The Parti Populaire Français (French Popular Party) (28th June, 1936–February 22, 1945) was a fascist political party led by Jacques Doriot before and during World War Two. It is generally regarded as the farthest to the right, most pro-Nazi, of France's collaborationist parties. Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (September 26, 1898, Bresles, Oise—February 22, 1945, near Mengen, Württemberg) was a French politician prior to and during World War II. He began as a Communist but then turned Fascist. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Collaborationism, as a pejorative term, can describe the treason of cooperating with enemy forces occupying ones country. ...

Formation and early years

The party was formed on the 28th June, 1936 by Doriot and a number of fellow former members of the French Communist Party (including Henri Barbé and Paul Marion) who had moved towards the nationalist right in opposition to the Popular Front. The PPF initially centered around the town of Saint-Denis, of which Doriot was mayor (as a Communist) from 1930-1934, and drew its support from the large working class population in the area. Although not avowedly fascist at this point, the PPF adopted many aspects of fascist politics, imagery and ideology, and quickly became popular among conservative nationalists, attracting to its ranks former members of such groups as Action Française, Jeunesses Patriotes, Croix de Feu and Solidarité Française. The party held a number of large rallies following their formation and adopted as the party flag a Celtic cross against a red, white and blue background. Members wore light blue shirts, dark blue trousers, berets and armbands bearing the party symbol as a uniform, although the uniform was not as ubiquitous as in other far right movements. This does not cite its references or sources. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... The Popular Front was an alliance of left-wing political parties (the Communists, the Socialists and the Radicals), which was in government in France from 1936 to 1938. ... Saint-Denis is a commune of France, in the Seine-Saint-Denis département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and historical terms, above all other loyalties, and to create a mobilized national community. ... The Action Française is a French Monarchist movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras. ... The Jeunesses Patriotes (Patriotic Youths) were a far right Fascist-inspired street brawlers group of France, recruited mostly from university students and financed by industrialists, founded by Pierre Taittinger in 1924. ... Croix-de-Feu (Cross of Fire) was a French far right league of the Interwar period, led by Colonel François de la Rocque (1885-1946). ... Solidarité Française (French) was a group of Rightist street toughs founded in 1923 by perfume manufacturer François Coty and commanded by Major Jean Renaud, they dressed in blue shirts, black berets, and jackboots, and shouted the slogan France for the French. They claimed a strength of 180,000... Celtic cross For Celtic Cross, the ambient/dub band see Celtic Cross (band) A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines the cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. ...

Despite the Communist origins of much of its leadership (which retained the name Politburo), the party was virulently anti-Marxist. Physical violence by PPF members (especially the PPF paramilitary wing, the Service d'Ordre) against Communist Party supporters and other perceived enemies was not uncommon. The PPF, in its initial, working class, phase, was economically populist and anti-bank. It moved closer to capitalism in 1937 when Doirot was deserted by his traditional working class base in losing the mayoral election in Saint-Denis, and the party began receiving financial support from right wing leaders of business and finance such as the General Manager of the Banque Worms, Gabriel Leroy-Ladurie. Doriot proposed to Colonel François de La Rocque uniting his Parti Social Français with the PPF to form an anti-communist alliance to be called the Front de la Liberté, but La Rocque, who was a conservative and not a fascist, rejected the move. That same year, the PPF contacted the Mussolini regime to request support. According to the private diary of Count Galeazzo Ciano (Benito Mussolini's Foreign Minister and son-in-law): "Doriot's right-hand-man has asked me to continue to pay subsidies and provide weapons. He envisages a winter filled with conflicts "(Ciano diary, Sept. 1937[1]) Ciano paid 300,000 francs from the coffers of Fascist Italy to Victor Arrighi (head of the Algiers section of the PPF). Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ... Marxism refers to the philosophy and social theory based on Karl Marxs work on one hand, and to the political practice based on Marxist theory on the other hand (namely, parts of the First International during Marxs time, communist parties and later states). ... François de La Rocque (1885–1946) was leader of the French far right 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 [1]. // A veteran of World War I, lieutenant-colonel de... Croix-de-Feu (Cross of Fire) was a French far right league of the Interwar period, led by Colonel François de la Rocque (1885-1946). ... Galeazzo Ciano. ... Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) was the prime minister and dictator of Italy from 1922 until 1943, when he was overthrown. ... Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... This article is about the capital of Algeria. ...

These funds from the Italian Fascists and French banking and business interests were used to purchase a number of newspapers, including La Liberté, which became the official party organ. After this, as its funding base shifted to big business, the PPF became increasingly pro-capitalist. In time, as the Nazi regime began to contribute a greater share of the PPF's funds, it began to advocate corporatism, and pushed for closer ties with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in a grand alliance against the Soviet Union. ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ...

Ideology and Fascism of PPF

The PPF's ardent advocacy of collaboration with the Nazis was accompanied, somewhat discordantly, with nationalistic rhetoric. Members of the PPF were required to take the following oath:

"In the name of the people and of the fatherland, I swear fidelity and devotion to the Parti Populaire Français, its ideals, and its leader. I swear to serve until the supreme sacrifice the cause of national and popular revolution which will leave a new, free and independent France."

