It was founded in 1898 during the Dreyfus affair, partly in reaction to the left wing revitalization materializing in defence of the army captain. Originally a nationalist organization, which attracted figures such as Maurice Barrès, it became monarchist under the influence of Maurras, following the earlier ideas of counter-revolutionary theorist Joseph de Maistre. Until its dissolution at the end of World War II, the Action Française was a prominent proponent of far right integral nationalism, which regarded the nation as an organic entity of blood and soil.