Angèle Chevrin (; 1911–1998) was a French communist politician from

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

Biography

Angèle Giacomoni was born into a family of farmers in

Bocognano Bocognano (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune located in the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, on the island of Corsica, France. The village, situated at the south-western side of the climb to the Col de Vizzavona, belongs ...

, on 1 July 1911. After graduating from school, she moved to the Corsican capital of

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

, where she worked for the public treasury and joined the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

(PCF). In 1935, she moved to the

11th arrondissement of Paris The 11th arrondissement of Paris (''XIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is referred to as ''le onzième'' (; "the eleventh"). The ar ...

, where she became the secretary of the local PCF cell. In February 1938, she married fellow communist activist Louis Chevrin and moved to his hometown of

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, where she began training in

pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating fireworks, but also includes safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts (and other fasteners), parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, q ...

. During the

Nazi occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, the Chevrin couple joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

and conducted

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

actions in

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

. On 3 April 1943, the couple were arrested in Bourges. They were transferred to a prison in

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Union des femmes françaises ("Women in solidarity") is a French feminist association in France, founded during the Second World War under the name Union des femmes françaises (UFF). The movement works for the defense and advancement of women's rights, gender equality, ...

(UFF). Following the

Liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

, in October 1944, Chevrin returned to Cher, where she took the post of national secretary of the UFF and joined the federal committee of the PCF. She was elected to the Bourges town council and ran unsuccessfully in the legislative elections of October 1945 and June 1946. In 1947, she moved back to Paris, where she enrolled in the PCF's cadre school. In March 1950, she replaced as the PCF

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

for Cher in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, where she sat on the committees for communications, tourism and pensions. On 30 January 1951, she motioned for an interpellation on the dissolution of the

Women's International Democratic Federation The Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) is an international women's rights organization. Established in 1945, it was most active during the Cold War when, according to historian Francisca de Haan, it was "the largest and probably ...

; on 26 April, she tabled a bill to abolish taxes on basic necessities; and on 7 May, she voted against an electoral reform bill that introduced a system of

apparentment Apparentment is the name given to the system, sometimes provided for in elections conducted according to the party-list proportional representation system, which allows parties to specify electoral alliances. The system has been used in Switze ...

s. She ran for re-election in the

1951 French legislative election Legislative elections were held in France on 17 June 1951 to elect the second National Assembly of the Fourth Republic. After the Second World War, the three parties which took a major part in the French Resistance to the German occupation dom ...

, but despite winning 48,708 out of 138,021 votes, she was not elected; as a result of the apparentment system, she lost the election to two right-wing candidates, despite winning more votes than both combined. She ultimately decided not to stand again in the 1956 election. In April 1953, she married , a veteran of the Corsican Resistance and a PCF deputy for Corsica. She died in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, on 26 November 1998.

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Biography

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