René Martial (17 October 1873 in Paris – 23 January 1955 in Vendôme) was a French anthropologist during the thirties and the Vichy era (1940–1944).

Life

Dr. René Martial appears in books on the history of Vichy or of anti-Semitism as an example of « French-style racism ». The social trajectory of this character disappears behind the excessive visibility of his collaboration and his works. Yet, before being a « racist », R. Martial was a hygienist who claimed to be a socialist. According to William H. Schneider « the views on immigration stated by French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen fit well with Martial's earlier ideas »

Selected works

• Traits de l'immigration et de la greffe inter-raciale, Larose, 1931, rewarded by the Institut de France
• La Race française, Mercure de France, 1934, réédité en 1943, rewarded by the Institut de France
• Race, hérédité, folie. Etude d’anthropo-sociologie appliquée à l’immigration, Paris, Mercure de France, 1938
• Vie et constance des races, Mercure de France, 1939.
• Français qui es-tu ? Mercure de France, 1942
• Les Métis - Nouvelle étude sur les migrations, le mélange des races, le métissage, la retrempe de la race française et la révision du code de la famille, Flammarion, 1942
• Notre race et ses aïeux, Perqual, 1943
• Les races humaines, Hachette, 1955

References

• William H. Schneider, Quality and Quantity. The Quest for Biological Regeneration in Twentieth-Century France, Cambridge University Press, 1990, pp. 231–250