Victor Barthélemy
Encyclopedia
Victor Barthélemy was a French political activist, operative, and author. Originally a member of the French Communist Party
and the Communist International, he moved to the fascist French Popular Party. After an imprisonment for collaboration
, he supported far-right causes such as the European Social Movement
, the "ultras" side in the Algerian War, the 1965 presidential campaign
of Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour
, and the Front national.
. His father was a socialist. During his studies at the University of Aix-en-Provence, Barthélemy supported Action Française
. He moved to Marseilles and joined the French Communist Party
(PCF) in 1925. Following the national congress of the PCF in Lille
in 1926, delegates appointed him to membership in Secours Rouge International. After an internship in the USSR in 1928, he worked for the Communist International under the command of Palmiro Togliatti
. He carried out missions to Spain and Italy
.
Barthélemy distanced himself from the PCF in 1930, but did not join the French Popular Party (PPF) of Jacques Doriot
until 28 June 1936. Disillusioned with Communism, he was attracted to the "revolutionary authenticity" of fascism and National Socialism. In October 1936 he was appointed to the position of the Federal secretary of the party for the Alpes-Maritimes
, centered in Nice
. He subsequently joined its central committee and its political bureau. In November 1939, he became secretary-general of the party and was installed in Paris. He was a contributor to L'Émancipation nationale ([The National Emancipation]), and Le Cri du peuple.
When the PPF Congress met in Villeurbanne
in July 1941 he was appointed secretary general of both zones. He participated in the creation of the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
, of which he was member of the Central Committee.
On 6 August 1944, Barthélemy fled Paris ahead of the Allies
' advance. He then took refuge in Sigmaringen
. In November 1944, he was chosen to represent the PPF to the Italian Social Republic
. After Doriot's death in February 1945, Barthélemy, Simon Sabiani
, and Marcel Marschall formed a triumvirate to head the PPF.
Barthélemy moved to Milan
, Italy
in April 1945. Arrested on 2 May, he was handed over to French authorities, tried by a military tribunal
, and sentenced to several years in prison
.
of Maurice Bardèche
in 1951. He was on the board
of Bardèche's journal Défense de l'Occident ([Defense of the West
]).
Barthélemy was a member of the Front national pour l'Algérie française (FNAF, National Front for French Algeria); founded in Paris in June 1960 and dissolved by Charles de Gaulle
after an "ultra" rebellion in December 1960. He supported the Secours populaire pour l'entraide et la solidarité (1960–1964), whose purpose was to aid OAS
prisoners of French Algeria
.
Barthélemy became part of the committee to support Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour
in the December 1965 presidential election
.
Barthélemy participated in the creation of the National Front of Jean-Marie Le Pen
in 1972. He was its administrative secretary from 1974 to May 1978.
In 1978, his memoir — Du communisme au fascisme, histoire d'un engagement politique ([From Communism to Fascism: A History of Political Commitment]) — was published by Éditions Albin Michel
. Philip Rees
described it as "perhaps the most interesting and revealing of all the accounts of political conversion from extreme left to extreme right and a vital source book for the history of the PPF."
He retired to the south of France.
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
and the Communist International, he moved to the fascist French Popular Party. After an imprisonment for collaboration
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
, he supported far-right causes such as the European Social Movement
European Social Movement
The European Social Movement was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism.The ESM had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Movement , which established contacts with like-minded smaller groups in Europe during the late 1940s, setting up...
, the "ultras" side in the Algerian War, the 1965 presidential campaign
French presidential election, 1965
The 1965 French presidential election was the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage of the Fifth Republic. It was also the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage since the Second Republic in 1848. It was won by incumbent president Charles de Gaulle who resigned...
of Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour
Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour
Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour was a lawyer and French nationalist politician. He was a candidate in the 1965 French presidential election when his campaign manager was Jean-Marie Le Pen. He won 1,260,208 votes, which was 5.2% of the total, giving him fourth place after De Gaulle, Mitterrand and...
, and the Front national.
Biography
Barthélemy was born in AjaccioAjaccio
Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....
. His father was a socialist. During his studies at the University of Aix-en-Provence, Barthélemy supported Action Française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
. He moved to Marseilles and joined the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
(PCF) in 1925. Following the national congress of the PCF in Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
in 1926, delegates appointed him to membership in Secours Rouge International. After an internship in the USSR in 1928, he worked for the Communist International under the command of Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death.-Early life:...
