Characteristics of Belle Époque Regionalism

In: The Regionalist Movement in France 1890-1914, S. 25-41

Abstract

Abstract
The revision of common assumptions about Belle Époque regionalism in France depends on a detailed study of the thought and actions of Jean Charles-Brun and his closest allies. Many of the misconceptions about French regionalism are the result of misunderstandings, not about the subtlety of Charles-Brun's political philosophy, but about the fundamental elements of the movement and, in particular, the regionalists' aims. Before elaborating those aims in more detail, this chapter examine Charles-Brun's own life and career, including his failed candidature in the 1906 legislative elections, his support of the Alliance républicaine from 1908, his engagement at a philosophical level with the federalism of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, or his complicated relationship with the Christian democratic movement in the 1890s. The personal qualities of Charles-Brun which made the greatest impression on the Fédération Régionaliste Française were his irony and his belief in reconciliation.