Heir to the
Compagnie Fraissinet, Lieutenant (later Captain) Jean Alfred Fraissinet also served in the
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
during World War I, becoming a
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
credited with eight aerial victories. Postwar, he took the helm of his family's shipping line in 1927. He founded two newspapers and bought another. He also bought the ''Château Saint-Maur'' and transformed it into a winery. The capstone of his career came in 1958, when he was elected to his nation's National Assembly as a member of the
National Centre of Independents and Peasants
The National Centre of Independents and Peasants (''Centre National des Indépendants et Paysans'', CNIP) is a right-wing agrarian political party in France, founded in 1951 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents (the heir of the ...
.
Early life and ground service
Jean Alfred Fraissinet was born in the port city of Marseilles, France on 22 June 1894. When World War I began, he joined the ranks of the French military, being assigned to the 6th Hussar Regiment on 7 September 1914. On 6 November 1914, he was promoted to the enlisted rank of
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
. After promotion to
Maréchal-des-logis on 27 September 1915, he attended school at
Saumur
Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.
The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur statio ...
, beginning on 26 April 1916. On 1 August 1916, he was appointed an
Aspirant. He then reported to
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
for pilot training.
[''Over the Front'', p. 162.]
Aerial service in World War I
After a further transfer to
Chartres
Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...
on 3 September 1916, he received his military pilot's license on 4 November 1916. He underwent advanced training before posting to Escadrille N57 on 14 March 1917.
His commissioning as a temporary ''
sous lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 19 ...
'' followed on 17 August 1917. The following month, he began his victory string.
He won 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 ...
'' with five ''Palmes'' and an ''Etoile de bronze'' for his gallantry. On 24 September 1918, he was promoted to lieutenant. On 1 October 1918, Fraissinet and his wingman attacked a formation of 20 German two-seaters engaged in
trench strafing; Fraissinet set two of them aflame. This courageous feat was rewarded with 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 ...
on 9 November 1918.
List of aerial victories
See also
Aerial victory standards of World War I
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
After World War I
Fraissinet would not be discharged from military service until 7 October 1919.
In 1927, Jean Fraissinet replaced his father Alfred as head of the
Compagnie Fraissinet, the family's shipping firm. Fraissinet married Mathilde Cyprien-Fabre, who was the daughter of a prominent shipping family, Compagnie Française de Navigation à Vapeur Cyprien Fabre (
Fabre Line
The Fabre Line or Compagnie Francaise de Navigation a Vapeur Cyprien Fabre & Compagnie was a French shipping line formed in 1881 by Cyprian Fabre. It began operating a small fleet of sailing ships in 1865. Its ports of call included New York, NY; ...
). In 1930, the two shipping firms, as well as a third line, integrated operations to mutually increase their commercial competitiveness. The following year, Fraissinet established two newspapers–''Marseille-Soir'' and ''Marseille-Matin''.
[''Les Marseillais dans l'histoire: Volume 3 of Les Hommes dans l'histoire''. Pierre Guiral, Félix Reynaud. Privat, 1988. , . Vi]
Fraissinet (Shipping company, France)
''Flags of the World''. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
The threeway alliance of shipping companies lasted until 1935; then Fraissinet consolidated the Fabre Line and the Compagnie Fraissinet and abandoned the third company to its fate.
On 23 May 1937, he bought the historic ''Château Saint-Maur'' and its grounds from Sir Henry Laurens, the wealthy tobacconist. Fraissinet turned the property from its former agricultural uses of growing wheat, beets, and cotton into vineyards.
Château Saint-Maur. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
Fraissinet returned to his country's service in World War II, rising to the rank of captain. In January 1941, he was made a member of the National Council of 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 ...
. Following the war, in 1947 he bought another newspaper, '' Le Méridional''. In 1952, he merged it with ''Sud-Est'' and ''La France de Marseille''.
As a culmination of the right wing nationalist views he espoused in his newspapers, he was elected to the National Assembly of France
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
, as a member of the National Centre of Independents and Peasants
The National Centre of Independents and Peasants (''Centre National des Indépendants et Paysans'', CNIP) is a right-wing agrarian political party in France, founded in 1951 by the merger of the National Centre of Independents (the heir of the ...
party, on 30 November 1958.[Jean Fraissinet](_blank)
Assemblee Nationale. Retrieved 2011-11-01. Translation via Babelfish. Jean Fraissinet passed direction of the family concern to his son Roland. During Jean Fraissinet's four years in political office, he was a staunch advocate of retaining a French Algeria
French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...
, thus being opposed to 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 ...
's policies. Fraissinet's term ended on 9 October 1962; he was not re-elected.
The Fraissinet family shipping company docked its last ship in 1968, and withdrew entirely from the shipping business in 1974, ending 138 years of maritime service.
Jean Fraissinet died in 1981 leaving behind him three children (Roland Fraissinet, Regis Fraissinet, Nadine Patricot-Fraissinet) and eight grandchildren (Hadrien Fraissinet, Eric Fraissinet, Marc Fraissinet, Dora Fraissinet, Ines Fraissinet, Philippe Patricot, Chantal Patricot, Noel Patricot).
References
;Notes
;Citations
;Bibliography
* ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918'' Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. , .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraissinet, Jean Alfred
1894 births
1981 deaths
Politicians from Marseille
Military personnel from Marseille
French Calvinist and Reformed Christians
National Centre of Independents and Peasants politicians
Members of the National Council of Vichy France
Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic
Members of Parliament for Bouches-du-Rhône
French anti-communists
French World War I flying aces
French military personnel of World War II
Commanders of the Legion of Honour
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)