Jacques Bainville | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 9 February 1879 |
| Died | 9 February 1936 (1936-02-10) (aged 57) Paris,France |
| Occupation(s) | historian, journalist |
| Political party | Action Française |
Jacques Pierre Bainville ([ʒakbɛ̃.vil]; 9 February 1879 – 9 February 1936) was a Frenchhistorian and journalist. Ageopolitical theorist, concerned by Franco-German relations, he was a leading figure in the monarchistAction Française. As fascinated as he was worried by Germany which continuously grew stronger, he intensely advocated against democracy, the French Revolution, internationalism and liberalism.A plaza is named after him at the heart of the 7th arrondissement of Paris.
Bainville is best known for his prophetic criticisms of theTreaty of Versailles inLes Conséquences Politiques de la Paix (The Political Consequences of Peace, 1920).Raymond Aron retrospectively endorsed Bainville's judgment that the "Versailles Treaty was too harsh in its mild features, too mild in its harsh aspects": provoking Germany to seek vengeance without restraining it from doing so,[1] and won the praise of the Left Wing National SocialistOtto Strasser.[2] Bainville argued that the treaty's debts bound German states closer to Prussia and weakened neighbors to the South and East (principallyAustria-Hungary) that might be willing and able to contain it. By consolidating Germany, he warned that the treaty established an untenable situation whereby "40 million Frenchmen have as debtors 60 million Germans, whose debt cannot be liquidated for 30 years".[3] He castigatedWoodrow Wilson andDavid Lloyd George for what he perceived as naïve moralism that dangerously neglected geopolitical imperatives. Intended as a complement toJohn Maynard Keynes' critique of the treaty, it was eventually translated intoGerman inNazi Germany by some, alleging that France had a mission for German destruction.[4]
His other written works includedHistoire de France as well as political columns for a number of newspapers and editingLa Revue Universelle for Maurras.[5] HisHistoire de deux peuples (1915) underlined the importance for France of German weakness and sought a return to the pre-Franco-Prussian War status of Germany. He repeatedly lauded theTreaty of Westphalia as the diplomatic arrangement best suited to securing peace in Europe. Preoccupied by the need to contain Germany, he was initially an admirer ofItalian fascism and when early reports came through about violent acts byBenito Mussolini'sfascio in 1921, he praised them as proof thatItaly was regaining her strength.[6]
A follower ofCharles Maurras, Bainville was a founder ofAction Française and soon became an important figure in theInstitut d'Action Française, a college of sorts run by the organisation (it had no permanent buildings, but it ran lectures and study groups where possible).[7] Edward R. Tannenbaum states that by 1900 Bainville had formed his major hatreds: hatred of disorder, of romanticism, liberalism, democracy, internationalism, the French Revolution, and especially hatred of Germany.[8] Bainville first came to prominence as an activist againstAlfred Dreyfus.[9] He believed in anti-Semitic conspiracies, but was sceptical of the integrity ofThe Protocols of the Elders of Zion[10] despite also defending them. He was once quoted as saying, "even if they're not true, they might as well be."[11]
Bainville was appointed to a chair at theAcadémie française in 1935, although he did not hold the position long; his health was already poor, and he died soon afterwards.[12] A strongCatholic, he was deniedthe last rites by CardinalJean Verdier, as the Pope had condemnedAction Française in 1926. Nonetheless, the sacraments, as well as his Requiem Mass, were offered by a canon who was sympathetic to the movement.[5] Bainville's funeral proved a further source of controversy when socialist Prime MinisterLéon Blum was set upon and nearly lynched by a crowd of mourners during the procession.[13]
Posthumous
Miscellany
In English translation
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