François de Grossouvre (29 March 1918 – 7 April 1994) was a French
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who was appointed in 1981 by the newly elected President
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
with the tasks of overseeing national security and other sensitive matters, particularly those concerning
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
,
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
, the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
countries, Pakistan and both
Koreas
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and Sout ...
. He was also in charge of the French branch of
Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that were organized by the Western Union (alliance), Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO and the CIA, in collaboration with several European Int ...
, the
stay-behind
In a stay-behind operation, a country places secret operatives or organizations in its own territory, for use in case an enemy occupies that territory. If this occurs, the operatives would then form the basis of a resistance movement or act as sp ...
paramilitary secret armies created by
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
[Grossouvre biography](_blank)
from Brian Crozier
Brian Rossiter Crozier (4 August 1918, in Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland – 4 August 2012) was a historian, propagandist and journalist. He was also one of the central staff members of a secret propaganda department belonging to the UK Fo ...
, ''Free Agent'', 1993, and Daniele Ganser, 'NATO's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that were organized by the Western Union (alliance), Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO and the CIA, in collaboration with several European Int ...
and Terrorism in Western Europe', Franck Cass, London, 2005 p. 90-91
He was found dead with gunshot wounds at the
Élysée Palace
The Élysée Palace (french: Palais de l'Élysée; ) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Completed in 1722, it was built for nobleman and army officer Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been appointed Gover ...
, the French President's official residence. The official verdict was suicide.
Early life
François de Grossouvre was born in an aristocratic family, the descendant of Jean-François Durand, seigneur de Grossouvre (1735–1832). His father, a banker, died in 1923 in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, where he resided. François de Grossouvre thereafter kept affective ties to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
. He then studied with the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in France and studied medicine.
During the
Second World War
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 ...
, he was posted as an auxiliary physician in a regiment of Moroccan ''
tirailleurs
A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French c ...
''. He then joined the ski troops in the
Vercors region. There, he met Captain Bousquet, who created one of the first units of the ''
Organisation de résistance de l'armée
The ''Organisation de résistance de l'armée'', ''O.R.A.'' (Fr: resistance organisation of the army) was a French paramilitary resistance organisation during the Second World War. It was created on 31 January 1943, following the November 1942 Ger ...
'' (ORA). He returned to Lyon, where he received his doctorate in 1942. Afterward, he became a doctor of the 11th regiment of ''
cuirassiers'', headed by Colonel Lormeau.
Grossouvre became a member of
Joseph Darnand
Joseph Darnand (19 March 1897 – 10 October 1945) was a French collaborator with Nazi Germany during World War II. A decorated soldier in the French Army of World War I and early World War II, he went on to become the organizer and ''de facto ...
's ''
Service d'ordre légionnaire'' (SOL), a
Vichyist militia. He left it in 1943 to fight in the Vercors and joined 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 the Chartreuse, near
Grenoble (code-name "Clober"). After the Liberation, he declared that he had in fact infiltrated the SOL on behalf of ORA.
Grossouvre was then recruited in 1950 by the French
SDECE intelligence agency to replace Gilbert Union, an official in Lyon who had worked with the military agency
BCRA.
Hebecame leader of ''Arc-en-Ciel'', the regional branch of
Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that were organized by the Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO and the CIA, in collaboration with several European intelligence agencies during ...
(
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
region),
stay-behind
In a stay-behind operation, a country places secret operatives or organizations in its own territory, for use in case an enemy occupies that territory. If this occurs, the operatives would then form the basis of a resistance movement or act as sp ...
anticommunist organizations during the Cold War started by NATO, under the codename "Monsieur Leduc".
According to the former SDECE agent Louis Mouchon, "His business, the A. Berger et Cie Sugar company, offered ample opportunities to stage fronts. He really had excellent contacts." According to his obituary in ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'',
"He was recruited into the French espionage service and helped to organise Gladio, an American backed plan to create an armed resistance movement in Western Europe against a Russian invasion."