. He carried out missions to Spain and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Barthélemy distanced himself from the PCF in 1930, but did not join the French Popular Party (PPF) of Jacques Doriot
Jacques Doriot
Jacques Doriot was a French politician prior to and during World War II. He began as a Communist but then turned Fascist.-Early life and politics:...
until 28 June 1936. Disillusioned with Communism, he was attracted to the "revolutionary authenticity" of fascism and National Socialism. In October 1936 he was appointed to the position of the Federal secretary of the party for the Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
, centered in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. He subsequently joined its central committee and its political bureau. In November 1939, he became secretary-general of the party and was installed in Paris. He was a contributor to L'Émancipation nationale ([The National Emancipation]), and Le Cri du peuple.
When the PPF Congress met in Villeurbanne
Villeurbanne
Villeurbanne is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after that of Paris. Villeurbanne is the second-largest city in the department.-History:The current location of...
in July 1941 he was appointed secretary general of both zones. He participated in the creation of the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a collaborationist French militia founded on July 8, 1941. It gathered various collaborationist parties, including Marcel Bucard's Mouvement Franciste, Marcel Déat's National Popular Rally, Jacques Doriot's French Popular Party, Eugène...
, of which he was member of the Central Committee.
On 6 August 1944, Barthélemy fled Paris ahead of the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
' advance. He then took refuge in Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district....
. In November 1944, he was chosen to represent the PPF to the Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
. After Doriot's death in February 1945, Barthélemy, Simon Sabiani
Simon Sabiani
Simon Pierre Sabiani was a World War I hero, businessman, and politician.He served in World War I, incorporated into the XVth corps of the 112th regiment of line infantry, he lost an eye in Douaumont, several times wounded, he directed against the enemy six counter attacks in six hours...
, and Marcel Marschall formed a triumvirate to head the PPF.
Barthélemy moved to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in April 1945. Arrested on 2 May, he was handed over to French authorities, tried by a military tribunal
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
, and sentenced to several years in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
.
Post-war
After his release, Barthélemy joined the European Social MovementEuropean Social Movement
The European Social Movement was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism.The ESM had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Movement , which established contacts with like-minded smaller groups in Europe during the late 1940s, setting up...
of Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche was a French essayist, literary and art critic, journalist, and one of the leading exponents of Neo-Fascism in post-World War II Europe...
in 1951. He was on the board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of Bardèche's journal Défense de l'Occident ([Defense of the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
]).
Barthélemy was a member of the Front national pour l'Algérie française (FNAF, National Front for French Algeria); founded in Paris in June 1960 and dissolved by Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
after an "ultra" rebellion in December 1960. He supported the Secours populaire pour l'entraide et la solidarité (1960–1964), whose purpose was to aid OAS
OAS
OAS or Oas may refer to:* Organization of American States, an international organization of the Americas.* Ohio Auction School, an auction school in Ohio, USA.* Old Age Security, a social security payment available to most Canadians aged 65 or older....
prisoners of French Algeria
French Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
.
Barthélemy became part of the committee to support Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour
Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour
Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour was a lawyer and French nationalist politician. He was a candidate in the 1965 French presidential election when his campaign manager was Jean-Marie Le Pen. He won 1,260,208 votes, which was 5.2% of the total, giving him fourth place after De Gaulle, Mitterrand and...
in the December 1965 presidential election
French presidential election, 1965
The 1965 French presidential election was the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage of the Fifth Republic. It was also the first presidential election by direct universal suffrage since the Second Republic in 1848. It was won by incumbent president Charles de Gaulle who resigned...
.
Barthélemy participated in the creation of the National Front of Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
in 1972. He was its administrative secretary from 1974 to May 1978.
In 1978, his memoir — Du communisme au fascisme, histoire d'un engagement politique ([From Communism to Fascism: A History of Political Commitment]) — was published by Éditions Albin Michel
Éditions Albin Michel
Éditions Albin Michel is a French publisher. It was founded in 1911 by Albin Michel.-External links:*...
. Philip Rees
Philip Rees
Philip Rees is a writer and librarian in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right.-Works:...
described it as "perhaps the most interesting and revealing of all the accounts of political conversion from extreme left to extreme right and a vital source book for the history of the PPF."
He retired to the south of France.
Sources
- Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890The Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890....
edited by Philip ReesPhilip ReesPhilip Rees is a writer and librarian in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right.-Works:...
, 1991, ISBN 0130893013