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GRECE

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Not to be confused withGreece.
Groupement de recherche et d'études pour la civilisation européenne
AbbreviationGRECE
Formation1968;56 years ago(1968)
FounderAlain de Benoist,Dominique Venner,Giorgio Locchi,Maurice Rollet,Pierre Vial,Jean-Claude Valla,and 34 others.
Purpose

TheGroupement de Recherche et d'Études pour la Civilisation Européenne( "Research and Study Group for European Civilization" ), better known asGRECE,is a Frenchethnonationalistthink tankfounded in 1968 to promote the ideas of theNouvelle Droite( "New Right" ). GRECE founding memberAlain de Benoisthas been described as its leader and "most authoritative spokesman".[1][2]Prominent former members includeGuillaume FayeandJean-Yves Le Gallou.

GRECE is deeply opposed tomulticulturalism,liberal democracy,capitalism,and distinguishes itself from othernational-conservativeorganizations in its specificrejection of Christianityand endorsement ofneopaganism.The group defends a nonreactionary "conservative revolution"aiming at the rejuvenation of apan-European identityandnationalism,while supporting the preservation and separation of ethnic groups and cultures at the worldwide level. GRECE members have coined and promoted influential concepts in the Western far right, such as "ethnopluralism"and"archeofuturism".

History

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Background

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The dissolution of the neo-fascist organizationJeune Nationin 1958 and the disappearance of the pro-colonial paramilitary groupOrganisation Armée Secrète(OAS) in 1962, as well as the failures of far-right candidateJean-Louis Tixier-Vignancourin the1965 presidential electionand of theEuropean Rally for Liberty(REL) in the1967 legislative election,are cited as events conducive to the foundation of GRECE and the development of itsmeta-politicalstrategy.[3]

The philosophy of GRECE drew inspiration from earlier essays and theories developed by the white nationalist magazineEurope-Action(1963–66)—headed byDominique Vennerand in whichAlain de Benoistworked as a journalist—, most notably Venner's manifestoPour une critique positive( "Towards a positive criticism" ), written while imprisoned in 1962. Abandoning the myth of thecoup de force(putsch), Venner asserted that far-right movements had to be at the origin of a cultural and non-violent revolution, via the diffusion of nationalist ideas in society until they reachcultural dominance.[4][5]Another influence can be found in the "Manifesto of the Class of '60", published in 1960 by the initiators of theFederation of Nationalist Students(FEN), a far-right and pro-colonial students' organization. Committing themselves to "action of profound consequence", the authors sought to break with the "sterile activism" of violent insurrection previously espoused by Jeune Nation (1949–58). Venner and de Benoist had been previously active in Jeune Nation and the FEN, respectively.[6][7]

Alain de Benoistin 2011.

Following the electoral failure of the European Rally for Liberty (1966–1969), some of its members – among them de Benoist, helped by an informal group of FEN militants – decided to found a cultural association to promote their ideas. In the 1960s, de Benoist had contributed as a writer and journalist to develop Venner's thesis onEuropean nationalism,which served as an ideological basis for GRECE. Their theory was founded on a 'pan-racial' rather thanethnicorcivicconception of nationalism: thenation-stateshad to be dissolved for the peoples of the "Occident" —or the "white race" —to unite within a common European empire, on the grounds that they are the inheritors of a single civilization.[8]

Creation and development: 1968–1977

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GRECE was founded inNice,Provencein January 1968 by European – mostly French – nationalist activists, and officially launched on 17 January 1969.[9][10]Among the 40 founders wereAlain de Benoist,Dominique Venner,Giorgio Locchi,Maurice Rollet(who became its first president),Pierre Vial,andJean-Claude Valla.[11][note 1]Their aim was to establish ameta-political"laboratory of ideas" that would influence mainstream right-wing parties and the French society at large.[13]In May 1969, they circulated an internal document advising their members not to employ "outdated language" that might associate the group withfascism,and to socialize with Europe's most important decision-makers in order to influence their policies.[14]

