Auguste-Maurice Barrès (; 19 August 1862 – 4 December 1923) was a French novelist, journalist and politician. Spending some time in Italy, he became a figure in French literature with the release of his work '' The Cult of the Self'' in 1888. In politics, he was first elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

in 1889 as a

Boulangist Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

and would play a prominent political role for the rest of his life. Barrès was associated in his literary works with

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

, a movement which had equivalence with British Aestheticism and Italian

Decadentism The Decadent movement (Fr. ''décadence'', “decay”) was a late-19th-century artistic and literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality. The Decadent movement first flourished ...

; indeed he was a close associate of Gabriele d'Annunzio representing the latter. As the name of his trilogy suggests, his works glorified a humanistic love of the self and he also flirted with

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

mysticisms in his youth. The

Dreyfus affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

saw an ideological shift from a liberal individualism rooted in the French Revolution to a more organic and traditional concept of the nation. He also became a leading anti-Dreyfusard popularising the term '' nationalisme'' to describe his views. He stood on a platform of "Nationalism and Protectionism.". Politically, he became involved with various groups such as the ''

Ligue des Patriotes The League of Patriots (french: Ligue des Patriotes) was a French far-right league, founded in 1882 by the nationalist poet Paul Déroulède, historian Henri Martin and politician Félix Faure. The Ligue began as a non-partisan nationalist league ...

'' of

Paul Déroulède Paul Déroulède (2 September 1846 – 30 January 1914) was a French author and politician, one of the founders of the nationalist League of Patriots. Early life Déroulède was born in Paris. He was published first as a poet in the magazine ''R ...

, which he became the leader of in 1914. Barrès was close to

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...

, the founder of '' Action Française'', a monarchist party. Despite the fact that he remained a republican, Barrès would have a strong influence on various following French monarchists, as well as various other figures. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was a strong supporter of the Union Sacrée political truce. In later life, Barrès returned to the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith and was involved in a campaign to restore French church buildings and helped establish 24 June as a national day of remembrance for St.

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

Biography

Early years

Born at

Charmes, Vosges Charmes () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is located on the river Moselle and the Canal de l'Est. It was extensively destroyed both in the First and Second World Wars. A pleasant stop for mobile hom ...

, he received his secondary education at the ''

lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

'' of Nancy, attending there the lessons of

Auguste Burdeau Auguste-Laurent Burdeau (10 September 185112 December 1894) was a French politician. He was the son of a laborer at Lyon. Forced from childhood to earn his own living, he was enabled to secure an education by bursarships at the Lycée at Lyon and ...

, later pictured as social climber Paul Bouteiller in ''Les Déracinés''. In 1883 continued his legal studies in Paris. Establishing himself at first in the Quartier Latin, he became acquainted with

Leconte de Lisle Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle''. Biography Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas ...

's cenacle and with the

symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

s in the 1880s, even meeting

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

once. He had already started contributing to the monthly periodical, ''Jeune France'' (''Young France''), and he now issued a periodical of his own, ''Les Taches d'encre'', which survived for only a few months. After four years of journalism he settled in Italy, where he wrote ''Sous l'œil des barbares'' (1888), the first volume of a ''trilogie du moi'' (also called ''Le Culte du moi'' or '' The Cult of the Self''), completed by ''Un Homme libre'' (1889), and ''Le Jardin de Bérénice'' (1891). ''The Cult of the Self'' trilogy was influenced by

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, and also made an apology of the pleasure of the senses. He supplemented these apologies for his narcissism with ''L'Ennemi des lois'' (1892), and with an admirable volume of impressions of travel, ''Du sang, de la volupté, de la mort'' (1893). Barrès wrote his early books in an elaborate and often very obscure style. The Comédie Française produced his play ''Une Journée parlementaire'' in 1894. A year after establishing himself in

Neuilly Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well ...

