Marcel Déat (7 March 1894 – 5 January 1955) was a French politician. Initially a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he led a breakaway group of right-wing ' Neosocialists' out of the SFIO in 1933. During the occupation of France by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, he founded the collaborationist National Popular Rally (RNP). In 1944, he became Minister of Labour and National Solidarity in

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occ ...

's government in

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

, before escaping to the

Sigmaringen enclave The Sigmaringen enclave was the exiled remnant of France's Nazi-sympathizing Vichy government which fled to Germany during the Liberation of France near the end of World War II in order to avoid capture by the advancing Allied forces. ...

along with Vichy officials after the Allied landings in Normandy. Condemned ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in ab ...

'' for collaborationism, he died while still in hiding in Italy.

Early life and politics

Marcel Déat was raised in a modest environment, which shared

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and patriotic values. After brilliant studies, he entered in 1914 the ''

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

'' (ENS) after having been the student of Alain, a philosopher who was active in the Radical Party and who would write a deeply

anti-militarist Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (esp ...

book after World War I. The same year, Déat joined the SFIO. While he attended the ENS and worked to get a philosophy degree, World War I broke out. He joined the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

and saw active duty, winning the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and five bravery citations. By the war's end, Déat had achieved the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Under the pseudonym of Taëd, he then published ''Cadavres et maximes, philosophie d'un revenant'' (approximately translated by "Corpses and Maxims, Philosophy of a Ghost"), in which he expressed his horror of

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...

, strong

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

views, as well as his fascination for collective discipline and war camaraderie. When the war ended in 1918, he finished his studies at the École Normale and passed his '' agrégation'' of philosophy, and oriented himself towards sociology under the direction of

Célestin Bouglé Célestin Charles Alfred Bouglé (1 June 1870 – 25 January 1940) was a French philosopher known for his role as one of Émile Durkheim's collaborators and a member of the '' L'Année Sociologique''. Life Bouglé was born in Saint-Brieuc, C ...

, a friend of Alain and also member of the Radical Party. In the meanwhile, Déat taught philosophy in Reims. During the 1920

Tours Congress The Tours Congress was the 18th National Congress of the French Section of the Workers' International, or SFIO, which took place in Tours on 25–30 December 1920. During the Congress, the majority voted to join the Third International and create ...

in which a majority of the SFIO decided to spin off to found the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

, Marcel Déat positioned himself at the right wing of the SFIO, taking part in the '' groupe de la Vie socialiste'' current, alongside

Pierre Renaudel Pierre Renaudel (19 December 1871 – 1 April 1935) was a French socialist politician and journalist. Biography He served as central committee member of the League of Human Rights (''Ligue des droits de l'homme'', LDH), was a founder and ''m ...

. Déat was elected municipal counsellor of Rheims in 1925, and then deputy for the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

during a partial election in 1926. However, he lost his seat after the 1928 elections. In these times, Léon Blum, the leader of the SFIO, tried to favor youths in the party, and decided to name Déat secretary of the SFIO parliamentary group. After having been put in charge of the documentary center of the ENS by Célestin Bouglié, Déat now founded a documentary center for the SFIO deputies.

Neo-Socialist period

Marcel Déat published in 1930 ''Perspectives socialistes'' (Socialist Perspectives), a revisionist work closely influenced by

Henri de Man Henri (Hendrik) de Man (17 November 1885 – 20 June 1953) was a Belgian politician and leader of the Belgian Labour Party (POB-BWP). He was one of the leading socialist theoreticians of his period and, during the German occupation of Belgium ...

's ''

planisme A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, pa ...

''. Along with over a hundred articles written in '' La Vie Socialiste'', the review of the SFIO's right-wing, ''Perspective socialistes'' marked the shift of Déat from classical Socialism to

Neosocialism Neosocialism was a political faction that existed in France and Belgium during the 1930s and which included several revisionist tendencies in the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO). During the 1930s, the faction gradually dista ...

. Déat replaced

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

by collaboration of classes and national solidarity, advocated

corporatism Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

as a social organization model, replaced the notion of "

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

" by "

Anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as s ...

" and supported an authoritarian state which would plan the economy and from which

parliamentarism A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

would be repealed. During the 1932 elections, he was elected deputy of the 20th arrondissement of Paris, beating the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Jacques Duclos — who himself had gained the upper hand against Léon Blum in 1928 in the same electoral district. Déat and other Neosocialists were expelled from the SFIO at the 5 November 1933 Congress, for their revisionist views and disagreements with Léon Blum's policies toward Prime Minister

Édouard Herriot Édouard Marie Herriot (; 5 July 1872 – 26 March 1957) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister (1924–1925; 1926; 1932) and twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He led the ...

