The Greenshirts, a far-right peasant movement in 1930s France, wanted to transform the Republic into an authoritatian, agrarian state. They succeeded only in mounting sporadic local actions, but they permitted a fresh look at the strengths and weaknesses of fascism in French rural Society, and at the enduring French perception of themselves as a peasant nation. "This is a finely crafted piece of historical research." --Times Literary Supplement