The author of books on French political, intellectual and religious history, he was elected to the Académie Française in 1998.
These he considers as being authoritarian, needing a leader with charisma, and presenting their movements as more "populist" than the others.
(The Action Française royalist movement belongs to the Legitimists, who, being marginalized during the 20th century, managed however to take back some influence during the Vichy régime.)
Similarly, he classes the National Front (Le Pen's party) in this group.
Orléanists he identifies as economic liberals, which characterizes present-day conservative parties.