The League originated with three young academics, Louis Dausset, Gabriel Syveton and Henri Vaugeois, who wanted to show that Dreyfusism was not accepted by all at the University.

[3] In November 1898 their petition gained signatures in the Parisian schools, and was soon circulated throughout political, intellectual and artistic circles in Paris.

[1] The Ligue de la patrie française was established on 4 January 1899 with Jules Lemaître as its nominal leader.

[8] It brought together a large number of antidreyfusard intellectuals to show that the great names of letters and science did not support revision of the verdict of the Dreyfus trial.

[5] Many well-known members of the Académie signed on including Léon Daudet, Albert Sorel and Jules Verne.

[3] Workers, artisans and employees represented at most 4% of the membership, while members of the literary, artistic, legal and medical professions made up almost 70%.

[9] The League did not at first take an anti-Semitic position, although Lemaitre claimed at the January organizational meeting that for the past twenty years Jews, Protestants and Freemasons had conspired to run France.

[11] Charles Maurras soon joined the Action Française, whose leaders criticized the timid nature of the League and its lack of clear objectives.

[16] A meeting organized on 7 March 1903 in Lille by the League and the Ligue des Patriotes was able to draw 5,000 people including students, young Catholics, clerics and reactionary notables.

[10] General Louis André, the militantly anticlerical War Minister from 1900 to 1904, used reports by Freemasons to build a huge card index on public officials that detailed those who were Catholic and attended Mass, with a view to preventing their promotions.

[16] The Affaire Des Fiches scandal led directly to the resignation of prime minister Émile Combes.