Conspiracies and visions of conspiracies in France and Italy after the Second World War

Abstract

The existing literature concerning conspiracy and conspiracy theories is particularly huge, especially if considering political and social sciences. However, many works revealed some weaknesses, such as the importance of assumptions and generalisations in political sciences studies or the neglected/exaggerated role of conspiracy in many historical works. So, it appeared that new political history could bring a significant and lightning contribution, taking into account the various dimensions and the complexity of the topic as well as the role of the context. The proposal of the paper, based on the empirical study of postwar Italy and France, could be summed up in three points. The first would be to consider the political nature of conspiracy and conspiracy theory, and to narrow the scope of the study to well-defined political groups. The second, not to take for granted pre-existing interpretations and narratives on this topic. The last, to pay major attention to the complex interactions of the representations, events, propaganda and political cultures.

Keywords:

• political history
• political violence
• conspiracy
• conspiracy theories
• France
• Italy

Notes

 1. I would distinguish between the simple belief in conspiracy and what is commonly called ‘conspiracy theory’. Whereas the belief or fear surrounding a conspiracy does not necessarily have to be strong or supported by solid arguments, a ‘conspiracy theory’ is usually defined in a more restrictive way, as a more structured belief supported by arguments which assert that the cause of some important events is directly linked to a conspiracy. Pipes, Conspiracy, 20 defines conspiracy theory as the belief in non-existing conspiracies, but this narrow definition does not seem very convincing.

 2. The manifesto of this renewal is the famous book by Rémond, Pour une histoire politique.

 3. See Raoul Girardet's pioneering essay, Mythes et mythologies politiques, 25–62.

 4. Berstein, “L'historien et la culture politique.”

 5. Berstein, Les cultures politiques en France.

 6. Frevert, “Neue Politikgeschichte: Konzepte und Herausforderungen”, and Mergel, “Überlegungen zu einer Kulturgeschichte der Politik.”

 7. On France, cf. Bercé and Gaurini, Complots et conjurations dans l'Europe Moderne. Monier, L'apparition du complot communiste en France (1920–1932). Monier, Le complot dans la République, Stratégies du secret de Boulanger à la Cagoule.

 8. For obvious reasons, the contribution of literature, which is not negligible, will not be examined here. The conference Conspiracy in History and Fiction held in Konstanz in May 2006 is a good example of the importance of literary analysis in this field.

 9. Monier, Le complot dans la République, 12.

10. Kaplan, The Famine Plot Persuasion in Eighteenth-Century France.

11. Ploux, De bouche à oreille.

12. Parry, “Articulating the Third Republic by Conspiracy Theory.”

13. Delumeau, La peur en Occident.

14. For a synthesis of these ‘historiography turns’, Aftalion, Alerte rouge sur l'Amérique. Retour sur le maccarthysme, 59–214.

15. For instance, Showalter, Hystories, 27–28 links hysteria/paranoia to American culture and marginality.

16. Pipes, Conspiracy, 25. That is also the link underlined by Robins and Post, Political Paranoia.

17. Parish, “‘The age of anxiety,’” 1–16. Goertzel, “Belief in Conspiracy Theories.” Knight, Conspiracy Nation: The Politics of Paranoia in Postwar America, 21–84. Melley, Empire of Conspiracy: The Culture of Paranoia in Postwar America, 2–8.

18. See, for instance, the very American-orientated book by Campion-Vincent, La société parano. Théories du complot, menaces et incertitudes.

19. This is the perspective of Fenster, Conspiracy Theories.

20. Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics, 3–40. Knight, Conspiracy Theories in American History. Knight, Conspiracy Nation, 1–5.

21. See , L'idéologie ou l'origine des idées reçues, and L'art de se persuader des idées douteuses, fragiles ou fausses, where the author points out that the use of implicit and unfounded arguments to sustain certain reasoning is a frequent error in the human sciences.

22. This is according to Goldberg, in the introduction to Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America.

23. This is the framework adopted by Graumann and Moscovici in Changing Conceptions of Conspiracy. See also Showalter, Hystories.

24. The most successful attempt to link the political science approach and the psychological study of conspiracy theories is the book by Robins and Post, Political Paranoia: The Psychopolitics of Hatred, 36–88 particularly. However, their approach remains theoretical and deductive.

25. Cf. the excellent contributions in Coward and Swann, Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theory in Early Modern Europe.

26. Dard, La synarchie, Le mythe du complot permanent.

27. Rudelle, Mai 1958, de Gaulle et la République. Berstein, Histoire du gaullisme, 204–17.

28. Rémond, 1958, le retour de de Gaulle, 54–62. Winock, L'agonie de la IVe République, 15–39.

29. Christophe Nick, Résurrection, Naissance de la Ve République, un coup d'Etat démocratique.

30. Some authors are what is called conspiracists, which means that they think and write that political events can be explained by one or several widespread and powerful conspiracy(ies), frequently in spite of the available evidence to the contrary.

