The Dark Side of France

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 modern French history, such as the collaboration with Nazi forces during the Second World War, the OAS terrorists’ resistance of Algerian independence, and their near-miss assassination attempt on President Charles De Gaulle. The political inheritors of wartime collaboration and the OAS movement are alive and well in today’s far-right movements, and after years of political turmoil, France now faces a critical period that will shape the future of the country.

A compelling and disturbing narrative history, this is a journey through the dark side of the republic.