, leader of the second ''

Cartel des Gauches The Cartel of the Left (french: Cartel des gauches, ) was the name of the governmental alliance between the Radical-Socialist Party, the socialist French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), and other smaller left-republican parties that ...

'' (Left-Wing Coalition). The official position of the SFIO was then to support the Cartel without participating in the government, which it considered "bourgeois." The same year, Déat joined the

Socialist Party of France – Jean Jaurès Union The Socialist Party of France – Jean Jaurès Union (french: Parti socialiste de France-Union Jean Jaurès, PSdF) was a political party in France founded in 1933 during the late French Third Republic, Third Republic which united the right-wing ...

(PSdF) created the same year by Planist and Neosocialist elements expelled by the SFIO during the 1933 Congress. The new party's slogan was "Order, Authority and Nation". The expelled faction was a minority in the SFIO, but represented the majority of the SFIO parliamentary group. They were opposed both by the left wing of the SFIO, represented by

Marceau Pivert Marceau Pivert (2 October 1895, Montmachoux, Seine-et-Marne – 3 June 1958, Paris) was a French schoolteacher, trade unionist, socialist militant, and journalist. He was an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud. SFIO Act ...

, and by the SFIO's center, headed by Blum. The Neosocialists wanted to "reinforce the state against the

economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

", open themselves to the middle classes and participate in non-Socialist governments. Without the support of the Socialists, Déat lost his seat in the Chamber. Two years later, he joined the

Socialist Republican Union The Socialist Republican Union (french: Union socialiste républicaine, USR) was a political party in France founded in 1935 during the late Third Republic which united the right-wing of the French Section of the Workers' International with the ...

(USR). He became Minister of Air in the "bourgeois" government of

Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut ...

( Radical) but he quickly resigned his post over disputes with the Prime Minister. With the increasing threats represented by Nazi Germany, Déat wanted to maintain peace at any cost. He returned to the Chamber of Deputies in 1936 as a delegate from

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

, and at first supported the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

led by Blum before denouncing "Communist infiltration" of it. After Blum's replacement by

Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II. Daladier was born in Carpe ...

in 1938, which marked the end of the Popular Front, Déat participated in the "Anti-Communist Rally." The same year, he made explicit his support of the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Germany, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Fa ...

in an article titled ''

Why Die for Danzig? ''Why Die for Danzig?'' (french: Pourquoi mourir pour Dantzig?) is an anti-war French political slogan created on the eve of World War II. Article The phrase originated in the title of an article ("Mourir pour Dantzig?") by the French Neo-Social ...

'', published in the newspaper ''

L'Œuvre ''L'Œuvre'' is the fourteenth novel in the '' Rougon-Macquart'' series by Émile Zola. It was first serialized in the periodical ''Gil Blas'' beginning in December 1885 before being published in novel form by Charpentier in 1886. The title, t ...

''. There, he argued that France should avoid war with Germany if the latter seized Poland – the publication caused a widespread controversy, and propelled Déat to national fame. Déat would collaborate with ''L'Œuvre'' during the entire period of

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

Collaborationism

A strong supporter of Germany's occupation of northern France in 1940, Déat took up residence in Vichy France, and was initially a supporter of

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

. He attempted to create a single party to fully realize the aims of the "''

Révolution nationale The ''Révolution nationale'' (, ''National Revolution'') was the official ideological program promoted by the Vichy regime (the “French State”) which had been established in July 1940 and led by Marshal Philippe Pétain. Pétain's regime wa ...

''", the official, reactionary ideology of Vichy. Thereafter, he founded in February 1941 the National Popular Rally (RNP) which advocated Collaboration with Nazi Germany and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. When Vichy, then headed by Pétain, did not become the Fascist state Déat had in mind, he moved to occupied Paris and was funded by the Germans. The Germans forced Déat at first to merge his new party (RNP) with

Eugène Deloncle Eugène Deloncle (20 June 1890 – 17 January 1944) was a French politician and Fascist leader, who founded of the “Secret Committee of Revolutionary Action" (CSAR), known as "The Hood" ( la Cagoule), and became a prominent Nazi collaborator ...

MSR MSR may refer to: Science and technology * Macrophage scavenger receptor, a receptor found in macrophages * Magnetic stripe reader, a device used to read magnetic stripe cards such as credit cards * M–sigma relation, in astrophysics * Mars samp ...

