ABSTRACT

In 1952, in a work that has become a classic, La Droite en France, Professor René Rémond established an ideological filiation between Bonapartism and nationalism, both of which formed part of a single political current (later prolonged by Gaullism), and which he labelled the authoritarian right. This analysis suggests questions concerning the relations between the two political forces, one in the ascendant, the other in decline, during the period of their coexistence. Was there any convergence of ideology and, if so, did it lead to unity of action? Did proximity generate tension between rival militants, or did it lead to a strategy of ‘entryism’?