The Poujadist Movement: A faux 'fascism'

Though short-lived as an electoral force, the Poujadist movement of the 1950s provides a lasting reference point within French political culture. As a term, 'Poujadism' is synonymous with opposition to economic and social change; as a political doctrine, it has proved more resistant to definition. Denounced by some as a resurgent fascism, Poujadism has been classed by most commentators as an extreme-right movement. This article re-examines that interpretation and argues that Poujadism presents a complex and ambiguous picture, embodying two distinct and opposing French political traditions: the revolutionary-republican and the conservative-nationalist. Far from providing a vehicle for fascism, Pierre Poujade resisted attempts to impose an extreme-right ideology on his movement or to harness it for neo-fascist ends, confirming both the highly specific nature of Poujadism and the continued marginality of the French extreme Right a decade on from Vichy.