Maurice Barrès
Maurice Barrès (19 August 1862 – 4 December 1923) was a French author and politician whose literary career spanned from early explorations of individualism in works like the Cult of the Self trilogy to advocacy for integral nationalism, emphasizing organic ties to one's native soil, ancestors, and local traditions as sources of personal and collective vitality.[1]
His 1897 novel Les Déracinés portrayed seven young men from Lorraine whose uprooting to Paris led to moral and professional failure, underscoring his critique of cosmopolitan deracination and the Third Republic's progressive illusions in favor of rooted regional identity.[2]
Elected deputy for Nancy in 1889 as a Boulangist candidate demanding the reclamation of Alsace-Lorraine, Barrès maintained a prominent parliamentary role, vocally opposing the Dreyfus Affair as a threat to national cohesion and later championing monarchist and Catholic elements within his nationalist framework during World War I, where his frontline dispatches reinforced French resolve.[3][4]