Money doesn't grow on crosses

[Terrance]

http://www.wfu.edu/~sinclair/dreyfus.htm

http://www.britannica.com/seo/a/alfred-dreyfus/

n addition to nationalism, Catholicism became an
increasingly important element of
the Right. Eugen Weber describes this trend in My France,
saying that the "Nobility
had moved through Royalism to Catholicism, the defense of
the Church having
proved a better proposition than the restoration of the
monarchy." (Weber, 189)
Catholicism, despite the increased anti-clericalism of the
Third Republic, continued
to be a cornerstone for much of the rural population, and
the unrepentant
bourgeoisie. But among much of the French population,
Catholicism alone could not
bring about concerted, pro-clerical organization.
Anti-Semitism, as Zola contends,
would soon become the instrument that many Catholics would
use to win back
popular support, in an atmosphere especially ripe for such
intolerance to be
fomented. (Weber, 289)

 One  reason was due to the similarities between the Army
and the Church. Both were
conservative entities, and both believed in hierarchy, duty,
and service. In addition,
the humiliating German defeat, and the constant reminder of
it by the lost provinces
served as a rallying call to those anxious to restore
France’s former glory. That is
why, throughout this period, many who had enrolled in St.
Cyr, came from country
estates, still staunchly reactionary and for the most part
untouched by the ideas of
the Revolution. (Chapman, 38) In addition to this longing
for military greatness
there were also economic reasons. Declining prices in
agriculture effected many land
proprietors, many of which were conservative, and young men
from this sector
often sought the Army for financial stability. (de la Gorce,
24)