| League of Patriots | |
|---|---|
| Ligue des Patriotes | |
 Emblem byAntonin Mercié (1883) | |
| Leader | |
| Foundation | 18 May 1882; 143 years ago (1882-05-18) |
| Dissolved | June 1939; 86 years ago (1939-06) |
| Country | France |
| Motives | Long Depression Political corruption |
| Active regions | Paris (headquarters) |
| Ideology | French nationalism Revanchism Antisemitism Anti-Germanism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Status | Inactive |
| Size | 60,000 (1898est.) |
| Means of revenue | |
Succeeded by Jeunesses Patriotes | |
TheLeague of Patriots (French:Ligue des Patriotes) was a Frenchfar-right league, founded in 1882 by thenationalist poetPaul Déroulède, historianHenri Martin and politicianFélix Faure. The Ligue began as a non-partisan nationalist league, supported among others by writerVictor Hugo, calling for 'revanche' (revenge for the French defeat during theFranco-Prussian War) against theGerman Empire. One of the original purposes of the Ligue was to offer pre-military training, allowing members to participate ingymnastics andrifle shooting.
The league was formed withLéon Gambetta's blessing; Gambetta's education ministry included Déroulède in its Military Education Commission, which was also formed in 1882.[2] However, during theBoulanger affair, Déroulède co-opted the Ligue to support the general, alienating many Republican members. After Boulanger's exile in 1889, the Ligue was suppressed by the government.
Upon the discovery thatVictoria, the future German Empress, had stayed inVersailles andSaint-Cloud (a town destroyed during the Franco-Prussian War) during her unofficial visit to France in 1891, the Ligue incited a public uproar. The disorder surrounding the visit eventually resulted in the Crown Princess cutting her trip short and being escorted under French military protection, for her safety, toCalais to board a ship to England.
In 1898, the Ligue was revived to become involved in theDreyfus affair engaging in noisy and often violentanti-Semitic, right-wing protests. At this stage, the Ligue is estimated to have had 60,000 members, largely in Paris.
Aftera failed coup d'état attempt in 1899 [fr] at thestate funeral of PresidentFélix Faure, one of the Ligue's founders who later distanced himself from its positions,Paul Déroulède was sentenced to exile from France for 10 years; the Ligue was again dissolved. Nevertheless, the nationalist authorMaurice Barrès became again its leader in 1914, at the eve ofWorld War I.[3] Upon Barrès's death, GeneralÉdouard de Castelnau became leader, withAlexandre Millerand as president of honour. De Castelnau became head of theFédération Nationale Catholique, which made him resign the leadership in 1926, as well as the presidency in 1932. The Ligue was definitely dissolved in the late 1930s, after GeneralDenis Auguste Duchêne briefly reformed it in 1939.
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