ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys the complex interaction between French conservatives and radical rightists from the end of the Great War to the onset of the Vichy regime. It traces connections and convergences between various movements and intellectuals, while also examining persisting divisions within the Right. As French politics oscillated between Left and Right after the war and into the 1920s, conservative and radicals sometimes aligned but durable cooperation proved elusive. In the 1930s political polarisation against the backdrop of the Great Depression encouraged renewed activism, as a new generation of right-wing intellectuals emerged, and new organisations entered the political fray. Despite shared hostility to the Popular Front, divisions within the Right persisted; younger writers called for a right-wing revolution, and new parties challenged established formations. Conservative responses varied, but the overall trend was towards radicalisation. This combination of ideological convergences and internal divisions continued after the fall of France in 1940.
