Xavier Vallat - Until World War II

Until World War II

Vallat was born in the department of Vaucluse into a family of conservative Catholics. In his youth he was active in Catholic organisations and joined the monarchist Action Française, the most important group on the extreme right of French politics. He became a teacher in Catholic schools before joining the French Army. In World War I he was severely wounded, losing his left leg and right eye. He was elected to the National Assembly for the Ardèche in 1919 as an "independent", who supported the National Bloc. He was defeated in 1924, re-elected in 1928 still as an "independent", and then served until the Assembly was suspended in 1940. He took membership however after the 1936 elections in the Republican Federation which was moving increasingly to the right.

In the 1930s Vallat was a leading representative of the Catholic, anti-Semitic extreme right in French politics. He was also anti-Protestant and anti-Masonic, arguing that Jews, Protestants and Masons were all part of a plot against Catholic France. He was violently opposed to liberalism, socialism and communism. Unlike many on the far right, however, Vallat did not favour restoration of the monarchy, and he was notably anti-German despite his sympathy for fascism. He favoured the project for a Latin Bloc of France, Spain, Italy and Portugal.

In 1936 Léon Blum, a Jewish Socialist, became Prime Minister of France. Vallat made a series of personal rhetorical attacks in Blum, saying that "For the first time this ancient Gallo-Roman land will be governed by a Jew." Vallat was accused by the left of responsibility for the physical attack on Blum by a right-wing mob in the streets of Paris which occurred not long after this speech.