Brigitte Gros (12 June 1925 – 11 March 1985) was a French journalist and politician. She served as the mayor of
Meulan-en-Yvelines
Meulan-en-Yvelines (; formerly just ''Meulan'') is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It hosted part of the sailing events for the 1900 Summer Olympics held in neighboring Paris, and would ...
and as a member of the
French Senate
The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 34 ...
. She was the author of several books.
Early life
Brigitte Gros was born as Brigitte Servan-Schreiber on 12 June 1925 in
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris.
Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...
, France. Her father, Émile Servan-Schreiber, was a Jewish author. Her mother, Denise Brésard, was Roman Catholic.
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 ...
, she joined the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
and served in the
maquis
Maquis may refer to:
Resistance groups
* Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance
* Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War
* The network ...
of
Ain
Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...
under Léo Hamon. However, she was arrested and tortured by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
on 15 August 1944. During the liberation of France, she served under General
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952.
As ...
. She was a recipient of the
Croix de Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...
for her service.
Career
Gros first worked as a journalist for '' Les Échos'' and ''
Paris-Presse
''Paris-Presse'' was a French newspaper published in Paris between 1944 and 1970.
It was created by Philippe Barres (1896-1975), with Ève Curie (1904-2007), daughter of Marie Curie. They ran the newspaper until 1949.Claude Bellanger, ''Histoire ...
''. She joined ''
L'Express
''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''.
History ...
'' in 1955. She published her first novel in 1960.
Gros was elected to the city council of
Meulan
Meulan-en-Yvelines (; formerly just ''Meulan'') is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It hosted part of the sailing events for the 1900 Summer Olympics held in neighboring Paris, and would d ...
in 1965. She served as its mayor from 1966 to 1985. During her tenure, she oversaw the construction of the Paradis neighbourhood and the Henri-IV Hospital in Meulan.
Gros served as a member of the
French Senate
The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 34 ...
from 1977 to 1985. During her tenure, she worked on policies to support low-income housing known as
HLM
An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies.
HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France. Additionally, she argued that each French family should be able to own a house. Meanwhile, she authored a report in favour of the establishment of the
Solidarity tax on wealth The solidarity tax on wealth (french: Impôt de solidarité sur la fortune or ISF) was an annual direct wealth tax on those in France having assets in excess of €1,300,000 (since 2011).
in 1980 (implemented in 1981). She also voted in favour of abortion and looser divorce regulations as well as the repeal of the death penalty.
Personal life, death and legacy
She married Emeric Gros; they had four children, Olivier, France, François and Catherine.
Gros died on 11 March 1985 in
Meulan-en-Yvelines
Meulan-en-Yvelines (; formerly just ''Meulan'') is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It hosted part of the sailing events for the 1900 Summer Olympics held in neighboring Paris, and would ...
, France. The ''Place Brigitte-Gros'', a town square, and the ''Centre Brigitte Gros'', a hospital, both of which are based in Meulan, are named in her memory. Meanwhile, a ceremony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of her death was held in Meulan on 13 February 2016.