How did French nationalism evolve in France from 1870 to 1945?

Nationalism refers to the passionate attachment to a nation, the belief in the superiority of the nation towards others. The nation is a group of people sharing a past, a history, a language, and a same culture. Nationalism is attached to the national sovereignty, to the independence of the nation. Two kinds of nationalism can be distinguished: aggressive and reactionary nationalism; and defensive nationalism, which essentially refuses the loss of national sovereignty. Nationalism affirms that the primacy of the interests of the nation elevates it into supreme value. This is the reason that makes nationalism often aggressive and demanding, but it is even more virulent when the nation is humiliated. Yet, in 1870, France faced a defeat against nascent Germany; this is why it is important to put forward the nationalist reaction towards Germany whom France had to face again during the two major conflicts of History: the wars of 1914-18 and 1939-45. Moreover, the Second World War symbolized the French humiliation of May-June 1940 and that France had to redefine its place in the world after 1945. Nevertheless, if addressing the subject of nationalism is taking into account the criteria of erection of the nation into supreme value, it is consequently possible to consider French nationalism in its confrontation to other nationalisms throughout the colonial stake; then, to consider nationalism opposed to internal enemies with an often anti-republican dimension; and finally, to distinguish the nationalism that defends the homeland during wartime.

France was part of the major powers from 1870 to 1945. In order to build its empire, it had to face on one hand the other European powers, and on the other hand the colonized people. Thus, nationalism was the vector of the colonial competition and played a role in the confrontation of the colonial powers. By the end of the XIXth century, French nationalism was opposed to English and German nationalism. Europe gave itself the mission to bring civilization to the rest of the world. In this way, the colonial will translated the cultural – even biological – superiority. The France whom suffered the defeat against Germany built a military and colonial rivalry. The republic cultivated this nationalism throughout the free, secular, and compulsory teaching since the 1880s. This rivalry with Germany appeared mostly in 1887 during the Schnaebelé case: Boulanger was opposed to Bismark in an espionage case. It was because the national pride was flattered that Boulanger knew a certain prestige. This showed how the French-German rivalry was strong. For that matter, the Dreyfus case that appeared in 1898 was also a result of an espionage case between Germany and France. The refusal to recognize the mistake of the army can be explained by nationalism. Indeed, the nationalist logic refused the weakening of the nation, mostly in a period a French-German rivalry. But, the army was the very symbol of the defense and national sovereignty and the instrument of its defense. And recognizing the mistake of the army could have been seen as a sign of weakening of the nation, this is why the nationalist right was anti-Drefusard. During the 1890s, Guillaume II led a politic more and more dangerous to the peace: the Weltpolitik. Bismark wasn’t Chancellor anymore to maintain France in isolation. The tensions rose between the two countries and French nationalism had to appear strong before German nationalism. The stake of prestige was important concerning the colonies. The power and the prestige were associated to the extent of the colonial empires which explained the tensions in 1905 and 1911 in Morocco. Germany, who took back Alsace-Moselle in 1870, provoked the animosity of the French nationalists who were opposed to pangermanism. Nationalism was thus attached to the question of borders. The main opponent to France in the colonies was England. The stake of prestige was visible in the colonies where France and England put their flag. The meeting of the two armies in Fachoda and the French recoil aroused the discontentment of the nationalists, which proved that the colonial stake couldn’t be understood without taking into account nationalism. National pride began and was translated by travel writings.

Nationalism aimed to affirm French culture. In fact, the colonial adventure was expensive to France; which means that it wasn’t a financial interest that motivated in priority the colonial adventure. France was the carrier of the civilization’s values for the nationalists. To Ferry, it was about hardening the French troops in the colonies in order to prepare them for the fight against Germany. France started very soon its demographic transition and adopted a Malthusian attitude, even though a big nation needs to have a consequent population. The expression of nationalism was also visible throughout its aim to reach 100 millions of inhabitants. French nationalism also aimed to affirm its strength towards the colonized people by flouting their culture, forcing them to sacrifice their lives for the nation in 1914-18, and mostly in 1939-45 by mobilizing Moroccan and Senegalese workers. But first and foremost, France had to find its place within the great nations after the Second World War. National pride was hurt by the defeat in 5 weeks of May 1940. The empire was consequently the last element symbolizing the greatness of the French nation, but it wasn’t even invited to the Yalta and Potsdam conferences in 1945. In September 1945, France refused to grant its independence to Indochina because the empire symbolized the prestige of the French nation.

In this way, French nationalism affirmed itself against the enemies of the nation whom were the rival powers or the opponents to the French hegemony. But nationalism can also be expressed within France in its fight against internal enemies.

Nationalism thus spread an ideology corresponding to a certain idea of France taking into account its values. It also distinguished the enemies who joined the nation in order to corrupt it. In this way, this nationalism differentiated itself from the republican nationalism. In fact, there was a reactionary nationalism which aimed to maintain the old values of the French nation. The French Action incarnated this nationalism; it was the only politic force at the beginning of the XXth century to stay monarchist. Charles Maurras was thus attached to Catholicism

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