The Journal as a European Space in Post-War Paris: the Fédération des étudiants nationalistes and <i>Cahiers universitaires</i>, 1961-1963

Abstract

This article examines the Fédération des étudiants nationalistes (FEN) and its journal Cahiers universitaires between 1961 and 1963 in the context of post-war Parisian political and intellectual life. These dates encompass the launch of the journal and the loss of French Algeria - a fundamental preoccupation of the group. The group's militancy on behalf of the maintenance of France's three North African départements was interwoven with its far right political orientation and its striking conceptualisation of Europe. This article analyses five strands of discourse about Europe that recur in the journal: a Europe of nationalism, a Europe of imperialism, a Europe of hierarchy, a Europe defined against materialism, and a Europe of youth. I will argue that these different conceptions of Europe are closely interconnected.