A New Right Raises Its Voice

Science and paganism at the service of a reactionary doctrine

"The right governs, the left thinks,' says a familiar French dictum. No longer. A vigorous group of right-wing thinkers is now challenging the left's longstanding intellectual hegemony, proclaiming ominous theories on race, genetics and inequality rarely heard since the dark days of the Third Reich. The rise of this bold "New Right" has ignited the liveliest political debate in France since the advent of the New Philosophers, a group of disillusioned leftists who launched a blistering attack on Marxist dogma two years ago.

The basic premise of the New Right philosophy is a rejection of Rousseauist egalitarianism and the democratic ideals that follow from it. Writes Philosopher Alain de Benoist, 35, a founder and leading spokesman of the movement: "The enemy is not 'the left' or 'Communism' or 'subversion' but this egalitarian ideology whose formulas . . . have flourished for 2,000 years." New Right partisans hold that individuals and races are divided by insurmountable barriers of hereditary inequality; in support of this view, they cite the much debated research by such American scientists as Arthur Jensen, William Shockley and Edward O. Wilson. France's New Righters thus call for a "meritocratic" society in which the ablest and most intelligent would rule. As practical steps toward this goal, they suggest a variety of programs ranging from abortion and genetic control to a new kind of elitist education that would involve the early selection of children with high IQs for special training.

Equally hostile to capitalism, Marxism and the Judaeo-Christian tradition, New Righters look fondly back to pagan and Indo-European cultures for alternative social models. Explaining paganism's curious fascination for them, New Right Journalist Louis Pauwels says, "We do not wish to burn Bibles or churches, but their message is only part of the European tradition." Just as important, says Pauwels, are "the mores of the ancient pagan cultures and heroes like Prometheus and Faust, who show that man is made to conquer the world."

Like many leftist groups, the New Right traces its origin to the turbulent events of May 1968. In reaction to that upheaval of the left, Benoist and a number of similar-minded rightists organized a counterrevolutionary society called GRECE (a French acronym for Research and Study Group on European Civilization). The organization sponsored publications and seminars on such topics as racism, eugenics and Nietzschean ethics.

Some GRECE members also showed an unsettling predilection for neofascist ritual, beginning their closed meetings with the salute "Soleil, race!" (Sun, race!) and writing letters to one another in brown ink. In 1974 GRECE Member Yvan Blot, together with fellow students at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, formed the Club de l'Horloge (Clock Club), a lobby group that promotes many of the same issues.

Last year the views of these groups found a major outlet in Le Figaro magazine. This new weekend supplement to the influential Parisian daily is owned by Press Lord Robert Hersant, a former Nazi collaborator, and edited by Pauwels. A popular author of futuristic books, Pauwels was captivated by Benoist's elitist philosophy and made him the magazine's culture editor. With 85,000 readers at its disposal, the New Right suddenly emerged from relative obscurity and achieved national notoriety.

Since then, the leftist press has angrily denounced the New Righters as fascists. Prominent members of the political coalition headed by President Valery Giscard d'Estaing called a press conference to disassociate their parties from this "current of elitist and pagan thought as old as history." The traditional French right--largely Roman Catholic--is equally appalled by the New Right's avowed atheism and its advocacy of abortion.

Both Pauwels and Benoist insist that theirs is a cultural movement and disclaim any intention of engaging in political activism. Some New Righters and sympathizers have nevertheless managed to exert political influence within the governing majority. A number of Clock Club members now hold positions in the administration. Club President Blot, 31, is a high-ranking official in the neo-Gaullist party, the Rassemblement pour la Republique. Former Interior Minister Michel Poniatowski, a close friend and confidant of Giscard's, was assisted by New Right intellectuals in writing his recent book, The Future Is Written Nowhere, dealing with such subjects as Indo-European culture and hereditary intelligence.

Some intellectuals fear that the mere introduction of New Right ideology into the popular press might one day lead to an uncritical acceptance of its dangerous doctrines. Says Historian Rene Remond: "There is no real separation between culture and politics. The inevitable logic of New Right thinking has political consequences." Author Jean-Marie Benoist (no relation to Alain) is concerned because "the New Right is trying to insert itself in all areas of society, and it has chosen cultural power to begin with."

With only 5,000 or so active adherents, the New Right will probably remain a marginal political and intellectual force in a nation whose adherence to democratic principles has weathered far more formidable storms since 1789. Says Oxford Professor Theodore Zeldin, an authority on contemporary France: "It is not a political movement of any importance. The French are groping to discover what it means to have a modern civilization. The provocative efforts of the New Right show how difficult it is for French intellectuals to get out of their old ruts."

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