La Cagoule
Encyclopedia
La Cagoule officially called Comité secret d'action révolutionnaire (Secret Committee of Revolutionary Action), was a violent French
fascist
-leaning and anti-communist
group, active in the 1930s, and designed to attempt the overthrow of the French Third Republic
. Its leader was Eugène Deloncle
.
, the founder of the French cosmetics giant L'Oréal
, who was also founder of the group. Some of the early meetings of the Cagoule took place at l'Oréal headquarters, and some former Cagoulards, such as Jacques Corrèze
, were later hired as executives. Another important activist was Joseph Darnand
, who later founded the Service d'ordre légionnaire
(SOL), the ancestor of the Milice
Collaborationist group. Other notable members were Jean Filliol
(who became the head of the Milice in Limoges
, and fled to Spain
at the end of World War II
, finding a position at the Spanish subsidiary of L'Oréal), Gabriel Jeantet
(who recommended François Mitterrand
for the Francisque), Dr. Henri Martin (a medical doctor who is suspected of having forged the Pacte Synarchique
, and worked for the Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS) after World War II), Henri Charbonneau (nephew of Joseph Darnand) and Mohammed El Maadi (head of La Cagoule for French Algeria
, creator of the antisemitic Er Rachid and of the North-African Brigade on January 28, 1944
also known as SS-Mohammed). In Nice, Cagoulards were submitted to an initiation ritual, in which new members, in the presence of the Grand Master dressed in red and accompanied by his assesseurs dressed in black, with their faces covered, stood before a table draped with a French flag on which a sword and torches would be deposited, raised their right arm and swore the oath Ad majorem Galliæ gloriam ("for the greater glory of France"). This oath echoed the Jesuit motto Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (for the greater glory of God). Treason would be punished by death. For instance, the arms suppliers Léon Jean-Baptiste and Maurice Juif were murdered by the Cagoulards respectively in October 1936 and in February 1937 for attempting to enrich themselves by lying on the price they had paid for the arms.
The group was founded in 1935, drawing its troops mostly from Orléanist
s disappointed by the lack of action from Charles Maurras
' Action Française, and undertook various actions aimed at destroying the French Republic. On January 26, 1937 Jean Filliol stabbed to death Dimitri Navachine in the Bois de Boulogne
using a shortened bayonet
. In order to obtain arms from fascist Italy, the group assassinated two Italian
antifascists, the Rosselli brothers
, on June 9, 1937 and sabotaged airplanes clandestinely supplied by the French government to the Spanish Republic. The Cagoule blew up two buildings owned by the Comité des Forges (Ironmasters Association) on September 11, 1937 to create the impression of a communist conspiracy. Although at the time it was widely believed that the bombs had been deposited by communists, to the disappointment of cagoulards no action was taken against the French Communist Party
.
The Cagoule also tried to infiltrate the International Brigades for the same purpose. The group, organized along military lines, infiltrated parts of the French military
via Georges Loustaunau-Lacau
's Corvignolles organization (especially in order to get weapons), and prepared the overthrowing of the Popular Front government
in November 1937.
The plans of the Cagoulards were, after having overthrown the French Republic, to make Philippe Pétain
chief of state. After Pétain's refusal, they had to choose Marshall Louis Franchet d'Esperey as their future chief of state. However, they were themselves infiltrated by the police (it is believed that Laetitia Toureaux, assassinated in the Paris subway on May 16, 1937 was an informant of the French Police, and that she was stabbed by Filliol), and, on November 15, 1937, Marx Dormoy
, Minister of the Interior
(and thus in charge of law enforcement) denounced their plot and ordered arrests. On this occasion, the French police seized
2 tons of high explosives, several anti-tank or anti-aircraft guns, 500 machine guns, 65 submachine guns, 134 rifles and 17 sawed-off shotguns.. Some of the arms were of German or Italian origin. About 70 men were arrested, but Deloncle boasted that he had 12,000 men under his order in Paris, and 120,000 in the Province. At the time, the revelations of the French government were disbelieved by the editors of the New York Times, but taken more seriously
by Time Magazine who viewed La Cagoule as a French Ku Klux Klan
. At the outbreak of World War II
, the imprisoned cagoulards were released so that they could fight in the French Army. During the Occupation of France, as reprisal for the arrest, Marx Dormoy
was assassinated in Montélimar
with a clockwork bomb in 1941.