In 1969,Jean-Yves Le Galloubecame a member of theCercle Pareto,a students' club established inSciences Poat the end of 1968 byYvan Blotand closely linked to GRECE. They were joined byGuillaume Fayein 1970.[15]GRECE launched its own review,Nouvelle École,in February–March 1968. Initially distributed exclusively among its members to hold debates in a semi-academic style, the review became public in 1969.[16]From 1970 to 1982, Alain de Benoist worked has a journalist for the media outlets ofRaymond Bourgine,Le Spectacle du MondeandValeurs Actuelles.[17]Until its heyday in the late 1970s, however, the group remained mostly unknown to the general public.[18]Its members were focusing on the organization of conferences to influence the elites, withcercles de réflexion( "thinking groups" ) emerging in many cities of France and even abroad: the "Cercle Pareto" inSciences Po Paris,"Galillée" inLyon,"Critique Réaliste" inNantes,"Jean Médecin" inNice,"Bertrand Russel" in Toulon, "Pythéas" in Marseille, "Erwin-de-Steinbach" and "Wimpfeling" in Strasbourg, "Stamkunde" in Lilles, "Henry de Montherland" inBordeaux,"Erasme" inBrussels,and "Villebois-Mareuil" inJohannesburg.[19][18]

Jean-Yves Le Gallouin 2016.

In September 1973, the magazineÉléments,which had been serving as the internal bulletin of GRECE until then, began its public circulation as the general public showcase of the think tank.[16][18]Frustrated with GRECE's long-term meta-political strategy, several members includingJean-Yves Le GallouandYvan Blotestablished withHenry de Lesquena group namedClub de l'Horlogein 1974 to serve as an elitethink tankseeking to adopt a more direct strategy, "entryism", that is the infiltration of political parties and senior public offices.[20][21]Several of them joined mainstream right-ring parties like theRally for the Republicand theUnion for French Democracy.[20]

In one of its few direct metapolitical interventions, GRECE called for the election of centre-right candidateValéry Giscard d'Estaingto thepresidency in 1974.[22]In 1975 and 1976, the organization created CLOSOR, a committee seeking to influence France's high-ranking military personnel, and GENE, intended for the teaching professionals. Each of them had its own special bulletin:Nation ArméeandNouvelle Éducation,respectively.[23]In September 1976, GRECE founded the publishing company Copernic to propagate the Nouvelle Droite worldview to a larger European audience.[24][25]The following year, it published de Benoist's essayVu de droite( "See from right" ), which was awarded thePrix de l'Essaiof the prestigiousAcadémie Françaisein 1978.[26][25]

Growth and opposition: 1978–1993

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Building of the structure of influence they had established in the early 1970s – including reviews, conferences, publishing houses, andcercles–, GRECE members began to get public attention and influence from the late 1970s onward.[18]After his nomination as the cultural director ofLe Figaroin 1977,Louis Pauwelsdecided to found the weeklyFigaro Magazine,recruiting many GRECE members to the project: Alain de Benoist,Patrice de Plunkett(chosen as the assistant chief editor),Jean-Claude Valla,Yves Christen, Christian Durante,Michel Marmin,Grégory Pons.[26][17][18]Although they were not able to gain enough control to transform theFigaro Magazineinto a real organ of propaganda, the ethno-nationalist think tank conserved a large influence on the magazine until 1981.[18]According to political scientist Harvey Simmons, "from the early 1970s to the early 1980s, the doctrine of GRECE had a major impact on the ideology of the entire right" in France.[22]

Guillaume Fayein 2015.

However, the growth of GRECE and the Nouvelle Droite was raising concerns in many liberal and leftist intellectual circles, which led to a violent media campaign against theNouvelle DroiteandLe Figaroin 1979,[27][28]the year ending with a fight between the Jewish Defence Organization (OJD) and GRECE members in December.[18]Pauwels began to distance himself from the movement andLe Figarowithdrew its patronage.[18][28]From 1982 to 1992, de Benoist was confined to the redaction of theFigaro Magazine'videos' section.[17]Now deprived of a popular platform, the Nouvelle Droite accelerated away from biological racism and toward the concept of "ethnopluralism",that is the claim that different ethno-cultural groups should be kept separate in order to preserve their historical and cultural differences.[28]

In 1980,Pierre Krebsestablished theThule-Seminarto operate as a branch of GRECE in Germany.[29]The same year, a group of scholars linked with GRECE,Jean Varenne,Jean Haudryand Jean-Paul Allard, founded the "Institute of Indo-European Studies" (IEIE) at theJean Moulin University Lyon 3inLyon.[30]In 1988Pierre Vialobtained a teaching position at the same university,[31]as didBernard Notin[fr]andJacques Marlaud[fr],leading to the emergence of a GRECE "nucleus" exerting a certain influence in Lyon 3 during the 1980–1990s.[32]

Le Gallou grew in importance and served as a link between GRECE ideas andFront National(FN) after he joined the FN in 1985.[33]The party was influenced by GRECE's ideas and slogans, adopting the same emphasis on "ethno-cultural differentialism", although the Catholic faction in the FN rejected GRECE for their support ofpaganism.[34]Since the years 1979–1980, however, the Club de l'Horloge has distanced itself from GRECE's anti-Christian, anti-American and anti-capitalist positions, promoting instead an "integral neo-Darwinist"philosophy characterized by a form ofeconomic liberalismstrongly tainted withethnic nationalism.[35][21]GRECE andEuropean New Rightactivists have criticized the Club de l'Horloge for simultaneously promoting economic neoliberalism andcultural conservatism,which are in their views contradictory positions.[22]

Recent developments: 1994–present

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Pierre Vialin 2012.

