''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 rec ...

produced by a group of the

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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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 - 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 During World War II, he led a r ...

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 (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, 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 and served as president of ATD Quart Monde. Her uncle was General Charles de Gaulle. French Resistance Geneviève de Gaulle joined ...

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 general and 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 graduated from ...

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

Conseil National de la Résistance The National Council of the Resistance (also, National Resistance Council; in French: ''Conseil National de la Résistance'' (CNR), was the body that directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance: the press, trade uni ...

'' (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 (french: Union démocratique et socialiste de la Résistance or UDSR) was a French political party founded after the liberation of France from German occupation and mainly active during the Fo ...

'' (UDSR).

References

External links

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