La Cagoule was organized into cells. Light cells comprised 8 men with armed with submachine gun
s (typically one per light cell), rifle
s, automatic pistol
s and hand grenade
s. Heavy cells comprised
12 men, and the submachine gun was replaced by a heavy machine gun
. A group of three cells formed one unit, three units a battalion, three battalions a regiment, two regiments a brigade, and two brigades a division. Battalions could be divided into automobile squads of about 50 men. Written communications
were avoided as much as possible, and the street fighting handbook was entitled Secret Rules of the Communist Party to avoid revealing the existence of the organisation in case it would be found
by the police.
, members of the Cagoule were divided. Some of them joined various Fascist movements; Schueller and Deloncle founded the Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire
, which conducted various pro-Nazi Germany
activities in occupied France
, including the October 1941 bombing of seven synagogue
s in Paris
. Others were prominent members of Philippe Pétain
's Vichy Regime
. Darnand was the leader of the Milice
, the Vichy paramilitary
group of who fought the French Resistance
, and enforced anti-semitic policies; he took an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler
, and had a Waffen SS rank.
On the other hand, many sided with the anti-German camp, either as members of the Resistance (such as Marie-Madeleine Fourcade
, Pierre Guillain de Bénouville or Georges Loustaunau-Lacau
) in the Maquis
, or as members of Charles de Gaulle
's Free French Forces
such as General Henri Giraud
or Colonel Passy. In the latter case, this has led to charges by Henri de Kérillis that de Gaulle
himself was a member of La Cagoule and that he would install a fascist government if the Allies let him become France's chief of state.
The cagoulards arrested for the 1937 conspiracy were brought to trial only after the liberation of
France, in 1948.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
-leaning and anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
group, active in the 1930s, and designed to attempt the overthrow of the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
. Its leader was Eugène Deloncle
Eugène Deloncle
Eugène Deloncle was a French engineer and Fascist leader, and the adoptive father of Jacques Corrèze....
.
In the Third Republic
Prominent members of the Cagoule (Cagoulards) included Eugène SchuellerEugène Schueller
Eugène Schueller was the founder of L'Oréal, the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty.- Career with L'Oréal :...
, the founder of the French cosmetics giant L'Oréal
L'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...
, who was also founder of the group. Some of the early meetings of the Cagoule took place at l'Oréal headquarters, and some former Cagoulards, such as Jacques Corrèze
Jacques Corrèze
Jacques Corrèze , a French businessman and politician, was the former chief executive officer of the United States operation of L'Oréal , the world's leading company in cosmetics and beauty products...
, were later hired as executives. Another important activist was Joseph Darnand
Joseph Darnand
Joseph Darnand was a French soldier and later a leader of the Vichy French collaborators with Nazi Germany....
, who later founded the Service d'ordre légionnaire
Service d'ordre légionnaire
The Service d'ordre légionnaire was a collaborationist militia created by Joseph Darnand, a far right veteran from the First World War...
(SOL), the ancestor of the Milice
Milice
The Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
Collaborationist group. Other notable members were Jean Filliol
Jean Filliol
Jean Filliol was a French militant, who was active in La Cagoule before the Second World War. After the war, he fled to Spain, where he worked for the local office of L'Oréal....
(who became the head of the Milice in Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
, and fled to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, finding a position at the Spanish subsidiary of L'Oréal), Gabriel Jeantet
Gabriel Jeantet
Gabriel Jeantet was a French far right activist, journalist and polemicist. Active before, during and after the Second World War, Jeantet's links to Francois Mitterrand became a source of controversy during the latter's Presidency...
(who recommended François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
for the Francisque), Dr. Henri Martin (a medical doctor who is suspected of having forged the Pacte Synarchique
Synarchism
Synarchism is a term which generally refers to "joint rule" or "harmonious rule".Beyond this general definition, however, both "synarchism" and "synarchy" have been used to describe several different political processes in various contexts...
