftist and the rightist press under the Front populaire, see Bodin, & Touchard, , Front populaire, pp. 230–231.Google Scholar

^{page 197 note 3} Audry, Collette, Léon Blum ou la politique du juste (Paris, 1955)Google Scholar, and Gouttenoire de Toury, Fernand, Le Front populaire ruiné par ses chefs (Paris, 1939)Google Scholar, serve as reminders that all criticisms of Blum's leadership did not come from the right.

^{page 197 note 4} “The Popular Front neither failed nor was it overthrown. It was smothered by the looming clouds of international crisis.” Thomson, David, Democracy in France (New York & London, 1946), pp. 199–200.Google Scholar

^{page 197 note 5} At that, the Front populaire did not come into being until after long and tortuous negotiations. See Wright, , France in Modern Times, pp. 477–480.Google Scholar

^{page 197 note 6} This evaluation of the Croix-de-feu is a working hypothesis based on the author's research on the subject to date. A comprehensive study of the movement has yet to be written. Here indeed is a virgin and fertile field for further inquiry.

^{page 198 note 1} Rémond, , Droite en France, p. 214Google Scholar. Because of the lack of reliable statistical data it is difficult to determine the total membership of the Croix-de-feu (P.S.F.). On the basis of interviews with former members, and by weighing their claims against the figures of other observers, the author would estimate that, at its peak, the movement had well over one million members, and a much larger number of sympathizers among the middle bourgeoisie. This is no more than an educated guess.

^{page 198 note 2} For a brief but good summary of Croix-de-feu “doctrines”, or lack of them, see Goguel, , Politique des partis, pp. 475–476.Google Scholar

^{page 198 note 3} Rebatet, , Les Décombres, p. 39.Google Scholar

^{page 198 note 4} Personal Testimonies, Paris, 1961Google Scholar.

^{page 198 note 5} This is another fruitful field for further study. Ehrmann, Henry W.'s, Organized Business in France (Princeton, 1957)Google Scholar, represents a long step in the right direction. Unfortunately, from the standpoint of our knowledge of the role of big business in the 1930's, the bulk of this excellent work deals with the post-World War II period. The fourth volume of Emmanuel Beau de Lomenie's thought provoking and controversial, Les Responsabilites des Dynasties bourgeoises (Paris, 1963)Google Scholar, ends in January, 1933, with the advent of the Nazi regime.

^{page 199 note 1} Goguel, , Politique des partis, p. 358.Google Scholar

^{page 199 note 2} Lhomme, Jean, “Quelques crises de la Société française: Juin 36”, in: André Siegfried et al., Aspects de la Société française (Paris, 1954), pp. 85–87.Google Scholar

^{page 199 note 3} For an interesting treatment of the fluctuating interest of the upper bourgeoisie in the Croix-de-feu, see Maisy, H., Groupes anti-parlementaires de droite (1933–1939) (Thèse, Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris, 1952), pp. 117–119.Google Scholar

^{page 199 note 4} On these attitudes of business leaders, see Ehrmann, , Organized Business in France, Chapter I: “From Matignon to the End of the Third Republic”Google Scholar.

^{page 199 note 5} Danos, & Gibelin, , Juin 36, pp. 19–20.Google Scholar

^{page 200 note 1} See Wright, , France in Modern Times, p. 487.Google Scholar

^{page 200 note 2} “Le Front populaire: Comment on mène la gauche à la défaite”, in: Les Temps modernes, X (112–113, 1955), pp. 1819–1820.Google Scholar

^{page 200 note 3} See Lhomme, Jean's brilliant synthesis, “Quelques crises”, pp. 86–87.Google Scholar

^{page 200 note 4} This bon mot is attributed to Joseph Caillaux. See Brogan, D. W., France under the Republic (New York & London, 1940), p. 710.Google Scholar

^{page 200 note 5} “J'ai pu constater pendant toute la durée de mon Gouvernement la gravité et l'étendue vraiment infinie des dégâts, des ravages, que l'événement du 7 mars avait causés dans l'Europe entière.” Evénements survenus en France, I, p. 126.

^{page 201 note 1} “L'Echec du premier Gouvernement Blum”, in: Revue d'Histoire moderne et contemporaine, X (January-March, 1963), p. 44.Google Scholar

^{page 201 note 2} “Plutôt Hitler que le Front populaire, disent les hommes du grand capitalisme français.” Leduc, Victor, “Le Front populaire, Une étape”, in: Les Temps modernes, X (112–113, 1955), Pp. 1833–1834Google Scholar. Cf. Werth, , France: 1940–1955, p. 23Google Scholar: “It was during the Popular Front days that the slogan ‘Plutôt Hitler que le Front Populaire’ was launched – no one quite knows by whom. But it caught on.”

^{page 201 note 3} Combat, April, 1937. Quoted in Girardet, Raoul, “Note sur l'esprit d'un fascisme français”, in: Revue française de Science Politique, V (07–09, 1955), p. 542.Google Scholar