, he began his trilogy in 1897, ''Le Roman de l'énergie nationale'' (''Novel of the National Energy''), with the publication of ''Les Déracinés''.Biographical notice
French National Education website (Nancy) In this second major trilogy, he superated his early individualism with a patriotic fidelity to the fatherland and an organicist conception of the

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

('' see below for details''). Affected by the

Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

, and finding himself on the side of the Anti-Dreyfusards, Barrès played a leading role alongside

, which initiated his shift to the political right; Barrès oriented himself towards a lyrical form of nationalism, founded on the cult of the earth and the dead ("''la terre et les morts''", "earth and the dead" — '' see below for details''). The ''Roman de l'énergie nationale'' trilogy makes a plea for local patriotism, militarism, the faith to one's roots and to one's family, and for the preservation of the distinctive qualities of the old French provinces. ''Les Déracinés'' narrates the adventures of seven young

Lorrainers Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

who set out to conquer fortune in Paris. Six of them survive in the second novel of the trilogy, ''L'Appel au soldat'' (1900), which gives the history of Boulangism; the sequel, ''Leurs figures'' (1902), deals with the Panama scandals. Later works include: *''Scènes et doctrines du nationalisme ''(1902) *''Les Amitiés françaises'' (1903), in which he urges the inculcation of patriotism by the early study of national history *''Ce que j'ai vu à Rennes'' (1904) *''Au service de l'Allemagne'' (1905), the experiences of an Alsatian conscript in a German regiment *''Le Voyage de Sparte'' (1906). He presented himself in 1905 to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, but was supplanted by Etienne Lamy. He then tried again, but inclined himself before the candidacy of the former Minister Alexandre Ribot. But he was finally elected the next year, gaining 25 voices against 8 to Edmond Hauraucourt and one to Jean Aicart on 25 January 1906. Barrès was also a friend since his youth of the occultist

Stanislas de Guaita Stanislas De Guaita (6 April 1861, Tarquimpol, Moselle – 19 December 1897, Tarquimpol) was a French poet based in Paris, an expert on esotericism and European mysticism, and an active member of the Rosicrucian Order. He was very celebrated and s ...

, and was attracted by Asia,

sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

and shi'ism. But he returned in his later years to the Catholic faith, engaging in ''

L'Echo de Paris ''L'Echo'' is a Belgian business newspaper, published by Mediafin and mainly distributed in Wallonia and Brussels. It is the French counterpart of the Flemish daily ''De Tijd'' which is its sister paper. History and profile ''L'Echo'' originat ...

'' a campaign in favour of the restoration of the churches of France. His son

Philippe Barrès Philippe Barrès (8 July 1896, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine – 14 April 1975) was a French journalist and the son of Maurice Barrès. He fought in World War I. He was a member of the editorial staff of the right-wing newspaper ''Le Nouve ...

followed him in a journalism career.

Political activism

As a young man, Barrès carried his Romantic and individualist theory of the Ego into politics as an ardent partisan of

General Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

, locating himself in the more populist side of the heterogenous Boulangist coalition.

Pascal Ory Pascal Ory (born 31 July 1948) is a French historian. A student of René Rémond, he specialises in cultural and political history and has written on Fascism ever since his master's dissertation on the Greenshirts of Henri Dorgères. In the 1 ...

, "La nouvelle droite fin de siècle" in ''Nouvelle histoire des idées politiques'' (dir. P. Ory), Hachette Pluriel, 1987, pp. 457–465. He directed a Boulangist paper at Nancy, and was elected deputy in 1889, at the age of 27, under a platform of "Nationalism, Protectionism, and Socialism", retaining his seat in the legislature until 1893, when he was defeated under the etiquette of "National Republican and Socialist" (''Républicain nationaliste et socialiste''). From 1889, Barrès' activism overshadowed his literary activities, although he tried to maintain both. He shifted however to the right-wing during the

, becoming a leading mouthpiece, alongside

, of the Anti-Dreyfusard side. The Socialist leader

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

tried to convince him to join the Dreyfusards, but Barrès refused and wrote several anti-Semitic pamphlets. He wrote, "That Dreyfus is guilty, I deduce not from the facts themselves, but from his race." Alain-Gérard Slama (professor at

Sciences-Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

)
"Maurras (1858 (sic)-1952): ou le mythe d'une droite révolutionnaire"
, article first published in '' L'Histoire'' in 2002 Barrès' anti-Jewishness found its roots both in the scientific racial contemporary theories and on

Biblical exegesis Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

. He founded the short-lived review '' La Cocarde'' (''The

Cockade A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. Eighteenth century In the 18th and 19th centuries, coloured cockades were used in Europe to show the allegia ...

