René Binet (neo-Fascist)
Encyclopedia
René Valentin Binet was a French
militant political activist who was linked to both Trotskyism
and fascism
.
During the 1930s, René Binet was involved With the Communist Youth in Le Havre
. Expelled from that group in 1935, he moved towards the Fourth International
: he joined "the Commune" group of Pierre Frank
and Raymond Molinier
, then was a founder member of Molinier's Parti communiste internationaliste in March 1936, being elected a member of the party's Central Committee. When the party was dissolved in 1938 to become part of the Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party
Binet withdrew from the group. Instead he became involved in the Parti ouvrier internationaliste.
Binet was taken prisoner by the Germans
early in World War II
and whilst in a POW camp he moved from being opposed to Stalinism
to supporting Nazism
. Having converted to Nazism he saw action for the SS Charlemagne Division
during the war.
After the war he returned to political activism and collaborated with Marc Augier
in setting up the journal Combattant européen in 1946. He also set up a number of political parties and organizations, notably the Parti républicain d'unité populaire in 1946, the Forces françaises révolutionnaires in 1947 and the Mouvement socialiste d'unité française in 1948, the latter banned by the government the following year, before ultimately he joining Jeune Nation
.
Binet then became close to Maurice Bardèche
in the Comité National Français, and accompanied Bardèche to the meeting in Malmö
in 1951 that saw the formation of the European Social Movement
. However Binet soon broke from the new group which he felt did not go far enough in terms of racialism
and anti-communism
and joined with Gaston-Armand Amaudruz
in establishing the Zurich
-based New European Order
as a more radical alternative.
Whilst still involved in activism, including running a small publishing house, Comptoir National du Livre, with his wife, Binet was killed in a car accident. Binet, noted for his domineering personality and once described by Bardèche as a 'fascist of the puritan type who spends his life founding parties and publishing roneotyped newspapers', was not always popular with his far right
colleagues, leading to allegations that some of them may have arranged his death.
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...
militant political activist who was linked to both Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
and fascism
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...
.
During the 1930s, René Binet was involved With the Communist Youth in Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
. Expelled from that group in 1935, he moved towards the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
: he joined "the Commune" group of Pierre Frank
Pierre Frank
Pierre Frank was a French Trotskyist leader. He served on the secretariat of the Fourth International from 1948 to 1979....
and Raymond Molinier
Raymond Molinier
Raymond Molinier was a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France and a pioneer of the Fourth International. In 1929 he founded the journal La Vérité, and in March 1936 he and Pierre Frank co-founded the Parti communiste internationaliste, which merged with two other groups to form the Parti...
, then was a founder member of Molinier's Parti communiste internationaliste in March 1936, being elected a member of the party's Central Committee. When the party was dissolved in 1938 to become part of the Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party
Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party
The Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party was an ephemeral socialist organisation in France, formed on June 8, 1938 by Marceau Pivert...
Binet withdrew from the group. Instead he became involved in the Parti ouvrier internationaliste.
Binet was taken prisoner by the Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
early in 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...
and whilst in a POW camp he moved from being opposed to Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
to supporting Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. Having converted to Nazism he saw action for the SS Charlemagne Division
33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French)
The 33. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Charlemagne and Charlemagne Regiment are collective names used for units of French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during World War II...
during the war.
After the war he returned to political activism and collaborated with Marc Augier
Marc Augier
Marc Augier was a French far right writer and politician.-Early years:...
in setting up the journal Combattant européen in 1946. He also set up a number of political parties and organizations, notably the Parti républicain d'unité populaire in 1946, the Forces françaises révolutionnaires in 1947 and the Mouvement socialiste d'unité française in 1948, the latter banned by the government the following year, before ultimately he joining Jeune Nation
Jeune Nation
Jeune Nation was a French nationalist movement founded by Albert Heuclin, and with members including Jean Marot, Jacques Wagner and the brothers Sidos, François Sidos , Jacques Sidos and Pierre Sidos .-History:The emblem of Jeune Nation was the Celtic cross, "symbol of universal life" and an...
.
Binet then became close to Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche was a French essayist, literary and art critic, journalist, and one of the leading exponents of Neo-Fascism in post-World War II Europe...
in the Comité National Français, and accompanied Bardèche to the meeting in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
in 1951 that saw the formation of the European Social Movement
European Social Movement
The European Social Movement was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism.The ESM had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Movement , which established contacts with like-minded smaller groups in Europe during the late 1940s, setting up...
. However Binet soon broke from the new group which he felt did not go far enough in terms of racialism
Racialism
Racialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations. Currently, racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but not necessarily that any absolute hierarchy between the races has been demonstrated by a rigorous and comprehensive scientific process...
and anti-communism
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:...
and joined with Gaston-Armand Amaudruz
Gaston-Armand Amaudruz
Gaston-Armand "Guy" Amaudruz is a Swiss neo-fascist political philosopher and Holocaust denier.Initially a supporter of the Swiss fascist movement of Arthur Fonjallaz, he came to wider attention in 1949 when he published Ubu Justicier au Premier Procès de Nuremberg, one of the first works to...
in establishing the Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
-based New European Order
New European Order
The New European Order was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism. It was a more radical splinter-group of the European Social Movement....
as a more radical alternative.
Whilst still involved in activism, including running a small publishing house, Comptoir National du Livre, with his wife, Binet was killed in a car accident. Binet, noted for his domineering personality and once described by Bardèche as a 'fascist of the puritan type who spends his life founding parties and publishing roneotyped newspapers', was not always popular with his far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
colleagues, leading to allegations that some of them may have arranged his death.
Works
- Théorie du racisme, 1950
- L'Évolution, l'homme, la race, 1952
- Socialisme national contre marxisme, 1953; published again in 1978 with a preface by Gaston-Armand Amaudruz
- Contribution à une éthique raciste, 1975 with a preface by Amaudruz