François Brigneau

François Brigneau (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa bʁiɲo]; 30 April 1919 – 9 April 2012) was a French far-right journalist and author who was a leading figure in Ordre Nouveau, the National Front and the Party of New Forces.

Early years

Brigneau was born in Concarneau; his birth name was Well Emmanuel Allot. His father, a teacher, was known for his socialism and pacifism. He joined the Milice towards the end of the occupation and was imprisoned at Fresnes as a consequence. He shared a cell with Robert Brasillach shortly before the latter's execution and became an impassioned defender of Vichy France (a client state of Nazi Germany in World War 2) following his release. Around this time he married Georges Suarez's niece.

Brigneau's first political party involvement came in December 1945 when he joined the newly established Republican Party of Liberty, a largely conservative group that nonetheless attracted several former collaborators to its ranks. He also wrote for France-Dimanche in the immediate post-war era under the pseudonym Julien Guernec. Under this name he would also write for Rivarol, whilst he used various names to write for the likes of Paroles Françaises, Le Rouge et le Noir and L'independance Françaises and later for Le Courrier de Clan, Roger Holeindre's Le Cointre Poson and the eponymous La Chronique de Jean Brigneau. In the early 1960s he became most associated with the weekly Minute, initially as an editorial writer and then as editor-in-chief.