'') in 1894 (September 1894 – March 1895) to defend his ideas, attempting to bridge the gap between the far-left and the far-right. The ''Cocarde'', nationalist, anti-parliamentarist and anti-foreign, included a diverse collection of contributors from a wide variety of backgrounds (monarchists, socialists, anarchists, Jews, Protestants), including Frédéric Amouretti,

René Boylesve René Boylesve (14 April 1867 in La Haye-Descartes – 14 January 1926 in Paris), born René Marie Auguste Tardiveau, was a French writer and a literary critic. Biography Boylesve was orphaned early and went to school in Poitiers and Tours. ...

and

Fernand Pelloutier Fernand-Léonce-Émile Pelloutier (1 October 1867, in Paris – 13 March 1901, in Sèvres) was a French anarchist and syndicalist. He was the leader of the ''Bourses du Travail'', a major French trade union, from 1895 until his death in 1901. H ...

. He was again beaten during the 1896 elections in Neuilly, as a candidate of the Socialist leader Jean Jaurès, and then again in 1897 as a nationalist anti-Semitic candidate, having broken with the left-wing during the Dreyfus Affair. Barrès then assumed the leadership of the

Ligue de la Patrie française The Ligue de la patrie française (French Homeland League) was a French nationalist and anti- Dreyfus organization. It was officially founded in 1899, and brought together leading right-wing artists, scientists and intellectuals. The league fielded ...

(League of the French Fatherland), before taking membership in the ''

'' (Patriot League) of

. In 1914, he became the leader of the Patriot League. Close to the nationalist writer

, founder of the monarchist Action française movement, Barrès refused however to endorse monarchist ideas, although he demonstrated sympathy throughout his life for the Action française. Most of the later monarchist theorists (

Jacques Bainville Jacques Pierre Bainville (; 9 February 1879 – 9 February 1936) was a French historian and journalist. A geopolitical theorist, concerned by Franco-German relations, he was a leading figure in the monarchist ''Action Française''. As fascinated a ...

Henri Vaugeois Henri Vaugeois (25 April 1864 – 11 April 1916) was a French teacher and journalist who was one of the founders of right-wing nationalist Action Française movement. Biography Vaugeois was born in L'Aigle, Orne, on 25 April 1864. He settled in ...

, Léon Daudet,

Henri Massis Henri Massis (21 March 1886 – 16 April 1970) was a conservative French essayist, literary critic and literary historian. Biography Massis was born on 21 March 1886 in Paris, France. He attended Lycée Condorcet and University of Paris. He began ...

Jacques Maritain Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aquinas fo ...

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defea ...

Thierry Maulnier Thierry Maulnier (born Jacques Talagrand; 1 October 1909, Alès – 9 January 1988, Marnes-la-Coquette) was a French journalist, essayist, dramatist, and literary critic. He was married to theatre director Marcelle Tassencourt. Early years A ...

...) have recognised their debt toward Barrès, who also inspired several generations of writers (among which Montherlant, Malraux, Mauriac and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

). Barrès was elected deputy of the Seine in 1906, and retained his seat until his death. He sat at that time among the Entente républicaine démocratique conservative party. In 1908, he opposed in Parliament his friend and political opponent Jean Jaurès, refusing the Socialist leader's will to

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

ize the writer

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

. Despite his political views, he was one of the first to show his respect to Jaurès' remains after his assassination on the eve of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During World War I, Barrès was one of the proponents of the Union Sacrée, which earned him the nickname "nightingale of bloodshed" ("rossignol des carnages"). The ''

Canard enchaîné Canard is French for duck, a type of aquatic bird. Canard may also refer to: Aviation *Canard (aeronautics), a small wing in front of an aircraft's main wing * Aviafiber Canard 2FL, a single seat recreational aircraft of canard design * Blé ...