, and worked for the Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS) after World War II), Henri Charbonneau (nephew of Joseph Darnand) and Mohammed El Maadi (head of La Cagoule for French Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, creator of the antisemitic Er Rachid and of the North-African Brigade on January 28, 1944
also known as SS-Mohammed). In Nice, Cagoulards were submitted to an initiation ritual, in which new members, in the presence of the Grand Master dressed in red and accompanied by his assesseurs dressed in black, with their faces covered, stood before a table draped with a French flag on which a sword and torches would be deposited, raised their right arm and swore the oath Ad majorem Galliæ gloriam ("for the greater glory of France"). This oath echoed the Jesuit motto Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (for the greater glory of God). Treason would be punished by death. For instance, the arms suppliers Léon Jean-Baptiste and Maurice Juif were murdered by the Cagoulards respectively in October 1936 and in February 1937 for attempting to enrich themselves by lying on the price they had paid for the arms.
The group was founded in 1935, drawing its troops mostly from Orléanist
Orléanist
The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in...
s disappointed by the lack of action from Charles Maurras
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras was a French author, poet, and critic. He was a leader and principal thinker of Action Française, a political movement that was monarchist, anti-parliamentarist, and counter-revolutionary. Maurras' ideas greatly influenced National Catholicism and "nationalisme...
' Action Française, and undertook various actions aimed at destroying the French Republic. On January 26, 1937 Jean Filliol stabbed to death Dimitri Navachine in the Bois de Boulogne
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine...
using a shortened bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
. In order to obtain arms from fascist Italy, the group assassinated two Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
antifascists, the Rosselli brothers
Carlo Rosselli
Carlo Rosselli was an Italian political leader, journalist, historian and anti-fascist activist, first in Italy then abroad...
, on June 9, 1937 and sabotaged airplanes clandestinely supplied by the French government to the Spanish Republic. The Cagoule blew up two buildings owned by the Comité des Forges (Ironmasters Association) on September 11, 1937 to create the impression of a communist conspiracy. Although at the time it was widely believed that the bombs had been deposited by communists, to the disappointment of cagoulards no action was taken against the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
.
The Cagoule also tried to infiltrate the International Brigades for the same purpose. The group, organized along military lines, infiltrated parts of the French military
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
via Georges Loustaunau-Lacau
Georges Loustaunau-Lacau
Georges Loustaunau-Lacau was a French army officer, anti-communist conspirator, resistant, and politician.Loustaunau-Lacau was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and in 1912 began his studies at the French Army's officer school, the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr...
's Corvignolles organization (especially in order to get weapons), and prepared the overthrowing of the Popular Front government
Popular Front (France)
The Popular Front was an alliance of left-wing movements, including the French Communist Party , the French Section of the Workers' International and the Radical and Socialist Party, during the interwar period...
in November 1937.
The plans of the Cagoulards were, after having overthrown the French Republic, to make Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
chief of state. After Pétain's refusal, they had to choose Marshall Louis Franchet d'Esperey as their future chief of state. However, they were themselves infiltrated by the police (it is believed that Laetitia Toureaux, assassinated in the Paris subway on May 16, 1937 was an informant of the French Police, and that she was stabbed by Filliol), and, on November 15, 1937, Marx Dormoy
Marx Dormoy
Marx Dormoy was a French socialist politician, noted for his opposition to the far right.-Early career:Born in Montluçon, he was elected mayor of his native town in 1926, and representative of the Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière to the French National Assembly in 1931 for the Allier...
, Minister of the Interior
Minister of the Interior (France)
The Minister of the Interior in France is one of the most important governmental cabinet positions, responsible for the following:* The general interior security of the country, with respect to criminal acts or natural catastrophes...
