as powerful abroad, as it was under the Ancien Régime." The decision to create the nationalist anti-Dreyfusard Ligue de la patrie française (League of the French Homeland) was made on 31 December 1898. The Comité d'action française was soon merged into the League, which was led by Jules Lemaître. Action Française The circle around Vaugeois soon became disillusioned with the League, which lacked any clear doctrine. Vaugeois disagreed with Lemaître's plan to participate in the next legislative elections. The Comité d'action française was recreated in April 1899, and the foundational conference of the Action Française movement was held on 20 June 1899 in Paris. In his keynote speech at this meeting Vaugeois declared that the movement stood for "anti-Semitic, anti-Masonic, anti-parliamentary and anti-democratic" nationalism. Charles Maurras soon joined the Action Française. Maurras thought the Bourbon monarchy should be restored, using violence if needed. Pujo came to agree with Maurras. He wrote later, "Under the mortal blows of Charles Maurras, the republicanism of each of us succumbed one by one in this year, 1900, which was the year of the hegira for the Action Francaise." On 16 November 1908 Lucien Moreau and Maurice Pujo created the Camelots du Roi youth movement. Maxime Real del Sarte was a co-founder. In the autumn of 1908 Pujo led the Camelots in a series of nationalist demonstrations ostensibly against a Sorbonne student named Thalamas who had insulted Joan of Arc. He remained director of the Camelots from 1908 to 1939. During World War I (1914–18) Pujo was called up and served on the front. In 1920 Pujo said the Sorbonne was still dangerously infatuated with German culture, and was infiltrated by "foreigners, spies, Jews and Bolsheviks." He called for dismissal of faculty members who he thought were pro-German such as Victor Basch, Charles Seignobos and Aulard. He continued to lead demonstrations by the Camelots du Roi into the 1930s, notably the demonstrations about the Stavisky Affair of January and February 1934. During World War II (1939–45) when the Germans occupied France Pujo stayed with Maurras in Lyon. After Léon Daudet died in 1942 Pujo was made co-director of the daily Action Française. He was imprisoned by the Gestapo for three weeks in June 1944. In January 1945 Pujo and Maurras were tried for collaboration and Pujo was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in October 1947. He then became political director of