Jean-Pierre Maxence (20 August 1906 – 16 May 1956) was a French writer who was one of the so-calledNon-conformists of the 1930s. Maxence was a leading figure within the so-calledJeune Droite tendency and was associated with otherCatholic writers such asJean de Fabrègues andRené Vincent.[1]
Born inParis asPierre Godmé, he adopted his name after a character inErnest Psichari's bookLe Voyage du centurion.[2] He was close to theAction française without ever actually joining the group and also wrote for theneo-ThomistLa Gazette Francaise.[2] In his early years he was a staunch monarchist.[3] He did not come to prominence until the 1930s when he wrote on myriad topics for the various reviews produced by the non-conformists.[4] He was at this time a member ofSolidarité Française, albeit a fairly inactive one.[4] He was critical of thefar right group of writers based around the newspaperJe suis partout and had a personal hatred of Germany, although he was equally disdainful ofLéon Blum.[4] A devoutRoman Catholic, his own writings revealed an empathy towards afascism rooted firmly in Catholicism, effectively a French version ofRexism.[4] He felt that democracy in France was having a stagnating effect in contrast to what he perceived as the dynaims of Europe's dictatorships and accused the French government of seeking "to transform France into an insurance company" instead of embracing the adventurist spirit of fascism.[5] From 1933 up to the war his main polemical outlet was his regular column, ostensibly aboutliterary criticism, in the journalGringoire.[6]
Maxence was taken toOflag II-D in 1940 before being allowed to return to France the following year.[4] Once back home Maxence became reconciled toVichy France and took up his pen in support of the rule ofPhilippe Pétain.[4] However alongside this he also undertook work for Jewish charities during the Second World War, once again demonstrating his duplicitous relationship to mainstream far right opinion in France.[4] Due to his public support for Vichy he went into exile in Switzerland after the war. There he became director ofCentre Supérieure de Philosophie in Geneva.[4] He remained in Geneva until his death.
His younger brother was the writerRobert Francis, winner of thePrix Femina in 1934 with a novel entitledLe Bateau-refuge.
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