(and thus in charge of law enforcement) denounced their plot and ordered arrests. On this occasion, the French police seized
2 tons of high explosives, several anti-tank or anti-aircraft guns, 500 machine guns, 65 submachine guns, 134 rifles and 17 sawed-off shotguns.. Some of the arms were of German or Italian origin. About 70 men were arrested, but Deloncle boasted that he had 12,000 men under his order in Paris, and 120,000 in the Province. At the time, the revelations of the French government were disbelieved by the editors of the New York Times, but taken more seriously
by Time Magazine who viewed La Cagoule as a French Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. At the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the imprisoned cagoulards were released so that they could fight in the French Army. During the Occupation of France, as reprisal for the arrest, Marx Dormoy
Marx Dormoy
Marx Dormoy was a French socialist politician, noted for his opposition to the far right.-Early career:Born in Montluçon, he was elected mayor of his native town in 1926, and representative of the Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière to the French National Assembly in 1931 for the Allier...
was assassinated in Montélimar
Montélimar
Montélimar is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is the second-largest town in the department after Valence.-History:...
with a clockwork bomb in 1941.
Organization of the Cagoule
- Premier Bureau: Eugène Deloncle and Jacques Corrèze
- Deuxième Bureau (intelligence): Dr. Henri Martin, Alfred Corre (Dagore)
- Troisième Bureau (operations): Georges Cachier
- Quatrième Bureau (recruits and equipment): Jean Moreau de La Meuse
- Sources of funding: Eugène Schueller, Louis RenaultLouis Renault (industrialist)Louis Renault was a French industrialist, one of the founders of Renault and a pioneer of the automobile industry....
, Lemaigre Dubreuil (owner of table oil Lesieur and department stores Le Printemps), Gabriel Jeantet (Lafarge cements), Pierre PucheuPierre PucheuPierre Firmin Pucheu was a French industrialist, fascist and member of the Vichy government.-Early years:...
(Comptoir Sidérurgique)
La Cagoule was organized into cells. Light cells comprised 8 men with armed with submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s (typically one per light cell), rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s, automatic pistol
Automatic pistol
Automatic pistol may refer to:* Machine pistol, a handgun-style, magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and chambered for pistol cartridges...
s and hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s. Heavy cells comprised
12 men, and the submachine gun was replaced by a heavy machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
. A group of three cells formed one unit, three units a battalion, three battalions a regiment, two regiments a brigade, and two brigades a division. Battalions could be divided into automobile squads of about 50 men. Written communications
were avoided as much as possible, and the street fighting handbook was entitled Secret Rules of the Communist Party to avoid revealing the existence of the organisation in case it would be found
by the police.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, members of the Cagoule were divided. Some of them joined various Fascist movements; Schueller and Deloncle founded the Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire
Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire
The Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire was a Fascist movement founded in France in September 1940. Its founder was Eugène Deloncle, who was previously associated with La Cagoule ....
, which conducted various pro-Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
activities in occupied France
Military history of France during World War II
The military history of France during World War II covers the period from 1939 until 1940, which witnessed French military participation under the French Third Republic , and the period from 1940 until 1945, which was marked by mainland and overseas military administration and influence struggles...
, including the October 1941 bombing of seven synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Others were prominent members of Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
's Vichy Regime
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
. Darnand was the leader of the Milice
Milice
The Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
, the Vichy paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
group of who fought the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, and enforced anti-semitic policies; he took an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, and had a Waffen SS rank.
On the other hand, many sided with the anti-German camp, either as members of the Resistance (such as Marie-Madeleine Fourcade
Marie-Madeleine Fourcade
Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was the leader of the French Resistance network "Alliance," after the arrest of its former leader Georges Loustaunau-Lacau, during the occupation of France in the Second World War,...
, Pierre Guillain de Bénouville or Georges Loustaunau-Lacau
Georges Loustaunau-Lacau
Georges Loustaunau-Lacau was a French army officer, anti-communist conspirator, resistant, and politician.Loustaunau-Lacau was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and in 1912 began his studies at the French Army's officer school, the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr...
) in the Maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
, or as members of Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
's Free French Forces
Free French Forces
The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
such as General Henri Giraud
Henri Giraud
Henri Honoré Giraud was a French general who fought in World War I and World War II. Captured in both wars, he escaped each time....
or Colonel Passy. In the latter case, this has led to charges by Henri de Kérillis that de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
himself was a member of La Cagoule and that he would install a fascist government if the Allies let him become France's chief of state.
The cagoulards arrested for the 1937 conspiracy were brought to trial only after the liberation of
France, in 1948.