Jacques Pâris de Bollardière (16 December 190722 February 1986) was a
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
general, famous for his advocacy of
non-violence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
during the 1960s.
Biography
Early life
Bollardière was born in 1907 in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, into a family with a tradition of military service, particularly in the
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...
: he was part of the fourth generation of his family to enlist, alongside his brother, who was killed in the
Rif War after their father had moved the family to
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 ...
in 1916. In 1927, Jacques enrolled at the Military Academy of
Saint-Cyr;
he graduated in 1930 and due to insubordination, it was only with the rank of sergeant. (Saint-Cyr cadets normally graduate as commissioned officers, with the rank of sous-lieutenant). He disliked the authoritarianism he encountered at Saint-Cyr: he later considered this attitude to be key to his decision to join 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 ...
whilst many of his former classmates served
Vichy France
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
.
He was quickly promoted to
sous-lieutenant and to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
in 1932.
He joined the
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
in February 1935 and was posted to Algeria until 1940.
Second World War
In February 1940, Bollardière was assigned to the
13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade
) and veteran foreign regiments (french: Anciens régiment étranger, link=no) of the Legion, in case of the CEPs, BEPs & REPs, the context reference is referring to the paratrooper veterans (french: Anciens legionnaires parachutistes, link=no) ...
, and promoted to captain. He took part in the
Battles of Narvik, and was back in Brest on the 13th of June. Seeing the debacle of the French armies, he crossed the Channel on a fishing boat and was among the first to join
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
(the
momentous rallying call that founded the
Fighting French was broadcast on the 18th of that month); the
Vichy regime
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
sentenced him to death.
Bollardière fought in Gabon, and in Eritrea during the
East African Campaign. Leading a 90-man strong party, he managed to seize and occupy an Italian fort in
Massawa
Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak ...
, taking over 300 prisoners. He was made a
Compagnon de la Libération for this action.
Promoted to
commandant (Major) in 1941, he took part in the capture of Damascus that summer. The following year, he took part in the
Battle of Bir Hakeim, and the
First Battle of El Alamein. He was severely wounded by a mine.
In October 1943, he volunteered for Special Forces training and was put on a parachute-training course. On 12 April 1944, Bollardière was parachuted in France to take a command of 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
Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
(''Maquis des Manises''), under the ''nom de guerre'' "Prisme". His maquis units engaged German troops and sustained heavy casualties, but made a successful link with the advancing Allied ground forces. In September 1944, Bollardière returned to England.
He was then posted to the Airborne Forces and joined the "Red Berets" of the 3e ''Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes'' (Parachute Light Infantry), which was part of the
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
Brigade. He parachuted into Holland, subsequently making his way to Germany following their defeat in 1945.
Indochina war
Bollardière was in command of a paratrooper
demi-brigade
A ''demi-brigade'' ( en, Half-brigade) is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The ''Demi-brigade'' amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single ...
at the outbreak of the
First Indochina War. He took part in commando actions in Laos, Cambodia and Tonkin. He subsequently said that having initially understood the Indochina War as an action to restore legitimate French rule in the area after the
Japanese occupation, he came to draw parallels between the anti-colonialist forces he was fighting against and the ''maquis'' group he led during the Second World War.
Algerian War
From October 1953, Bollardière taught paratrooper strategy and tactics at the Paris ''École de Guerre'', the prestigious school for staff officers.
At the outbreak of the
Algerian War
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
, in July 1956, Bollardière was put in command of two brigades in the Algerian
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...
. He was promoted to
général de brigade in December, becoming the youngest general of the French army of the time. His philosophy of "pacification" was significantly different from that of the violent counterinsurgency strategy used by the bulk of French forces, instead attempting to built relationships between the ''
Pied-Noirs'' and the
Arab-Berber
Arab-Berbers ( ar, العرب والبربر ''al-ʿarab wa-l-barbar'') are a population of the Maghreb, a vast region of North Africa in the western part of the Arab world along the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Arab-Berbers are peop ...
population, eschewing
racial profiling of indigenous people, and initiating work projects to benefit the local community. This distinct approach was noticed by opposing forces: Mohammed Lebjaoui, a member of the
National Council of the Algerian Revolution
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, later said that for him and other leaders in the
National Liberation Front, "General de Bollardière always represented in the fight, as an enemy, the honor of the French uniform and flag. He was the only general in the French army in Algeria who compelled and deserved our respect".
In opposition to government policy regarding usage of
torture among French units, after the escalation in the violation of human rights during the
Battle of Algiers, Bollardière requested to be relieved of command,
and returned to France in January 1957. He was sentenced to 60 days of fortress arrest at
La Courneuve for "bringing the army into disrepute" by publicly supporting ''
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 ...
'' editor
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber's coverage of the war.
The only military officer to support him was captain
Pierre Dabezies (1925–2002), a
left-wing Gaullist who would later lead the
11e Choc elite troop and get close to the socialist
.
