[3] In 1927, he signed a petition (that appeared in the magazine Europe on 15 April) against the law on the general organization of the nation in time of war, abrogating all intellectual independence and all freedom of expression.

His name on the petition appeared with those of Lucien Descaves, Louis Guilloux, Henry Poulaille, Séverine ... and those of the young Raymond Aron and Jean-Paul Sartre from the École normale supérieure.

[4] During World War II he went into exile first to the United States where he spoke on the radio through the Voice of America and then, beginning in 1941, to Mexico where he participated with other French refugees in founding the Institut Français d'Amérique Latine (IFAL).

He was criticized by writer and politician Aimé Césaire in the 1950 essay Discourse on Colonialism for racist statements by the title character of his novel Salsette Discovers America: "I will not even censure our Negroes and Negresses for chewing gum.

In later years, Romains defined it as connected with the end of literature within "representation of the world without judgment",[This quote needs a citation] where his social ideals comprise the highest conception of solidarity as a defense of individual rights.