31. Tobagi, La rivoluzione impossibile. L'attentato a Togliatti: violenza politica e reazione popolare. Gozzini, Hanno sparato a Togliatti. L'Italia del 1948. Speroni, L'attentato a Togliatti: i giorni della paura. Lomartire, Insurrezione. 14 luglio 1948: l'attentato a Togliatti e la tentazione revoluzionaria.

32. Ganser, NATO's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe, in particular 63–83 (Italy) and 84–102 (France).

33. See Pierre Laborie's contentions in L'opinion française sous Vichy, 25–9 which remain unsurpassed.

34. Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions In Contemporary America.

35. Evolution summarised with a lightning diagram in Timothy Tackett, “Conspiracy Obsession in the Time of Revolution: French Elites and the Origins of the Terror, 1789–1792”, 703.

36. Jenkins, The Cold War at Home: The Red Scare in Pennsylvania, 1945–1960.

37. These two graphs have been constructed on the basis of polls taken from Sondages. Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Opinion Publique, no. 8, 1 May 1947 (survey 30 March–7 April 1947). SO: no opinion; PC: Communist Party, extreme left; SFIO, Socialist Party, left; RG: Radicals, centre-left; MRP: Christian Democrats, centre-right; PRL: Republicans, right.

38. Girard, “Socialistes et communistes, 1944–1948: des relations fondées sur la peur?”

39. Archivio dell'Istituto Gramsci (AIG), MF 271, MF 276.

40. AIG, MF 199, MF 213, MF 277.

41. See, for example, Lejeune, La peur du “rouge” en France; Des partageux aux gauchistes, 181–232.

42. What was really denounced was the threat of a Soviet invasion, which is quite different and has little to do with a real conspiracy. However, in the Gaullist case, even this preoccupation was far less important than the anti-governmental discourse. Cf. Girard, “Le gaullisme d'opposition au miroir de la haine politique, 1947–1958.”

43. In this regard, the debates within the French and Italian councils of ministers are particularly interesting: for Italy, Ricci, Aldo G., ed. Verbali del Consiglio dei Ministri. Edizione Critica. Rome: Presidenzia del Consiglio dei Ministri-Dipartimento per l'informazione e l'editoria, 1994–98. For France, Archives Nationales (AN), Papiers Auriol, 552 AP. The Italian Government seemed to be more concerned by the internal danger that it believed the PCI posed than their French counterpart.

44. Interview with Jean-Paul David, ex-leader of ‘Paix et Liberté’.

45. Correspondence with Claude Harmel, ex-member of ‘Est–Ouest’.

46. For one French example see, Augustin, Le Plan Bleu. 1947, un complot contre la République, 189–215 and Girard, “Le “Plan Bleu”, un complot exemplaire sous la IVème République.”

47. Rémy Valat, Les calots bleus et la bataille de Paris, 241–2.

48. Such as the socialist party SFIO, Archives de la Préfecture de Police de Paris (APP), BA 2320.

49. AN, F7 15 578, Bulletin de Documentation de la Direction des Renseignements Généraux, n°35, June 1958.

50. Kapferer, Rumeurs, le plus vieux média du monde, 91.

51. Parry, “Articulating the Third Republic by Conspiracy Theory”, 169–70.

52. It is beyond the scope of this essay to develop this point here; however, this belief is also one of the factors which make activists working for these parties more likely to be prepared to be part of a ‘real’ plot.

53. Delumeau, La peur en Occident, 179.

54. Comunicato della direzione del PCI “Per la difesa della libertà e del diritto al lavoro”, L'Unità, 25 January 1948.

55. AIG, MF 199.

56. AIG, MF 277.

57. Between 14 and 16 July 1948, in Tuscany – which was the most violent region of Italy during this short period – the riots lead to three deaths, one mutilated casualty and 37 people injured. Archivio Centrale di Stato (ACS), Ministero dell'Interno, Direzione Generale, Pubblica Sicurezza, Divisione Affari Generali e Riservati, 1947–1948, box 120. Overall in Italy, these riots may have resulted in 30 deaths and 800 injured casualties according to Lomartire, Insurrezione, 235.

58. See the numerous reports in ACS, Ministero dell'Interno, Direzione Generale, Pubblica Sicurezza, Divisione Affari Generali e Riservati, 1947–1948, boxes 120 and 121.

59. Ricci, Verbali del Consiglio dei Ministri. 23 Maggio 1948–14 Maggio 1950. Rome: Presidenzia del Consiglio dei Ministri-Dipartimento per l'informazione e l'editoria, 1998, 88 and 117.

60. Marcucci, Scelba. Il ministro che si oppose al fascismo e al comunismo in nome della libertà. 144–6.

61. AIG, MF 199, MF 272, MF 277.

62. For a balanced synthesis, based on the relevant sources, see Pernot, “Mai 1958: l'Armée de l'Air et l'opération Résurrection.”

63. In spring 1958, a poll revealed that in case of a military uprising, 4% of the people would resist, 6% would approve, the rest – 90% not caring about the fate of the regime… Griotteray, Alain. Mémoires. Paris: Editions du Rocher–Editions de Fallois, 2004, 154.

64. APP, HA 89–90.

65. Pernot, “Mai 1958: l'Armée de l'Air et l'opération Résurrection,” 113–15.