French Action
Action française |
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Abbreviation | AF |
Secretary General | François Bel-Ker |
Spokesperson | Antoine Berth |
Founders | Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois |
Founded | 20 June 1899 |
Preceded by | League of the French Motherland |
Headquarters | 10 rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs, 75001 Paris |
Newspaper |
L'action française La Restauration Nationale |
Student wing | National Federation of Students of the French Action (FNEAF) |
Youth wing | Camelots du Roi |
Social circle | Ladies of the French Action (DAF) |
Social circle | Cercle Proudhon (1911–1944) |
Ideology |
Monarchism (Legitimism) French Integral nationalism Maurrassism Anti-democratic thought Counter-revolutionary Counter-Enlightenment |
Political position | Far-right |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
International affiliation | International Monarchist Conference |
Colours | Blue and Amber |
Slogan | "All that is national is ours" |
Website | |
www |
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Action française (French pronunciation: [aksjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛz], AF; English: French Action) is a French far right political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement.
The movement and the journal were founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois in 1899, as a nationalist reaction against the intervention of left-wing intellectuals on the behalf of Alfred Dreyfus. Charles Maurras quickly joined Action française and became its principal ideologist. Under the influence of Maurras, Action française became monarchist, counter-revolutionary (objecting to the legacy of the French Revolution) and anti-democratic, and supported Integralism and Catholicism.
Shortly after it was created, Action française tried to influence public opinion by turning its journal to a daily newspaper and by setting up various organizations. By 1914, it had become the best structured and the most vital nationalist movement in France. In the inter-war period, the movement enjoyed prestige and influence, but its popularity gradually declined as a result of the rise of fascism and of a rupture in the relations with the Catholic Church. During the Second World War, Action française supported the Vichy Regime and Marshal Philippe Pétain. After the fall of Vichy, its newspaper was banned and Maurras was sentenced to life imprisonment. The movement nevertheless continued to exist due to new publications and political movements. Although Action française is not a major force in the right as it used to be, its ideas have remained influential.