François Labrousse (29 December 1878,

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 7 ...

– 27 November 1951, Brive-la-Gaillarde) was a French politician and member of the

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

Biography

He was a doctor, specializing in psychiatry, and often served as an expert witness at the Court of Appeal of Paris. In 1921, he was elected a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the Department of Corrèze; a position that was held by his father, , from 1894 to 1910. Known for his oratorical skills, he was aligned with the , and was involved with most of that period's controversial issues; notably the

Locarno Treaties The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, during 5 to 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 1 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of Central an ...

and the Kellogg-Briand Pact. At Vichy, in 1940, he helped to rally a group of veteran Senators, in their vain attempts to oppose the constitutional changes being made. His vote was one of the eighty cast against giving full powers to Marshal Pétain. As a result, he was placed under surveillance by the Vichy Régime. In 1941, while back in his hometown, the Régime accused him of holding a high position with the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Shortly after, he resigned his office and joined the Resistance. Following the invasion of the zone libre by German troops, he became a special target for the Gestapo, forcing him, at the age of sixty-five, to join 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 ...

. In 1944, after the fall of the Vichy government, he was elected to the Provisional Consultative Assembly as a Deputy for Corrèze. He briefly served as its Vice-President. That same year, as an amateur artist, he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts; taking Seat #5 in the "Unattached" section. As a member of the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance, he represented the commune of Donzenac from 1945 until his death.

References

Biographical notes and references
from the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques @ La France Savante

External links

@ the French Senate website {{DEFAULTSORT:Labrousse, Francois 1878 births 1951 deaths People from Brive-la-Gaillarde Radical Party (France) politicians Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance politicians French senators of the Third Republic Members of the Provisional Consultative Assembly French senators of the Fourth Republic Senators of Corrèze French Freemasons Members of the Académie des beaux-arts French military personnel of World War I The Vichy 80 French Resistance members Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Resistance Medal