'' satirical newspaper called him the "chief of the tribe of brainwashers" ("chef de la tribu des bourreurs de crâne").Biographical notice
of Barrès on the

's website His personal notes showed however that he himself did not always believe in his purported war optimism, being at times close to defeatism. During the war Barrès also partly came back on the mistakes of his youth, by paying tribute to French Jews in ''Les familles spirituelles de la France'', where he placed them as one of the four elements of the "national genius", alongside Traditionalists, Protestants and Socialists – thus opposing himself to Maurras who saw in them the "four confederate states" of "Anti-France". After World War I, Barrès demanded the annexation of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

into the French Republic, and also sought to increase French influence in the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

. On 24 June 1920, the National Assembly adopted his draft aiming to establish a national day in remembrance of

Nationalism

Barrès is considered, alongside

, as one of the main thinkers of ethnic nationalism at the turn of the century in France, associated with Revanchism — the desire to reconquer the Alsace-Lorraine, annexed by the newly created

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

at the end of the 1871 Franco-Prussian War (Barrès was aged 8 at that time). In fact, he himself popularised the word "nationalism" in French. This has been noted by Zeev Sternhell, Michel Winock (who titled the first part of his book, ''Le Siècle des intellectuels'', "Les Années Barrès" ("The Barrès' Years"), followed by ''Les Années André Gide'' and ''Les Années

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

''), Pierre-André Taguieff, etc. He shared as common points with Paul Bourget his disdain for

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...

and liberalism. Opposed to

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

's theory of

social contract In moral and political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships betw ...

, Barrès considered the 'Nation' (which he used to replace the 'People') as already historically founded: it did not need a " general will" to establish itself, thus also contrasting with

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...

's definition of the Nation.Brigitte Krulic (professor at

University of Paris-X Paris Nanterre University (French: ''Université Paris Nanterre''), formerly Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public university, public research university based in Nanterre, Paris, France. It is one of the most prestigious Fren ...

)
Le peuple français chez Maurice Barrès: une entité insaisissable entre unité et diversité
2 February 2007 (Paper read during the conference ''« 'Peuple' et 'Volk' : réalité de fait, postulat juridique »'' organized at the University of Paris X-Nanterre on 10 December 2005 Much closer to

Herder A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. ...

and Fichte than to Renan in his definition of the Nation, Barrès opposed French

centralism Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...

(as did Maurras), as he considered the Nation to be a multiplicity of local allegiances, first to the family, the village, the region, and ultimately to the

nation-state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...

. Influenced by

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...

Frédéric Le Play Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impressio ...

and

Hippolyte Taine Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (, 21 April 1828 – 5 March 1893) was a French historian, critic and philosopher. He was the chief theoretical influence on French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism and one of the first practition ...

, he developed an organicist conception of the Nation which contrasted with the universalism of the 1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...

. According to Barrès, the People is not founded by an act of autonomy, but find its origins in the earth (le sol), history (institutions, life and material conditions) and traditions and inheritance ("the dead"). His early individualism was quickly superated by an organicist theory of the social link, in which "the individual is nothing, society is everything"). Barrès feared miscegenation of modern times, represented by Paris, claiming against

Michelet People with the last name Michelet include the following. When used alone in an encyclopedic context, ''Michelet'' will generally refer to Jules.As evidenced in Wikipedia and Encyclopædia Britannica articles * Albert Michelet (1869–1928), French ...

that it jeopardised the unity of the Nation. The Nation was to be balanced between various local nationalities (he spoke of the "Lorraine nationality" as much as of the "French nationality") through decentralisation and the call for a leader, giving a Bonapartist aspect to his thought which explained his attraction for the General Boulanger and his opposition to

liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...

. He pleaded for a

direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...

and personalisation of power, as well as for the implementation of

popular referendum A popular referendum (also known, depending on jurisdiction, as citizens' veto, people's veto, veto referendum, citizen referendum, abrogative referendum, rejective referendum, suspensive referendum or statute referendum)Maija SetäläReferendum ...

s as done in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In this nationalist frame, anti-Semitism was to be the cohesive factor for a right-wing

mass movement Mass movement may refer to: * Mass movement (geology), the movement of rock and soil down slopes due to gravity * Mass movement (politics) A mass movement denotes a political party or movement which is supported by large segments of a population. P ...

. Contrary to popular belief, Maurice Barrès never used the term “le grand remplacement” reat replacement either in his novel "L'appel au soldat" or anywhere else. However he did make use of the underlying concept, namely that the French national character was being harmed by immigration of certain ethnic groups.

