From the position of the history of ideas, and using the concept of “important divisions of identification”, this article will analyze the political and esthetic positions of the French surrealist group surrounding André Breton at three precise periods: in 1931, 1947 and 1969. Far from the albeit ingenious image used by Régis Debray (“l’honneur des funambules”), these analyses highlight the details of complex strategies, sometimes a certain refusal of reality, but also an important poetic lesson and the trace of a political anthropology – apt to give pause to many political scientists today.