Morvan Lebesque (January 11, 1911 in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

– 4 July 1970 in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

), was the

Breton language Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...

name of Maurice Lebesque, a

Breton nationalist Breton nationalism (Breton: ''roadelouriezh Brezhoneg'', French: ''nationalisme Breton'') is a form of regional nationalism associated with the region of Brittany in France. The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire ...

activist and French journalist. Lebesque was born in

, at the Quai Barbin (now dock Barbusse), and had his secondary education in Clemenceau High School. In 1930, he was editor-in-chief at the Loire Echo. Responsible for the Nantes branch of the

Breton Autonomist Party The Breton Autonomist Party (french: Parti Autonomiste Breton or PAB, br, Strollad Emrenerien Vreiz) was a political party which existed in Brittany from 1927 to 1931. Origin The party was created at the first congress of the nationalist journal ' ...

(Parti Autonomiste Breton), Lebesque left the latter in 1931 and founded, with

Théophile Jeusset Théophile Jeusset (25 April 1910 – 14 May 1968) was a Breton nationalist writer and fascist political activist. He is also known by his Breton language pseudonym Jean-Yves Keraudren. Born in Rennes, Jeusset adopted militant Breton nationali ...

, the more extremist movement

Breiz da Zont Breiz da Zont (Brittany of the Future), was a Breton nationalist periodical active during the 1930s. It was affiliated to an extremist offshoot of the Breton Autonomist Party. Initially, Breiz da Zont was the organ of the nationalist grouping know ...

, and its political wing, the ''Parti Nationaliste Breton Intégral''. During the German occupation of France in

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 ...

, he worked for the collaborationist newspaper ''

L'Heure Bretonne ''L'Heure Bretonne'' ("The Breton Times") was a Breton nationalist weekly newspaper which was published from June 1940 to June 1944. It was the organ of the Breton National Party and was strongly associated with collaborationist politics during Wor ...

'', then for various journals in Paris, where he met and befriended

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

and

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

. In 1952, Lebesque joined the satirical journal

Le Canard Enchaîné (; English: "The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper", as is French slang meaning "newspaper") is a satirical weekly newspaper in France. Its headquarters is in Paris. Founded in 1915 during World War I, it features investigative journalism a ...

, for which he wrote a popular column, modelling his style on

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

, with whom he became a close friend, and of whom he would later publish a biography. He eventually became an editor of the journal. After 1966, Lebesque also participated in the Breton autonomist revue ''Ar Vro''.

Selected works

* ''Un héros de la liberté, Krüger le lion'', P., Sorlot, 1941. * ''Jacques Cartier, découvreur de la Nouvelle France'', P., éd. Denoël, 1942. * ''Soldats sans espoir'', P., Laffont, 1947. * ''La Loi et le Système''. P., Le Seuil, coll. L'Histoire immédiate. * ''Premières chroniques du Canard'', P., Pauvert, 1960. * ''Albert Camus par lui-même'', P., Le Seuil, coll. Écrivains de toujours, 1963. ** published in English as ''Portrait of Camus: an illustrated biography'', Herder and Herder, ew York

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...

* ''La Télévision entre les lignes,'' P., Casterman, 1967. * ''Chroniques du Canard'', P., Laffont, coll. Libertés, 1968. * ''Comment peut-on être Breton ? Essai sur la démocratie française'' ; Le Seuil, coll. L'Histoire immédiate, 1970.

Bibliography

* ''Morvan Lebesgue au Canard Enchaîné'' by Yann Férec, June 1997,

Université de Bretagne Occidentale The University of Western Brittany (french: Université de Bretagne-Occidentale; UBO) is a French university, located in Brest, in the Academy of Rennes. On a national scale, in terms of graduate employability, the university oscillates between 1 ...

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

, Masters Dissertation in Modern, 19th century History {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebesgue, Morvan Breton nationalists Writers from Brittany Writers from Nantes 1970 deaths 1911 births French male writers 20th-century French male writers