''Défense de la France'' was an

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rece ...

produced by a group of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Essentially developed in the Northern Zone, ''Défense de la France'' distinguishes itself by an activity centered on the distribution of a clandestine newspaper created in August 1941 by a group of Parisian students, of the Christian faith.

Philippe Viannay Philippe Viannay (; 15 August 1917, Saint-Jean-de-Bournay - 27 November 1986) was a French journalist. School foundation He founded the Centre de formation des journalistes, and, later, the sailing school '' Les Glénans''. French resistance Du ...

was the founder of it and the main editor. With a circulation of 450,000 in January 1944, it had the largest circulation of the whole clandestine press. The niece of

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

, Geneviève, known later under the name of

Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz (25 October 1920 – 14 February 2002) was a member of the French Resistance in World War II, during which she was sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. After the war, she was a human rights defender and presiden ...

, was part of the founding group of the movement. The newspaper denounced the attacks and actions of the army up until 1942. It firstly supported General

Henri Giraud Henri Honoré Giraud (; 18 January 1879 – 11 March 1949) was a French military officer who was a leader of the Free French Forces during the Second World War until he was forced to retire in 1944. Born to an Alsatian family in Paris, Giraud ...

before turning to de Gaulle in June 1943. Not represented at the ''

Conseil National de la Résistance The National Council of the Resistance (; CNR; also, National Resistance Council) directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance during World War II: the press, trade unions and political parties hostile to the Vichy ...

'' (National Resistance Council), at the end of 1943 ''Défense de la France'' adhered to the '' Mouvement de Libération Nationale'' (National Liberation Movement), which participated in the foundation of the right-of-center ''

Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (, UDSR) was a French political party founded after the liberation of France from German occupation, mainly active during the Fourth Republic (1947–58). It was a loosely organised "cadre p ...

'' (UDSR).

References

External links

''Défense de la France''
issues online in Gallica, the digital library of the BnF. French Resistance networks and movements {{France-newspaper-stub