H.J. Gaudreau - Betrayal in the Louvre by H.J. Gaudreau Page B

long before Marcil had been radicalized; soon thereafter he was a member of the Action Françoise. 
     
    II
     
    The organization Action Françoise, sometimes simply known by the letters “AF”, has been existence, in one form or another, since the French Revolution.  In the beginning, ‘organization’ was too strong a word to describe the loose collection of deposed nobility trying to reverse the republican establishments created by the Assembly and institutionalized by the First Republic.   There simply existed a loose confederation of nobles and supporters of the beheaded King who wished to see the restoration of the royal family. 
    This group became more serious in their efforts as Napoleon gradually increased his power.  They quickly joined together becoming a powerful, though secret society in the heart of Paris.  And, they fought Napoleon, hoping to usurp his empire.  They were the source of inside intelligence to numerous European governments even as Napoleon’s empire grew. 
    Eventually, their efforts were rewarded.  When Napoleon was finally defeated the European powers restored the House of Bourbon to the throne.  The monarchists were more than happy to assume the more lucrative positions in the new government.  But, they overreached.  Their greed was too much, crippling the economy of the newly restored kingdom.  That and the fact that a monarchy no longer suited the French people proved decisive.  Soon, Charles the Tenth showed his incompetence and was overthrown.  This dealt a terrible blow to the organization whose members were increasing in wealth and power every day.
    Seeing a true monarchy as no longer an option for France, the organization adopted a new strategy.  Rather than the establishment of a formal monarchy, a curtain was to be drawn between those operating the levers of power, and those directing their operations.  The AF would direct those operations.  By the 1930’s the AF had become quite adept at this behind the scenes manipulation of power.  Maybe too adept, and once again they overreached.  The AF considered becoming a legitimate political party.  The chosen leader of this new party was Paul Marcil’s grandfather, Monsieur Charles Maurras. 
    Charles Maurras is one of history’s mystery men.  Maurras was selected to lead the newly created legitimate political party established by the Council.  Maurras was a “petit leader” of the AF, and certainly not a member of the inner circle, known as the Council de Governors.  Instead, he became the public face of the organization in the 1930s.  In this role he displayed that family trait he passed to his grandson, to wit: a hunger to be among the elite, when in fact he had neither the grooming nor the bloodlines.
    Early in the war Maurras, caught up in the anti-government feelings of the time, proudly and publicly proclaimed the Nazi defeat of France to be a “divine surprise”.  This greatly angered the nationalist leaning Council.  More ominously it angered the head of the Council, the Grand Duke of Orleans.  In fact, it so angered the Grand Duke that Maurras was quietly cut off and isolated.  The Council went one step further and dropped any support of its fledgling political party.  The party’s members, always kept in the dark about the Council and its activities, were allowed to fade away or be arrested.  Eventually, Maurras was one of those to be arrested and jailed.  Alone, abandoned and without friends he died in prison in 1952. 
    The AF, having relearned its lesson began to retreat deeper into the shadows.  By the mid 1960s it was a forgotten organization, and that’s the way it preferred things.  As the AF returned to its core strategy of power manipulation it became increasingly apparent that its business plan was complicated and had a great number of moving parts.  The AF needed to control the men who controlled power.  That task requires an ability to quickly and permanently remove