The officer in French society:: a heritage of the Third Republic

Nationalism which reached its peak in France in the Third Republic, made the army sacred because of a << mystical link >> with the nation. Introduced at the same period, the military service, by passing the whole of the male population through army ranks, gave rise to the theory of the officer's << social role >>. Thus the officer was at the centre of society, yet obliged by republican legality to respect strict political neutrality. However, in case of a failing, whether real or supposed, of civil power, he became, for a part of French citizens, the representative of virtual legitimacy. This was the situtation in 1940 and during the Algerian war. The mystical link and the social role were both put forward to authorize the military to speak on behalf of the nation. This army-society relationship became obsolete due to the transformations in society and disappeared altogether when compulsory enlistment was abandoned.