In 1995 Pierre Vial,Jean MabireandJean Haudryco-founded thenativistmovementTerre et Peuple.[36]Guillaume Fayehad temporarily left political activism in 1987 and worked for the hip-hop radio stationSkyrockin the 1990s.[37]He joined GRECE again in 1997 to introduce his concept of "archeofuturism".[38]After the publication of his bookThe Colonization of Europein 2000, which earned him a criminal conviction for incitement to racial hatred,[39]he was expelled from GRECE at the request of de Benoist.[36]

Influence

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Prominent personalities have collaborated with GRECE, notably via the membership to the patronage committee of its journalNouvelle École,includingRaymond Abellio,Franz Altheim,Maurice Bardèche,Anthony Burgess,Jean Cau,C. D. Darlington,Pierre Debray-Ritzen,Jacques de Mahieu,Mircea Eliade,Hans Eysenck,Julien Freund,Robert Gayre,Jean Haudry,Arthur Koestler,Manfred Mayrhofer,Edgar Polomé,Colin Renfrew,Marija Gimbutas,Marcel Le Glay,Konrad Lorenz,Thierry Maulnier,Armin Mohler,Louis Pauwels,Roger Pearson,Stefan Thomas Possony,orLouis Rougier.[40][18][41]

Although the extent of the relationship is debated by scholars, GRECE and theNouvelle Droite,and its German counterpart theNeue Rechte,[42]have influenced the ideological and political structure of the EuropeanIdentitarian Movement.[43][44]Part of thealt-rightalso claims to have been inspired by De Benoist's writings.[44]

TheInstitut Iliade[fr](lit. 'IliadInstitute'), co-founded in 2014 by Le Gallou, has been described byLe Mondeas "the heir of GRECE".[45]

Themes and ideas

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The think tank initially borrowed several themes already present inEurope-Action:anti-Christianity and elitism, a pan-racial notion of European nationalism, and the seeds of a change from a biological to a cultural definition ofalterity.[46]Between 1962 and 1972, the core members of what would be GRECE embraced a Europeanism, which according toTaguieffandGriffin,was "still in the key of biological Aryanism associated with the overtly neo-Nazi 'Message of Uppsala' and the publication ofEurope-Action."Between 1972 and 1987, under the influence ofArmin Mohlerand theConservative Revolution,this discourse was progressively replaced with a cultural approach ofalteritybased upon aNietzscheanrejection ofegalitarianismand a call for a Europeanpalingenesis(heroic rebirth) via a return to the ancestral "Indo-Europeanvalues ". A third ideological phase, from 1984 to 1987, shifted towardsthird-worldism,the revival of the sacred, andethnopluralism.[5]

Ethnopluralism

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Main article:Ethnopluralism
Further information:Nouvelle Droite § Ethno-pluralism

The group exhibits a hostility tomulticultural societies,viewed as a form of "ethnocide", and emphasizes the rights of groups over individuals.[47][48]GRECE is against both immigration and "remigration",favouring instead the separation of the different ethnic and cultural groups within France.[49]Significant foreign cultural elements inside a group ought to beculturally assimilatedin a process ofcultural homogenization.[50]

Although it opposesliberal democracy,GRECE is not inherentlyanti-democraticand calls for localized form of what it calls "organic democracy".[51]

Metapolitics

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Further information:Nouvelle Droite § Metapolitics and strategy

Influenced byMarxistthinkerAntonio Gramsci,GRECE aims at slowly infusing society with its ideas in the hope of achieving cultural hegemony,[49]sometimes called "right-wing Gramscism".[52]Metapolitics is defined byGuillaume Fayeas the "social diffusion of ideas and cultural values for the sake of provoking profound, long-term, political transformation",[53]and by former GRECE president Jacques Marlaud as "any work of reflection or analysis, any diffusion of ideas, any cultural practice liable to influence political society over the long term. It is no longer a matter of taking power but of providing those in power with ideological, philosophical, and cultural nourishment that can shape (or contradict) their decisions."[52]