The PPF is generally regarded to be a fascist party in its ideological, as well as its practical, orientation. The party denounced parliamentarianism and sought to limit French democracy and remake French society according to its own, authoritarian beliefs. It was vehemently opposed to both Communism and liberalism and also wished to rid France of Freemasonry, about which it was greatly concerned (as were most other Fascist groups of the time). The PPF were critical of the supremacy of rationalism in politics and desired a move towards politics dictated by emotion and will rather than reason. Intellectuals who are often viewed as fascists, notably Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, Ramón Fernandez, Alexis Carrel, Paul Chack, and Bertrand de Jouvenel, were members of the PPF at various times. Moreover, the PPF was anti-semitic. They had initially been ambiguous towards anti-Semitism, expressing a negative view of Jews in their literature (associating Jews with banking interests) but allowing a Jew, Alexandre Abremski, to sit on their Politburo until his death in 1938. In 1936, Doriot stated: "Our party [the PPF] is not anti-Semitic. It is a great national party that has better things to do than fight Jews."[2] By 1938, PPF literature was filled with references to the "Judeo-masonic-bolshevik" conspiracy. As the PPF moved to the right, and especially after the French defeat and the establishment of Vichy France, anti-Semitism became much more a central feature of party policy. In 1941, Doriot, writing in the journal Au pilori, would write: (t)he Jew is not a man. He's a stinking beast." This overt anti-semitic ideology was manifested in the PPF paramilitary (Gardes Françaises formerly the Service d'Ordre) participating in wide-scale violence against Jews in France and North Africa, and actively participating in the mass-deportation of Jews to concentration camps. Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... Bold text:This article applies to political ideologies. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... The Masonic Square and Compasses. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey, 286). ... // will power redirects here. ... It has been suggested that reasoning be merged into this article or section. ... Pierre Drieu La Rochelle (January 3, 1893 - March 15, 1945) was a French novelist and essayist, who lived and died in Paris. ... Alexis Carrel Alexis Carrel (June 28, 1873 – November 5, 1944) was a French surgeon and biologist. ... Bertrand de Jouvenel (October 31, 1903, Paris -- March 1, 1987, Paris) was a French philosopher, political economist, and futurist. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Motto: Travail, famille, patrie (Work, family, country) unoccupied zone of Vichy France (until November 1942) Capital Vichy Language(s) French Religion Roman Catholicism Government Republic President of the Council  - 1940 - 1944 Philippe Pétain Legislature National Assembly Historical era World War II  - Battle of France June 16, 1940  - Battle of...

PPF under Vichy

After the France's defeat in the Battle of France and the establishment of the regime of Philippe Pétain at Vichy, the PPF received additional support from Germany and increased their activities. The U.S. State Department placed them on a list of organizations under the direct control of the Nazi regime.[3] The PPF staked out a position to the right of Petain, criticizing the regime for being too moderate, and advocating closer military and other collaboration with Germany (such as sending troops to the Russian front), and modeling French government, and its racial policies, directly on Nazi Germany. The PPF increasingly placed anti-Semitism at their core as they collaborated with units of the Gestapo and the Milice, the French secret police force led by PPF member Joseph Darnand, in violently rounding up Jews for deportation to concentration camps. The PPF paramilitaries participated in beatings, torture, assassinations and summary execution of Jews and political enemies of the Nazis. For this, the Germans rewarded them by allowing them the right to steal property from the Jews they arrested. Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Czechoslovakia Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) H.G. Winkelman (Dutch) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di... Henri-Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain, was a French general, later Head of State of Vichy France, from 1940 to 1944. ... The Opera in Vichy. ... The   (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; Secret State Police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... A recruitment poster for the Milice. ... Joseph Darnand, wearing the wide beret of the Milice Joseph Darnand (March 19, 1897 - October 10, 1945) was a French pro-Nazi traitor and leader of the Vichy French Milice. ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ...

After Pierre Laval ascended of to leadership of the government on April 18, 1942 , he requested that Nazi Germany allow him to force the PPF to merge into his own supporters, but the Nazis denied that request. However, as Laval moved France closer to the Nazi regime, the PPF ceased to be as useful to the Nazis as advocates of greater collaboration. As a result, the PPF was politically marginalized and their role as critics of the regime was diminished, although it did not cease entirely. By the end of the war, the PPF had virtually ceased to function as a political party, the attention of its leader and many of its members turning more directly to partipation in the Nazi war effort. (In 1941, Doriot had formed the Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF) or Brigade Charlemagne, which sent volunteers to fight near Moscow. After this, the LVF participated in anti-partisan actions in Belarus, which included partipation in atrocities against Jewish civilians. In late 1943, the surviving LVF volunteers were inducted into the Waffen-SS Französische SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Regiment (Waffen-SS French SS-Volunteer Grenadier Regiment). In September 1944 this unit was renamed Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS "Charlemagne", with the addition of French collaborators fleeing the Allied advance in the west. In February 1945 the unit was officially upgraded to a division and renamed 33.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS "Charlemagne".) Pierre Laval, prime minister of Vichy France Pierre Laval (28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician and four times Prime Minister of France, the final time being under the Vichy government. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ...

In 1943, Doriot had moved to Germany where he became part of the so-called Vichy government-in-exile. On February 22, 1945, Doriot, attired in his SS uniform and being driven in a Nazi officers car, was killed by Allied strafers near Mengen, Württemberg, Germany, while en route from Mainau to Sigmaringen. The PPF movement did not survive the death of its leader, and no attempt was made to revive it in post-War France.

References

• Robert Soucy, French Fascism: The Second Wave 1933-1939, 1995
• G. Warner, 'France', in SJ Woolf, Fascism In Europe, 1981
• Christopher Lloyd, Collaboration and Resistance in Occupied France: Representing Treason and Sacrifice, Palgrave MacMillan 2003