Guy Crescent (10 June 1920 – 16 October 1996) was a French businessman. He was president of the company from 1963 to 1985, and of
football club
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
in 1971, which he helped create a year prior.
Biography
Early life
Guy Crescent was born on 10 June 1920 in Paris. He was diagnosed with
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
at the age of three months.
He completed eight years of
mecanotherapy and
rehabilitation at a very high level to be able to walk for the first time at the age of twelve.
Education and World War II
Crescent completed his secondary schooling at the
Collège Stanislas de Paris and the
Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague
The Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague (Franklin), founded in 1894, is a highly selective Roman Catholic, Jesuit school in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It is regarded as the most prestigious French private school and has been ranked #1 lycée in ...
, and subsequently joined the
Paris Law Faculty
The Faculty of Law of Paris (french: Faculté de droit de Paris), called from the late 1950s to 1970 the Faculty of Law and Economics of Paris, is the second-oldest faculty of law in the world and one of the four and eventually five faculties ...
. His studies were interrupted by
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 opposing ...
. He eventually obtained the
Baccalauréat and a law degree.
Due to his disability, Crescent was exempt from military duties, but joined the in 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 ...
by February 1941. He completed missions in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, on behalf of the in September 1944 until June 1945, seconded to the
Third United States Army
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
.
Calberson
Crescent's professional activities were always carried out within the group. He entered the company successively as a truck oiler and a truck driver, before eventually being appointed as the technical and commercial director on 1 July 1950. Crescent was appointed as the president on 15 September 1963.
Guy Crescent retired in 1985, after 43 years of being in the company. He was then named Honorary President of Calberson.
Paris Saint-Germain and Paris FC
Crescent contributed to the revival of
football in Paris in 1970 by participating in the creation of
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As ...
(PSG).
Initially vice president from 1970 to 1971, he became president of the club in June 1971, a role in which he would stay for six months.
In 1970, he brought about the formation of PSG, with the help of some passionate industrialists like him (
Henri Patrelle and
Pierre-Étienne Guyot
Pierre-Étienne Guyot (21 May 1905 – 13 October 1985) was a French sports executive. He notably was president of the from 1970 to 1981, president of the Fédération Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse from 1972 to 1981, vice p ...
), and in conjunction with the
French Football Federation. The professional team was created, taking care of its young players, and participating in the national championship to support the new stadium, the
Parc des Princes, replacing the previous one that had to be destroyed for the penetration of the
Boulevard Périphérique
The Boulevard Périphérique (), often called the Périph', is a controlled-access dual-carriageway ring road in Paris, France. With a few exceptions (see '' Structure and Layout''), it is situated along Paris's administrative limit.
The sp ...
.
In 1971, while he was the president of PSG, Crescent was at the center of efforts to bring Brazilian footballer
Pelé to Paris. Crescent traveled to Brazil to engage in negotiations with Pelé's club
Santos, who were in need of money, but the move never materialized.
A documentary film titled ''PSG, ce club qui a failli ne pas exister'' () was made in 2016. It traced back the first four years of managing of the Parisian club which had never been told, especially by those who were involved in the adventure.
In 1972, PSG split into two. Crescent became the president of
Paris FC
Paris Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional football club based in Paris, that competes in the Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Paris FC play their home matches at the Stade C ...
, the newly re-formed club, from 1973 to 1975.
For the occasion of the 50th anniversary of PSG in 2020, the president of the club
Nasser Al-Khelaifi
Nasser bin Ghanim Al-Khelaifi ( ar, ناصر بن غانم الخليفي; born 12 November 1973) is a Qatari businessman and the chairman of beIN Media Group, chairman of Qatar Sports Investments, president of Paris Saint-Germain and the Qatar ...
along with the city of
Poissy
Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French.
Poissy is one ...
decided to pay tribute to Crescent by renaming a street near the new
Paris Saint-Germain Training Center
The Paris Saint-Germain Training Center, sometimes referred to as Campus PSG, located in Poissy, Paris Region, will be the new training ground and sports complex of Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. It will replace Camp des Loges — the cl ...
in honour of him.
Other activities
His entire life, Guy Crescent helped people with disabilities,
and was involved in numerous associative and humanitarian actions, particularly in the fight against cancer and the reintegration of former
drug addicts
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...
into the working world.
Notably, Crescent has been:
* Honorary President of
SOS Amitié
* president of the Bank of Life Cancer Research Association
* vice-president of the Foundation in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
* member of the
Rotary Club of Paris. As part of Rotary, he created
Rotaract
Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth program in 1968 aCharlotte North Rotary Clubin Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and has grown into a major organization of 10,680 (14 Sep 2022) clubs spread around the world and ...
in France, for young people aged 18 to 20.
Guy Crescent's associative life and humanitarian actions were influenced from the very beginning of his life, as he contracted polio at the age of three months, which had fully paralyzed his lower limbs.
At the age of four, Crescent benefited from a new method of polio treatment that had been invented by Dr. Nicod, a Swiss. It was called
mechanotherapy Mechanotherapy is a type of medical therapeutics in which treatment is given by manual or mechanical means. It was defined in 1890 as “the employment of mechanical means for the cure of disease”. Mechanotherapy employs mechanotransduction in or ...
. Crescent was first able to walk at the age of twelve, using heavy orthopedic devices. He simultaneously continued with his studies in this period of frenzied rehabilitation. Guy would not forget all those, like himself, that had been affected by this disease, and later in his life, he would go on to do several humanitarian actions.
From an early age, Crescent showed an attachment to sports, which he deemed for the handicapped an essential element of rehabilitation. In 1952, he would come under the aegis of
FFF President and the French Football Federation as a member of the commission of football advertising and development.
Crescent would bring his full support to the , for the development of applications and jobs in companies for people with polio. In the same year of 1952, he participated at the
Raymond Poincaré University Hospital (pavillon Letulle), taking care of
paraplegics
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
assigned there by Professor
Jean Benassy. Benassy would invent a jumpsuit which, after being put on the patient, would stiffen and allow the patient to go home before the arrival of social assistance. This would transform the lives of those concerned, who would no longer be in the same situation of total dependence.
Personal life
Crescent has a son named Bruno.
Honours
*
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
*
Ordre national du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...
* Officer of Order of Malta
*
Cross of the Resistance Volunteer Combatant
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
*
Combatant's Cross
The Combatant's Cross (french: "Croix du combattant") is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in combat for France. The Poilus (French combat soldiers) of World War I worked toward recognition by the govern ...
of Europe
* Gold medal of the Syndicats Professionnels
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crescent, Guy
1920 births
1996 deaths
20th-century French businesspeople
Businesspeople from Paris
Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
People with polio
French Resistance members
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Paris Saint-Germain F.C. presidents
French football chairmen and investors