In 1974, GRECE membersJean Mabire,Maurice Rollet,Jean-Claude VallaandPierre Vialfounded the scouting organizationEurope-Jeunesseto diffuse Nouvelle Droite ideas and values to the youth.[54]

Archeofuturism

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Further information:Guillaume Faye § Later period (1998–2019)

Archeofuturism is a concept invented byGuillaume Fayein 1998 and defined as the reconciliation oftechnologyandscienceswith "archaic values". Faye described archeofuturism as a "vitalistconstructionism"and stated that" archaic "should be understood in theAncient Greekmeaning of the wordarchè,i.e. "the beginning" or "the foundation".[55]

Notable members

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Among the prominent figures of the European New Right who became members of GRECE were:

Organization

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President:

  • 1968–1974: Maurice Rollet.[60][12]
  • 1974–1984: Roger Lemoine.[12]
  • 1984–1986: Jean Varenne.[12]
  • 1987–1991: Jacques Marlaud.[12]
  • 1991–1992: Michel Marmin.[61]
  • 1992–2013: Jean-Claude Jacquard.[62]
  • 2013–present: Michel Thibault.[citation needed]

Secretary general:

  • 1968–1974: Alain de Benoist.[12]
  • 1974–1978: Jean-Claude Valla.[12]
  • 1978–1984: Pierre Vial.[12]
  • 1984–1986: Jean-Claude Cariou.[12]
  • 1986–1991: Gilbert Sincyr.[12]
  • 1990–????:Xavier Marchand[12]

Publications

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GRECE edits two journals,ÉlémentsandNouvelle École.William H. TuckerandBruce Lincolnhave describedNouvelle Écoleas the "French version of theMankind Quarterly",[63][64]and historian James G. Shields as the equivalent of the GermanNeue Anthropologie.[65]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^The full list of the 40 founders, in alphabetical order, is: Pierre d'Arribère, Alain de Benoist, Pierre Bérard, Jean-Pierre Brosse, Jacques Bruyas, Daniel Butreau, Jean-Claude Carasco, Jacques Chessel, Vincent Decombis, Gérard Denestèbe, Jacques Douris, Yves Esquieu, Gilles Fournier, Alain Gary, Dominique Gajas, Claude Grandjean, Robert Lapeyre, Dominique Venner, Roger Lemoine, Giorgio Locchi, Antonio Lombardo, Alain Mallard, Pierre Marcenet, Jean-Jacques Mourreau, Michel Paysant, Jean-Yves Pequay, Yves Pondaven, Pierre-Henri Reboux, Jean-Claude Rivière, François Ruph, Maurice Rollet, Yves Rouxeville, Jean-Pierre Toni, Jean-Paul Touzalin, Jean-Claude Valla, Jacques Vassigny, Jacques Vernin, Roger Vétillard, Pierre Vial, Jean-Marcel Zagamé.[12]

References

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  1. ^Spektorowski 2003,p. 116.
  2. ^Griffin 2000,p. 35.
  3. ^Taguieff 1994,pp. 10–11.
  4. ^Taguieff 1994,pp. 11–13.
  5. ^abGriffin 2000,p. 43–44.
  6. ^Taguieff 1994,pp. 114–115.
  7. ^Shields 2007,pp. 119–123.
  8. ^Taguieff 1994,pp. 11–12.
  9. ^Bar-On 2016,p. 33.
  10. ^Camus & Lebourg 2017,p. 133.
  11. ^Duranton-Crabol 1988,pp. 250–251.
  12. ^abcdefghijklmnode Boissieu 2019.
  13. ^McCulloch 2006,p. 160.
  14. ^Bar-On 2016,p. 122.
  15. ^Lamy 2016,pp. 269–275.
  16. ^abTaguieff 1994,pp. 180–181.
  17. ^abcTaguieff 1994,pp. 203, 407.
  18. ^abcdefghijkMilza 2002.
  19. ^Duranton-Crabol 1988,p. 46.
  20. ^abMcCulloch 2006,p. 163.
  21. ^abBar-On 2016,p. 37.
  22. ^abcBar-On 2016,p. 38.
  23. ^Duranton-Crabol 1988,p. 47.
  24. ^Duranton-Crabol 1988,p. 188.
  25. ^abBar-On 2016,p. 39.
  26. ^abCheles, Ferguson & Vaughan 1995,pp. 219, 236.
  27. ^Taguieff 1994,p. 183.
  28. ^abcMcCulloch 2006,p. 165.
  29. ^Jan Herman Brinks; Stella Rock; Edward Timms (2005).Nationalist Myths and Modern Media: Cultural Identity in the Age of Globalisation.I.B.Tauris. p. 125.ISBN978-1-84511-038-3.
  30. ^Rousso 2004,p. 7.
  31. ^Rousso 2004,p. 67.
  32. ^Rousso 2004,p. 231.
  33. ^Camus & Lebourg 2017,p. 121.
  34. ^McCulloch 2006,p. 169.
  35. ^Camus & Lebourg 2017,pp. 42, 121.
  36. ^abFrançois 2019,p. 94.
  37. ^François 2019,p. 93.
  38. ^Lebourg, Nicolas (2010).Le monde vu de la plus extrême droite: Du fascisme au nationalisme-révolutionnaire.Presses universitaires de Perpignan. p. 200.ISBN9782354120757.
  39. ^Camus & Lebourg 2017,p. 141.
  40. ^Bar-On 2016,p. 7.
  41. ^Elst, Koenraad (1999).Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate.Aditya Prakashan. p. 11.ISBN978-81-86471-77-7.[A]mong the members of the patronage committee of Nouvelle Ecole, we find not only scholars above suspicion, like Manfred Mayrhofer, Edgar Polomé, Colin Renfrew, the late Arthur Koestler or the late Marija Gimbutas, but also the famous scholar Mircea Eliade...
  42. ^Hentges, Gudrun, Gürcan Kökgiran, and Kristina Nottbohm. "Die Identitäre Bewegung Deutschland (IBD)–Bewegung oder virtuelles Phänomen."Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen27, no. 3 (2014): 1-26.Read online (pdf)Archived2020-01-20 at theWayback Machine
  43. ^Teitelbaum 2017,p. 46.
  44. ^abCamus 2019,p. 73: "Since the early 1990s, the French New Right has been influential beyond France, especially in Italy, Germany, and Belgium, and has inspired Alexander Dugin in Russia. Part of the American radical Right and “Alt Right” also claims to have been inspired by de Benoist’s writings. Although this is questionable, de Benoist and Dominique Venner are also seen as the forefathers of the “identitarian” movement in Europe. "
  45. ^Soullier, Lucie (6 April 2019)."Marion Maréchal, Génération identitaire et les anciens du Grece réunis dans un colloque d'extrême droite".Le Mondeench.Retrieved12 September2019.
  46. ^Duranton-Crabol 1988,p. 28.
  47. ^Spektorowski 2003,p. 118.
  48. ^Bar-On 2016,p. 76.
  49. ^abMcCulloch 2006,pp. 160–161.
  50. ^Deland, Mats; Minkenberg, Michael; Mays, Christin (2014).In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe.LIT Verlag Münster. p. 58.ISBN9783643905420.
  51. ^Bar-On 2016,pp. 104–105.
  52. ^abCamus & Lebourg 2017,p. 120.
  53. ^Teitelbaum, Benjamin R.(2019). "Daniel Friberg and Metapolitics in Action". InSedgwick, Mark(ed.).Key Thinkers of the Radical Right: Behind the New Threat to Liberal Democracy.Oxford University Press.pp. 259–260.ISBN978-0-19-087760-6.
  54. ^abLamy 2016,p. 124.
  55. ^François 2008,p. 187.
  56. ^Lamy 2016,pp. 91–96.
  57. ^Marpeau, Benoît (1993)."Le rêve nordique de Jean Mabire"(PDF).Annales de Normandie.43(3): 234.doi:10.3406/annor.1993.2167.[permanent dead link]
  58. ^Crépon, Sylvain (2015).Les faux-semblants du Front national: Sociologie d'un parti politique.Presses de Sciences Po. p. 107.ISBN9782724618129.
  59. ^Rousso 2004,p. 61.
  60. ^François 2008,p. 155.
  61. ^Camus, Jean-Yves; Monzat, René (1992).Les droites nationales et radicales en France: répertoire critique.Presses Universitaires de Lyon.ISBN978-2-7297-0416-2.
  62. ^Lebourg, Nicolas (2019).Les nazis ont-ils survécu?(in French). Le Seuil.ISBN978-2-02-141372-4.
  63. ^Tucker, William H.(2009).The Cattell Controversy: Race, Science, and Ideology.University of Illinois Press. p. 130.ISBN978-0-252-03400-8.
  64. ^Lincoln, Bruce(1999).Theorizing Myth: Narrative, Ideology, and Scholarship.University of Chicago Press. p. 123.ISBN978-0-226-48201-9.
  65. ^Shields 2007,p. 150.

Bibliography

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