David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

Zanden calls the area the Plateau of
Hospitality. The region had a long
history of taking in refugees. In 1790, the
French Assembly declared that all
Catholic clergy, under penalty of
imprisonment, had to pledge an oath to
the state, making the church subordinate
to the government. Those who refused to
sign the pledge fled for their lives.
Where did many of them go? To the
Vivarais Plateau, a community already
well practiced in the arts of defiance.
The number of dissenters grew. During
the First World War, the people of the
plateau took in refugees. During the
Spanish Civil War, they took in people
fleeing the fascist army of General
Franco. They took in socialists and