The deputy who founded the Jeunesses Patriotes, holding a street force and a seat in the Chamber at once
He kept a parliamentary seat and a paramilitary organisation at the same time, on the principle that the street belonged to his side too. The Jeunesses Patriotes were among the columns that reached the Concorde on the night of 6 February 1934, and several of the fifteen dead were their members
A First World War veteran turned deputy who founded the Jeunesses Patriotes in 1924 against the incoming Cartel des Gauches and built it into a paramilitary body tens of thousands strong. Equipped with blue raincoats and berets, it broke up Communist meetings and fought for the streets, while its leader kept his seat inside parliament: a doubleness characteristic of the French leagues. On 6 February 1934 the Jeunesses Patriotes formed one of the main columns on the Place de la Concorde, and some of the dead came from its ranks. He voted full powers to Pétain in 1940, presided over the Paris municipal council under the occupation, and was detained and then released after the liberation.
Career Timeline
- 1887–1918Born in Paris; serves in the First World War
- 1919–1940Deputy in the Chamber
- 1924Founds the Jeunesses Patriotes
- 1925–1936Commands a paramilitary league tens of thousands strong
- 1934.02.06The Jeunesses Patriotes form one of the main columns on the Concorde
- 1940.07Votes full powers to Pétain
- 1943–1944Presides over the Paris municipal council under the occupation
- 1944–1945Detained after the liberation, then released