bloc national

English - English

Definition of bloc national in English English dictionary

Right-wing coalition that controlled the French government from 1919 to 1924. On a wave of nationalist sentiment at the end of World War I, the Bloc gained about 75% of the seats in the French Chamber of Deputies in the 1919 elections. The government tried to ensure French security against Germany through a strict enforcement of the Treaty of Versailles. Its leaders, including Raymond Poincare, supported the Ruhr occupation (1923) to force Germany to pay reparations. It gradually lost public support, and it was defeated in the 1924 elections