The Compagnons de Jeanne d'Arc (Companions of Joan of Arc) was an association honouring saint Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

. From 1937 to 1939 it organised mass patriotic and religious demonstrations at Domrémy

Domremy

Domremy or Domrémy is part of the name of several communes in France:* Domremy-la-Canne, in the Meuse department* Domrémy-la-Pucelle, in the Vosges department, formerly Domrémy, which was the birthplace of Joan of Arc...

 in her honour.

9 May 1937

It was organised by the Amis du berceau de Jeanne d'Arc, with the collaboration of the Compagnons de Jeanne d'Arc. 50 parliamentary deputies took part, of which 21 belonged to the URD group in the Chamber, including Louis Marin, François Valentin, Xavier Vallat and Philippe Henriot. 20,000 people were present. The ceremonies consisted of a mass, with a sermon by the Bishop of Saint-Dié and addresses by Louis Madelin, Charles Berlet and the senator Charles Reibel.

1 May 1938

It was organised jointly by the two associations. Marcel Boucher obtained the patronage of the government and the presence of the army, represented by a military band and the commandant of the XXe corps. The demonstration was larger but it remained linked to the Catholic world. The Church, Action catholique and Catholic periodicals of Lorraine gave their support. The mass was celebrated by Cardinal Verdier and two other bishops. The crowd heard addresses by Louis Marin, Marcel Boucher, Maxime Real del Sarte and maréchal Franchet d'Espérey. The parliamentary deputies who were present were from the centre-right or right of the Chamber.

4 June 1939

It benefitted from the attention brought by the visit to Lorraine of the cardinal legate Villeneuve, surrounded by numerous bishops. Several tens of thousand people were present at the open air mass in front of the new basilica, at the procession and the addresses which were by Maxime Real del Sarte, Marcel Boucher, and General Weygand. The parliamentary deputies present were still from the centre-right or the right.

A current minister Auguste Champetier de Ribes

Auguste Champetier de Ribes

Auguste Champetier de Ribes was a French politician and jurist.A devout Catholic, he was an early follower of Albert de Mun and social Christianity. Wounded in the First World War, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies from the Basses-Pyrénées as a Christian democrat from 1924 to 1934...

, minister of war veterans and pensions, and a Catholic member of the Parti démocrate populaire was present, as well as the prefec of the Vosges. Besides, the highest authorities of the Republic were part of the committee of honour of the association.

Since 1938, a municipal order prohibited the sale or distribution of newspapers as well as the sale or carrying of political signs on the territory of the commune during the celebrations. Le Parti social français had taken advantage of the occasion in 1937 to distribute their newspaper.