Louis André Saillant (27 November 1910 – 28 October 1974) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

trade unionist and resistance fighter. Born in Valance, Saillant worked as a cabinet maker. He became active in the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), becoming secretary of its Building and Woodworkers' Federation. In 1940, the

Vichy government 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 ...

outlawed trade unions, but the CGT continued, illegally, in support of 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 ...

. Saillant was a signatory to the ''Manifesto of the Twelve'', in which twelve leading trade unionists publicly opposed Vichy policy, and was also active in

Libération-Nord ''Libération-Nord'' ("Liberation-North") was one of the principal resistance movements in the northern occupied zone of France during the Second World War. It was one of the eight great networks making up the National Council of the Resistance. ...

. In 1943, the CGT was a founding element of the

National Council of the Resistance The National Council of the Resistance (also, National Resistance Council; in French: ''Conseil National de la Résistance'' (CNR), was the body that directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance: the press, trade unio ...

(CNR), and Saillant became its delegate to the CNR, taking over as chair of the resistance in 1944. After

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 opposin ...

, Saillant was elected as the general secretary of the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

(WFTU). When the right-wing split away from the CGT, he supported the generally communist majority, but thereafter devoted his time to the WFTU. Saillant denounced the

1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

. He resigned as leader of the WFTU shortly afterwards, blaming health problems, and was instead made honorary president of the federation. He was also president of the

World Peace Movement In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

, and won the Lenin Prize.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saillant, Louis 1910 births 1974 deaths French trade unionists French Resistance members