Action Française

Action Française (French pronunciation: [aksjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz], AF; English: French Action) is a French far-right monarchist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement.

The movement and the journal were founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois in 1899, as a nationalist reaction against the intervention of left-wing intellectuals on behalf of Alfred Dreyfus. Charles Maurras quickly joined Action française and became its principal ideologist. Under the influence of Maurras, Action française became royalist, counter-revolutionary (objecting to the legacy of the French Revolution), anti-parliamentary and pro-decentralisation, espousing corporatism, integralism and Catholicism.

Shortly after it was created, Action française tried to influence public opinion by turning its journal into a daily newspaper and by setting up other organizations. It was at its most prominent during the 1899–1914 period. In the inter-war period, the movement still enjoyed some prestige from support among conservative elites, but its popularity gradually declined as a result of the rise of fascism and of a rupture in its relations with the Catholic Church. During the Second World War, Action française supported the Vichy Regime and Marshal Philippe Pétain. After the fall of Vichy, its newspaper was banned and Maurras was sentenced to life imprisonment. The movement nevertheless continued in new publications and political associations, although with fading relevance as monarchism lost popularity, and French far-right movements shifted toward an emphasis on Catholic values and defense of classical French culture. It is seen by some as one progenitor of the current National Rally political party. In 2023, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) released a report in which it classified the modern-day Action Française as an "antisemitic" and "religious nationalist" group.