(Social Revolutionary Movement), a far-right party, the successor of the ''

Cagoule A cagoule (), also spelled cagoul, kagoule or kagool, is the British English term for a lightweight weatherproof raincoat or anorak with a hood (usually without lining), which often comes in knee-length form.The Chambers Dictionary, 1994, The Ca ...

'' terrorist group. The merger was a failure and Déat later expelled MSR elements from his party, before trying to form a unified front of Collaborationist parties. Déat also founded, along with fellow Collaborationists

Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (; 26 September 1898 – 22 February 1945) was a French politician, initially communist, later fascist, before and during World War II. In 1936, after his exclusion from the Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Party (P ...

and

Marcel Bucard Marcel Bucard (7 December 1895 – 13 March 1946) was a French Fascist politician. Early career A decorated soldier who earned a reputation for bravery in World War I, Bucard became active in politics after 1918, initially as a member of '' ...

, the

Légion des Volontaires Français The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (french: Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme, LVF) was a unit of the German Army during World War II consisting of collaborationist volunteers from France. Officially desi ...

(LVF), a French unit of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

(later affiliated with the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

). While reviewing troops from the LVF with Vichy figure

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

on 27 August 1941, Déat was wounded in an assassination attempt—carried out by

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

member Paul Collette. After recovering, he became a supporter of Pierre Laval, who supported more reactionary policies than Pétain and had become prime minister of the Vichy regime in 1942. Under the suggestion of the Germans, Marcel Déat became on 16 March 1944, Minister of Labour and National Solidarity in Laval's cabinet.

Exile

After the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

landings at

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and the fall of the Vichy government, Déat fled to Germany and became an official of the Vichy government in exile at

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') 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. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen ...

. With the

defeat of Nazi Germany The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf H ...

in 1945, Déat fled to Italy in April and took his wife's name, temporarily teaching in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. He was later taken in and hidden by a Catholic religious order in the convent of San Vito, near Turin, where he wrote his memoirs and lived undiscovered until his death in 1955. After the war, he had been convicted of treason and sentenced to death ''in absentia'' by a French court.

References

Works

* Marcel Déat, ''Perspectives socialistes'' (Paris, Valois, 1930) * Max Bonnafous – Marcel Déat –

Adrien Marquet Adrien Marquet (6 October 1884 – 3 February 1955) was a Socialism, socialist mayor of Bordeaux who turned to the far right. Career Marquet was born in Bordeaux and became its socialist mayor in 1925. In 1933, he was expelled from the French ...

– Barthélémy Montagnon, ''Néo-socialisme ? Ordre, autorité, nation'', Paris, Grasset, 140 pages, 1933. Speech pronounced at the SFIO Congress of July 1933. * ''Le Plan français : doctrine et plan d'action'', Comité du Plan, Paris, Fasquelle, 199 pages, 1936. Preface by Marcel Déat. * Marcel Déat, ''De la fausse collaboration à la vraie révolution, décembre 1941-janvier 1942'', Paris, '' Rassemblement national populaire'', 47 pages, 1942. Various articles extracted from ''

'' (30 December 1941 – 13 January 1942) and a conference pronounced at ''

Radio-Paris Radio Paris was a French radio broadcasting company best known for its Axis propaganda broadcasts in Vichy France during World War II. Radio Paris evolved from the first private radio station in France, called Radiola (radio station), Radiola, fou ...

'' (5 January 1942). * Marcel Déat, ''Le Parti unique'', Paris, Aux Armes de France, 183 pages, 1943. Articles published in ''

'' (18 July – 4 September 1942). * Dominique Sordet (ed.), ''Le Coup du 13 décembre'', Paris, impr. de Guillemot et de Lamothe, 47 pages, 1943. Article by Marcel Déat : "Il faut les chasser". * Marcel Déat, ''Mémoires politiques'', Paris, Denoël, 990 pages, 1989. Introduction & notes by Laurent Theis; epilogue by Hélène Déat. * Marcel Déat, ''Discours, articles et témoignages'', Coulommiers, Éd. Déterna, " Documents pour l'histoire ", 149 pages, 1999.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deat, Marcel 1894 births 1955 deaths People from Nièvre Politicians from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté French Section of the Workers' International politicians Socialist Party of France – Jean Jaurès Union politicians Socialist Republican Union politicians National Popular Rally politicians Government ministers of France Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French neo-socialists French anti-communists École Normale Supérieure alumni French military personnel of World War I French collaborators with Nazi Germany Former Marxists People sentenced to death in absentia French exiles French expatriates in Italy French politicians convicted of crimes People convicted of treason against France