3

Little was known about the life of Darquier de Pellepoix before he stormed into his anti-Semitic career in 1936. One unpublished manuscript that he had written in 1931 sheds light on the characteristics of a man who at the time was known only as the drifting son of a notable and an immature nationalist who did not care about anti-Semitism. Looking for the Lost France - this is the title of this novel with a philosophical message - reveals a rebellious young man who denies his bourgeois, republican and rationalist education; who dreams of adventure and a glorious destiny. Miserably exiled in England, Darquier elaborates the basic points of his political beliefs, his respect for hierarchy and tradition, and his craving for power. A narcissistic confession, haunted by a decadence which reminds us of the typical profile of the “young French fascist,” as can be read about in the writings of Brasillach or Drieu La Rochelle.