“She Has Lived Her Life as She Pleased”

Abstract This article explores four case studies of women on France's extreme right, 1935–1945, to elucidate their agency, in terms of political activism and sexuality. We contend that, just as did women on the left, including in the Resistance, they profited from the liminal space the political disruptions the election of the Popular Front in 1936, and the war and Occupation created to engage in behavior normally deemed transgressive in their culture. They joined extreme-right political organizations and grasped opportunities to exert authority, even obtaining leadership roles. Likewise, they collaborated with their male lovers, kin, and colleagues in participating in violent terrorist activities. We contend that scholars have underestimated the agency of women on the right and seek to comprehend how these women understood their actions.