The Dark Side of France: Twelve Chapters in the History of the French Far Right

A gripping exploration of the French far right, from the Dreyfus Affair to Marine Le Pen and the National Rally, whose candidate is strongly placed to seize the leadership of France. In The Dark Side of France, Enda O'Doherty brings to life the long history of extreme nationalist, antisemitic and authoritarian politics and ideas in France through thirteen gripping episodes.Beginning with The Dreyfus Affair, which violently divided the country for more than a decade, O’Doherty charts through the outpouring of nationalist passion incited by the First World War, including the assassination of socialist leader Jean Jaurès by a right-wing fanatic.Covering the work of Action Française and its widely admired leader in the 1920s and 30s, this book highlights the immediate and longer-term implications of far-right action, such as the destruction of the elected government and targeting of Jewish socialist leader Léon Blum in 1936. O’Doherty boldly assesses some of the most notorious moments in m