The relationships between nationalists and liberals in France in the twentieth century

Abstract

During the 20th century, the liberal and governmental right-wing maintained complex relations with the national right-wing, often considered as a radical or extremist political family. This contribution studies at first the main moments of confrontation between these two right-wings: the Dreyfus affair, the leagues-time in the 1930s, the emergence of the national Front in the contemporary period. Up to the second World War, this confrontation is more explained by a situation of competition that by an ideological antagonism. The border between these two political families is not tight. The common fight against the communism and the weaknesses of the parliamentary government outdoes strategic oppositions, and various structures (associations, clubs, newspapers) play the role of footbridge. On the other hand, since the 1950s —and more even since the develop-ment of the national Front—, both right-wings refuse openly any link.

Keywords

• derecha nacional
• derecha radical
• Francia
• Frente Nacional