Jean Guisnel
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Je ...
, "Jacques Pâris de Bollardière, portrait d'un général en honnête-homme", pp.47-49 in ''Histoire secrète de la Ve République'' (dir. Roger Faligot and Jean Guisnel
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Je ...
), La Découverte, 2006, 2007 Bollardière was later assigned to
French Equatorial Africa and
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 ...
.
He resigned from the Army after the
Algiers putsch
The Algiers putsch (french: Putsch d'Alger or ), also known as the Generals' putsch (''Putsch des généraux''), was a failed coup d'état intended to force President of France, French President Charles de Gaulle not to abandon French Algeria, ...
, as he was not able to obtain a command in Algeria.
Retirement and pacifist activism
![Lanza muller bolardiere](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Lanza_muller_bolardiere.jpg)
After his withdrawal from active service, Bollardière retired to his native Brittany, joining a naval construction firm in
Lorient. After initially taking to his new work with enthusiasm, he quickly became disillusioned after witnessing
the alienation of workers' labour, noting that whilst hierarchies in the army had not presented a barrier to good relationships between men of different ranks, in the industrial workplace relations between workers and management were characterised by
class conflict
Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor.
The forms ...
. He was driven to study this topic, drawing on
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state (polity), state, subsidiarity, social o ...
to consider how this could be remedied. However, despite attempts at reforming workplace relations, he left after two and a half years, convinced that the industrial environment was inherently dehumanising.
Bollardière became a
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
after a talk by the writer
Jean-Marie Muller in
Lorient, on 23 October 1970. He subsequently co-founded the
Movement for a Non-Violent Alternative, an organisation promoting the principles of non-violence. He was president of the association ''Logement et Promotion Sociale'' between 1968 and 1978, focusing on public housing with a particular concentration on immigrants from southern Europe and Africa. He was also involved in adult education and the
Breton regionalist movement, believing that the decline of Breton culture and the area's economic underdevelopment were both linked to the centralisation of the French state.
In July 1973, he was arrested by the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
during protests against
nuclear trials in
Mururoa
Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll i ...
, along with journalist
Brice Lalonde
Brice Lalonde (; born 10 February 1946) is a former green party leader in France, who ran for President of France in the Presidential elections, 1981. In 1988 he was named Minister of the Environment, and in 1990 founded the green Ecology Gener ...
, priest
Jean Toulat and Jean-Marie Muller.
[ The ]Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
, then headed by Georges Pompidou, removed him from the army as a disciplinary measure and gave him a pension - up to this point, he had still formally been a general, albeit not serving. The group responded to their detention by going on hunger strike: after five days, Bollardière started suffering from hypertension and was moved to hospital for treatment. Following the incident he returned his 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, ...
to the French government in protest. He was also a supporter of the successful Fight for the Larzac
The Fight for the Larzac refers to a non-violent civil disobedience action by farmers resisting the extension of a military base on the Larzac plateau in South Western France. The action lasted from 1971 to 1981 and ended in victory for the resis ...
, which protested against the expansion of a French army camp on the Larzac
The Larzac, also known as the Causse of Larzac (French: ''Causse du Larzac''), is a limestone karst plateau in the south of the Massif Central, France, situated between Millau (in the département of l'Aveyron) and Lodève (in the départem ...
plateau, a project which was cancelled by 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 ...
when he was elected President of France in 1981.
Jacques Paris Bollardière died on 22 February 1986 at his residence Vieux-Talhouët and was buried in Vannes
Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago.
History Celtic Era
The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who lived ...
, Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
.
Honours
* Grand officer of the Légion d'honneur
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 ...
* Companion of the Liberation (23 June 1941)
* Croix de guerre 1939-1945
Croix (French for "cross") may refer to:
Belgium
* Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut
France
* Croix, Nord, in the Nord department
* Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...
(5 mentions in despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
)
* Croix de Guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures
The ''Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieurs'' (War Cross for foreign operational theatres), also called the ''Croix de Guerre TOE'' for short, is a French military award denoting citations earned in combat in foreign countri ...
with palm
* Médaille de la Résistance
* 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 ...
(Belgium)
* Officer of the Order of the Crown with palm (Belgium)
* Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
and Bar (UK)
References
Further reading
Aussaresses, General Paul, ''The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Algeria, 1955-1957''. (New York: Enigma Books, 2010) .
Notes
* A homonymous Jacques Pâris de Bollardière, General of Division
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...
, has been director of the National Service since September 2004.
External links
*
Ordre de la Libération
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bollardiere, Jacques Paris De
1907 births
1986 deaths
Autonomism
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Companions of the Liberation
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni
French generals
French military personnel of World War II
Free French military personnel of World War II
French military personnel of the First Indochina War
French military personnel of the Algerian War
French pacifists
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
People from Châteaubriant
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)
Recipients of the Resistance Medal
Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)
Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures
Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion