From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Croix de Feu was a French nationalist group of the Interwar period. The English translation of their name is "Cross of Fire".
Primarily a group of veterans of the First World War, it advocated integralism along with its larger rival Action Francaise.
It benefited from the Catholic Churches proscription of Action Francaise which prohibited practicing Catholics from supporting Action Francaise. Many conservative Catholics instead became members of the Croix de Feu, including the young François Mitterrand.
Under François de la Rocque (1885?1946), it organized popular demonstrations in reaction to the Stavisky Affair, hoping to overthrow the government. It subsequently lost prestige and was dissolved by the Popular Front government in 1936.
