[1] Occident activists were known for their "commando" actions against various "enemy" targets, such as left-wing students, PCF offices, immigrant associations, and anti-colonialists.

At the outset, Occident appeared as a remake of Jeune Nation, an older neo-fascist group Sidos had created back in 1949, and disbanded by the authorities in 1958.

About 20 members of Occident were arrested, including Gérard Longuet, Alain Madelin and Patrick Devedjian (all future right-wing ministers).

They called for the establishment of a corporatist economic regime and promoted the overthrow of "the Masonic and plutocratic republic", through a "second French Revolution that [would] sweep away the pernicious effects of the first".

Occident advocated for a "new race" of leaders who would emerge from the "nationalist ranks", not through the "myth of election" but via the "selection of the best elements from the entire nation".