Alain Henry Hervé Joseph Le Léap (29 September 1905 – 26 December 1986) was a French trade union leader.

Biography

Born in

Lanmeur Lanmeur (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. A hamlet in the commune called Kerouac () has been established as the source of the name of the American writer Jack Kerouac. A street in Lanmeur has be ...

, Le Léap studied law in Rennes. He began teaching at a boarding school, and founded a union branch there. In 1928, he became a tax inspector, and joined the relevant union, an affiliate of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). From 1938, he worked in the union's office, and in 1939, he was elected as its general secretary. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Le Léap helped to rebuild the Civil Servants' Federation, becoming its general secretary in 1946, in which role he began working with members of the

Communist Party of France The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

(PCF). After the liberation of France, he was appointed as the commissioner of the

National Council of Resistance The National Council of the Resistance (also, National Resistance Council; in French: ''Conseil National de la Résistance'' (CNR), was the body that directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance: the press, trade unio ...

to the

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, and from 1947 until 1950, he served on the Economic Council. The CGT suffered a major split in 1947, with many non-communists leaving, but Le Léap remained loyal to the federation. In January 1948, he was appointed as general secretary of the CGT, serving alongside

Benoît Frachon Benoît Frachon (13 May 1893 – 1 August 1975) was a French metalworker and trade union leader who was one of the leaders of the French Communist Party (''Parti communiste français'', PCF) and of the French Resistance during World War II (1939– ...

, and also became a vice president of the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

. In 1952, Le Léap participated in demonstrations against a visit by American general

Matthew Ridgway General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Altho ...

to Paris. He was arrested on charges of demoralising the army, and spent ten months in prison. The year after his release, he was awarded the

Stalin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (russian: международная Ленинская премия мира, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a pane ...

. Le Léap opposed the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

in 1956, and persuaded the CGT not to take a position on it. The stress of this damaged his mental health, and he did not attend the CGT's congress the following year. He was, nonetheless, re-elected as its general secretary, but resigned in September 1957. In 1971, Le Léap was elected as a local councillor in

Le Pradet Le Pradet (; oc, Lo Pradet) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Olive oil, vegetables and wine grape (including rare Tibouren variety used for rose wine) are produced in the lo ...

, on the communist list, despite not being a party member. He later joined the PCF, serving as mayor from 1977 to 1979, and as a councillor until 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Léap, Alain 1905 births 1986 deaths French Communist Party politicians French Resistance members French trade union leaders Recipients of the Lenin Peace Prize Mayors of places in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur