Vichy police chief who negotiated with the occupier
On 2 July 1942, he agreed to place the French police at the occupier’s disposal for the arrest of Jews.
René Bousquet was a senior French civil servant who pursued Vichy police collaboration while presenting it as a defense of French administrative sovereignty. He negotiated with German security officials for room to operate a French police force, while supplying that force to the persecution and deportation of Jews. His decisions helped make the July 1942 Vélodrome d'Hiver roundup possible, after which he escaped the main force of the post-Liberation purge and returned to influential business and political circles.
Career Timeline
- 1930Gained national recognition for rescue work during the floods and received the Légion d’honneur
- 1931Chief of staff to Pierre Cathala at the Interior Ministry
- 1933Sub-prefect
- 1939–1942Prefect of the Marne and regional prefect
- 1942–1943Secretary-general of the Vichy police
- 1950년대–1993년Businessman and political influence broker in finance and the press