From victory to Vichy : veterans in inter-war France / Chris Millington.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Millington, Chris.

Series:

Cultural history of modern war

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Union nationale des combattants--History.

Union nationale des combattants.

Union fédérale--History.

Union fédérale.

World War, 1914-1918--Veterans--France--Societies, etc--History.

World War, 1914-1918.

Veterans--France--Societies, etc--History.

Veterans.

History.

France--History--1914-1940.

France.

France--Politics and government--1914-1940.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xi, 243 pages ; 22 cm.

Other Title:

Veterans in inter-war France

Place of Publication:

Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York : distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave, 2012.

Summary:

From victory to Vichy explores the political culture and mobilisation of the two largest French veteran's associations during the interwar years, the Union fédérale (UF) and the Union nationale des combattants (UNC). Drawing on extensive research into the associations' organisation, discourse and tactics, this study revises the established interpretation that French veterans were inherently democratic and supportive of the parliamentary Third Republic.

With approximately 900,000 members each, the UF and the UNC were the giants of the veterans' movement. During the 1920s, the UF and the UNC were often bitterly opposed on points of domestic and foreign policy yet united in the cause of veterans' rights. The following decade, though both associations claimed to reject politics, their political action intensified. The UNC fought side by side with nationalists against police during the infamous riot of 6

Offering an original contribution to the history of late Third Republican political culture, From victory to Vichy will appeal to students and scholars of modern France and Europe. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Union fédérale and the Union nationale des combattants: 1918-33 25

2 6 February 1934: The veterans' riot 52

3 Building a combatants' republic: The campaign for state reform, 1934 83

4 'We are not fascists:' The veterans and the extreme right 109

5 Rejuvenating France: The Jeunes de I'UF and the Jeunes de I'UNC 139

6 The veterans and the Popular Front 174

Conclusion: Toward Vichy 209.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-235) and index.

ISBN:

9780719085505

0719085500

OCLC:

795129723