He met
Pierre Mendès France during the war on a
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
, who would later introduce him to
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
.
Industrial activities
In 1943, he married Claudette Berger, the daughter of an industrialist, Antoine Berger, and had six children. Grossouvre managed his family-in-law's companies ''Le Bon Sucre'' (1944–1963) and ''A. Berger et Cie'' (1949–1963) and then founded the ''Générale Sucrière'' sugar company. Along with Italian collaborators, the businessman Gilbert Beaujolin and the American Alexandre Patty, he succeeded in obtaining an exclusive production licence for
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
and building the first factory of that type in France. Distribution was by the ''Société parisienne de boissons gazeuses'' and the ''Glacières de Paris'', both subsidiaries of
Pastis Pernod.
Besides his industrial activity, Grossouvre was counsellor for foreign trade of France (1952–1967) and vice-president of the ''Chambre de commerce franco-sarroise'' (1955–1962). He invested some capital in the 1953 creation of ''
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 ...
'' magazine and started a friendship with
Françoise Giroud and
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber. In the 1970s, he became the largest shareholder of ''
La Montagne'' and the ''
Journal du Centre'' regional dailies.
Relations with François Mitterrand
Grossouvre became a friend of Mitterrand during a trip to China in 1959, and participated in the ''Convention des institutions républicaines'' (CIR), a party created by Mitterrand in 1964 and dissolved at the 1971
Épinay Congress
The Epinay Congress was the third national congress of the French Socialist Party (''Parti socialiste'' or PS), which took place on 11, 12 and 13 June 1971, in the town of Épinay-sur-Seine, in the northern suburbs of Paris. During this congress, n ...
of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
(PS). He was part of the triumvirate which presided the ''
Fédération de la Gauche Démocrate Socialiste'' (FGDS), a party directed by Mitterrand, who entrusted him, among other things, with the negotiations with the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
(PCF). In 1974, Grossouvre became the
godfather of
Mazarine Pingeot
Mazarine Marie Pingeot (born 18 December 1974) who changed her name to Mazarine Marie Mitterrand Pingeot in November 2016, is a French writer, journalist and professor.
Biography
Pingeot is the daughter of former French president François Mi ...
, Mitterrand's daughter, whose existence was kept secret until the 1990s.
Grossouvre participated in all of Mitterrand's campaigns, from the
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
with the CIR, to the election of
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
(and
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
as well as
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
). He followed Mitterrand to the
Élysée Palace
The Élysée Palace (french: Palais de l'Élysée; ) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Completed in 1722, it was built for nobleman and army officer Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been appointed Gover ...
in 1981 and was appointed in June ''chargé de mission'' (operations manager) and then ''conseiller du président'' (counsellor of the president) of Mitterrand, who entrusted him with security and other sensitive matters, particularly those related to Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Gabon, the Gulf countries, Pakistan and the two Koreas. He travelled a lot, particularly to Arab countries, where he worked in the
arms trade. His relations with Lebanes President
Anine Gemayel
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
and Syrian President
Hafez el Assad enabled him to assist in the negotiations for French hostages in the mid-1980s.
[François de Grossouvre se donne la mort à l’Elysée](_blank)
''L'Humanité
''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist."
History and profile
Pre-World Wa ...
'', 8 April 1994 , Retrieved 10 August 2022
Grossouvre combined those functions with the presidency of the ''Comité des chasses présidentielles'' (Committee of Presidential Hunts), in charge of the hunting grounds of the presidency. He held that post until his death and used the grounds for informal meetings.
According to ''
Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'', the
sinking of the Rainbow Warrior on 10 July 1985 had been decided at a June meeting at the Elysée Palace, attended by Defence Minister
Charles Hernu
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
, Admiral Lacoste and Grossouvre
In July 1985, he officially ended his functions as adviser to the president, and worked as an international counsellor for the arms trader
Marcel Dassault in 1986.
He nevertheless kept his office at the Élysée, his flat on the
Quai Branly
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (moorings), berths ...
