“Action Française” and Charles Maurras in 1940–1944. Between Homeland and Occupiers

Abstract. The article discusses the activities of the largest monarchist party of the beginning of the 20th century and its permanent leader, French writer, political thinker, publicist Charles Morras (1868–1952). For fifty years he was the most striking and expressive figure of nationalism, monarchism and conservatism. He was sentenced in 1945 after the liberation of France to life imprisonment for aiding Nazi Germany. For more than a hundred years, his doctrine of “integral nationalism” has been causing fierce debates among scholars, which is why the topic is very debatable and relevant. Many see S. Morras as the ideological founder and political “teacher” of European fascism, others as a representative of the traditional conservative monarchism, opposing the republican democratic principles and other political doctrines. In domestic historiography, the Party of Action Frances is declared a pro-fascist organization. The article discusses and analyzes the main literary sources of these approaches. The purpose of our study is to analyze the real actions of the Action Frances party and its leader Charles Morras during the Second World War and give their assessment. In the process of research, the authors of the article successfully applied such methods as the historical-comparative method and General philosophical analysis.

Keywords: Charles Morras, the party “Axion Frances”, collaboration, Germanophobia, fascism, integral nationalism, France, the regime of “Vichy”, Marshal F. Petain, conservative monarchism.