Henri Albert François Joseph Raphaël Alibert (; 17 February 1887 – 5 June 1963) was a French politician known for his association with the
collaborationist regime of
Vichy France
Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
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 ...
. A royalist, traditionalist, and member of ''
Action Française'', Alibert was one of the chief ideologues of the
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
that transformed the
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
into an authoritarian state under the rule of
Marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...
.
Politics
Raphael Alibert was an ardent Roman Catholic convert and someone with strong
royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
ideas. One of the most intense followers of
Charles Maurras, Alibert was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the
Action Française party. In October 1939 he and Henry Lémery had visited
Maréchal Petain to discuss in private the make-up of a possible ministry with him.
Enters government
In the French government's new Cabinet formed on 16 June 1940 he was appointed Under-
Secretary of State to the Prime Minister, now Pétain. He was one of the opposition within the Cabinet to removing the government to North Africa after the Armistice with Germany, and it is said that he was instrumental in preventing the departure by President
Albert Lebrun and
Camille Chautemps
Camille Chautemps (; 1 February 1885 – 1 July 1963) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic, three times President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister).
He was the father-in-law of U.S. politician and statesman Howar ...
on 20 June 1940, although General
Weygand, also opposed to a move, had already urged Lebrun to remain until the evening. In the event only 30 deputies and just one senator departed.
Alibert was responsible for ''Exposé des motifs'', his document forming the basis for the ''Révolution Nationale'', a proposition which the Chamber and Senate adopted on the 9 July 1940. Contrary to post-war opinions,
Otto Abetz, the German Ambassador in Paris, saw clearly that "nothing could have been further from fascism, whether of the Italian or German variety, than the ''Revolution Nationale''". Abetz felt instead that the government at Vichy believed in "reactionary, hierarchical principals" and that its "nationalism was dangerous to the European concept of the New Order". The following day Pétain signed three 'Constitutional Acts' drafted by Alibert. the first announced that he himself was taking over the functions of the 'French State', in other words that he was becoming 'Head of State'. The second gave the Head of State complete and overall power, both executive and legislative. The third adjourned the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate ''sine die''; they could only be reconvened by Order of the Head of State. Laval remarked that Pétain had been granted more powers than Louis XIV. Pétain, however, maintained that he never wished to assume the mantle of a Caesar, and that he only wanted to serve until a Peace Treaty with Germany had been signed and he could retire.
Alibert was made
Keeper of the Seals (''Garde des sceaux'') from 12 July 1940 to 27 January 1941, and was appointed
Minister of Justice in the new Cabinet formed on 13 July 1940, during the
time the government was removed to Vichy.
On 22 July he instituted a review of all
naturalisations since 1927. This resulted in 15,000 people, including 600 Jews, having their French citizenships revoked and being made stateless.
In keeping with the ideals of ''Action Francaise'', he promulgated the law dissolving
secret societies (
Freemasonry
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
amongst others) on 13 August 1940, aided in this project by other devout Catholics, notably Bernard Fay, administrator of the Bibliothèque Nationale, and Robert Vallery-Radot. Their task was to root out about 15,000 Masonic dignitaries from public life, as part of an effort by militant right-wing Christians to displace, while taking revenge on, their 'secularising' enemies.
The new government took a serious anti-semitic position, and he also promulgated the first
Law on the status of Jews of October 1940 which excluded Jews from certain Civil Service posts and presaged action against those in the so-called liberal professions.
The German Ambassador to France,
Otto Abetz, wrote to von Ribbentrop on 8 October 1940 saying that "some (French) ministers, such as Alibert, Baudouin and Bouthillier, are hoping for an eventual restoration of the Bourbons". By mid-November that year Alibert, Yvres Bouthillier,
Paul Baudouin,
Marcel Peyrouton (Minister of the Interior),
Jean Darlan and General Huntziger were putting pressure upon Pétain to have
Pierre Laval dismissed from office, in which they were successful on 13 December. A furious Abetz visited Pétain calling for Laval's reinstatement and the dismissal of the plotters against him, including Alibert, to no avail. However, on 9 February 1941 Alibert and
Pierre-Etienne Flandin were both dismissed from the government, "probably as a sop to the Germans".
After war
At the end of the war, Alibert fled abroad into hiding, and was condemned to death
''in absentia'' on 7 March 1947. Living in
exile
Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, he was finally given
amnesty in 1959, four years before his death from natural causes.
In culture
* Hôtel du Parc (1992) ; co-scénarists :
Pierre Beuchot and Jérôme Prieur ; avec
André Wilms et Marylène Dagouat. Raphaël Alibert was played by Jean Périmony
IMDb
/ref>
See also
* Louis Darquier de Pellepoix
* Xavier Vallat
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alibert, Raphael
1887 births
1963 deaths
People from Lot (department)
People affiliated with Action Française
Ministers of justice of France
Government ministers of Vichy France
Critics of Freemasonry
French exiles
French expatriates in Belgium
French politicians convicted of crimes
People convicted of indignité nationale
Nazis sentenced to death in absentia by France