Hispanophilia

Barrès was a noted hispanophile. Influenced by the

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

mythification of Spain, he described the country as "an Africa leaving your soul with a sort of furor so fast as chilli does in your mouth". Always passionate about the "South" and "

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

", he emphasized in his work the period of Moorish domination. He interpreted the Spain of the time as a nation refractory to the attempts of economic and bureaucratic rationalization threatening his own country. He visited Spain in 1892, 1893 and 1902, capturing his vision of the country in his writings, taking a particular interest in

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

Dada and Barrès

The Dadaists organised in spring 1921 the trial of Barrès, charged with an "attack on the safety of the mind" ("attentat à la sûreté de l'esprit") and sentenced him to 20 years of forced labour. This fictitious trial also marked the dissolution of Dada - its founders, among whom was

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

, refusing any form of justice even if organised by Dada.

Final years and death

An Orientalist romance, ''

Un jardin sur l'Oronte ''Un jardin sur l'Oronte'' (''A Garden on the Orontes'') is a novel by Maurice Barrès, which was first published in 1922 by Plon-Nourrit. Barrès purportedly transcribed in it a story which an Irish archaeologist had translated to him from a man ...

'' (A Garden on the Orontes)—which would be the basis of an opera of the same name—was published in 1922, triggering what would be called (the Orontes Quarrel). Barrès died in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 4 December 1923.

Works in English translation

''The Undying Spirit of France,''
Yale University Press, 1917.
"Young Soldiers of France"
In ''The War and the Spirit of Youth,'' Atlantic Monthly Company, 1917. * '' Colette Baudoche: The Story of a Young Girl of Metz'', George H. Doran Company, 1918.
"Officers and Gentlemen"
''The Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. CXXI, 1918.
''The Faith of France''
Houghton Mifflin & Company, 1918. * ''

The Sacred Hill ''The Sacred Hill'' (french: La colline inspirée) is a 1913 novel by the French writer Maurice Barrès. It tells the story of three monks who turn the hill colline de Saxon-Sion in Lorraine (duchy), Lorraine into a place of worship, which then dev ...

'', The Macaulay Company, 1929. * "Uprooted". In ''The World's Greatest Books,'' W. H. Wise & Co., 1941.

Other

* Massia Bibikoff
''Our Indians at Marseilles''
with an Introduction by Maurice Barrès, Smith, Elder and Company, 1915. * Georges Lafond
''Covered with Mud and Glory''
with a Preface by Maurice Barrès, Small, Maynard & Company, 1918.

References

In foreign languages

* René Jacquet (1900)
''Notre Maître Maurice Barrès''
Librairie Nilsson. * J. Ernest Charles (1907)
''La Carrière de Maurice Barrès, Académicien''
E. Sansot & Cie. * René Gillouin (1907)
''Maurice Barrès''
E. Sansot & Cie. * Henri Massis (1909)
''La Pensée de Maurice Barrès''
Mercure de France. * Nicolas Beauduin (1910)
"L'Evolution de Maurice Barrès"
''Quelques Uns,'' No. 1. * Jean Herluison (1911)
''Maurice Barrès et le Problème de l'Ordre''
Nouvelle Librairie Nationale. * Jacques Jary (1912)
''Essai sur l'Art et la Psychologie de Maurice Barrès''
Emile-Paul. * Paul Bourget (1924). ''La Leçon de Barrès,'' À la Cité des Livres. * François Mauriac (1945). ''La Rencontre avec Barrès,'' La Table Ronde. * Albert Garreau (1945). ''Barrès, Défenseur de la Civilisation,'' Éditions des Loisirs. * Sarah Vajda (2000). ''Maurice Barrès,'' Flammarion.

External links

* *
Barrès' Speeches at the Académie française

(audio)

Barrès, Maurice (1862–1923)
at Gallica * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barres, Maurice 1862 births 1923 deaths People from Vosges (department) French Roman Catholics Politicians from Grand Est Boulangists Republican Federation politicians Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Writers from Grand Est French political philosophers 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French novelists 20th-century male writers Members of the Ligue des Patriotes Members of the Ligue de la patrie française Members of the Académie Française French people of World War I Antisemitism in France Antidreyfusards Barrès family