, a secretary, and bodyguards from the
GIGN
The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (suc ...
with the corresponding budget. However, he began to distance himself from Mitterrand and increasingly opposed Gilles Ménage, another advisor of Mitterrand. Grossouvre was nicknamed by some "l'homme de l'ombre" (the man of the shadow).
Suicide de François de Grossouvre
''L'Humanité
''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist."
History and profile
Pre-World Wa ...
'', 8 April 1994 [ French Ask If Suicide Was Message To Mitterrand](_blank)
''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', 12 April 1994
Death
Grossouvre "committed suicide" on 7 April 1994 with two bullets. His funeral took place on 11 April at the church of Saint-Pierre de Moulins (Allier
Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...
). Among the 400 persons assembled were President François Mitterrand; the former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel
Amine Pierre Gemayel ( ar, أمين بيار الجميٌل ; (born 22 January 1942) is a Lebanese Maronite politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988.
Born in Bikfaya, his father was Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the K ...
; diplomatic representatives from Morocco and Pakistan; and the former Socialist ministers Pierre Joxe
Pierre Joxe, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, KBE (; born 28 November 1934) is a former France, French Socialist Party (France), Socialist politician and has been a member of the Constitutional Council of Fran ...
, Louis Mexandeau, and René Souchon
René Souchon (born 12 March 1943 in Le Malzieu-Ville, Lozère) is the regional president of the French region of Auvergne. He was first elected in 2006. He is a member of the Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different politi ...
.
References
Bibliography
* ''Éminences grises'', de Roger Faligot et Rémi Kauffer, éd. Fayard, 1992.
* ''Les éminences grises'', de Christine Fauvet-Mycia, éd. Belfond, 1988.
* ''Guerres secrètes à l'Élysée'', du Capitaine Paul Barril Paul Barril (13 April 1946 in Vinay, Isère) is a former officer of the French ''Gendarmerie Nationale''. He authored several books about his military career, touching sensitive political subjects of the Mitterrand era.
Barril was a gendarme unt ...
, éd. Albin Michel, 1996.
* ''La Décennie Mitterrand'', Pierre Favier et Michel Martin-Roland, éd. du Seuil, tome 4, 1999
* ''Interlocuteur privilégié'', Daniel Gamba, J'ai lu, 2003
* ''Le grand secret'', de Claude Gubler et Michel Gonod, PLON, 1996.
* ''Le Point
''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and news magazine published in Paris.
History and profile
''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of '' L'Express'', w ...
'' du 5 avril 2002, N° 1542, page 15. 'auteur a récusé depuis toute idée d'assassinat* ''VSD'', 09-15 août 2001, pages 86–89.
* '' Historia'', février 2002, N° 662, pages 62–63.
* ''Who's Who in France
''Who's Who in France'' is a biographical dictionary published in France and written in French.
In France it is simply "le ''Who's Who''".
History
The first edition of ''Who's Who in France'' was published in 1953 by Jacques Lafitte.
In 197 ...
'', 24° Edition 1992–1993.
* ''Aucun témoin ne doit survivre, Le génocide au Rwanda'', d'Alison Des Forges, ed. Karthala, 1999. ropagande FPR* ''Le Cabinet noir, avec François de Grossouvre au coeur de l'Elysée de Mitterrand'', de Frédéric Laurent, éd. Albin Michel, novembre 2006.
* ''La Nouvelle Revue d'Histoire
''La Nouvelle Revue d'histoire'' was a bimonthly French history magazine that was published between 2002 and 2017.
History and profile
''La Nouvelle Revue d'histoire'' was established in July 2002 by Dominique Venner. The magazine has a right-wi ...
'', par Dominique Venner, janvier-février 2007, N° 28, pages 21–24.
External links
Archives
of ''Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossouvre, Francois De
1918 births
1994 suicides
Politicians from Vienne, Isère
Politicians of the French Fifth Republic
Operation Gladio
Suicides by firearm in France
French politicians who committed suicide
French military personnel of World War II