Paul Barrière was born on 8 June 1920 in

Espéraza Espéraza (; oc, Esperasan) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. It lies on the Aude just north of the foothills of the Pyrenees. Population History * The church was built during the 13th century. * One of the old pilgr ...

and died on 29 May 2008 in Biarritz, aged 88. He was president of the

Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII The French Rugby League Federation (french: Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII (FFR)) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in France. The Federation was formed during 1934 and since then has organised and governed th ...

from 1947 to 1955. Barrière played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for Espéraza in 1936 and Carcassonne. During

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 ...

, Barrière joined 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 ...

and operated in

Aude Aude (; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Ca ...

. Whilst in the resistance, he met French leaders of rugby league which had been banned by the collaborationist

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 ...

. After the war, Barrière, along with

Marcel Laborde Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...

who served as president of the French Rugby League between 1944 and 1947, worked to re-establish rugby league, which had been severely disrupted. Barrière became vice-president of the French Rugby League on 16 September 1944 at the Hotel Regina in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. He was elected president on 2 July 1947 at a meeting in

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

. Barrière was the driving force behind the agreement to create the

International Rugby League Board The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...

and to institute a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. When asked for his opinion on moves to name the World Cup trophy after him, Barrière refused the honour. Under Barrière, the French national team undertook its first tour of the southern hemisphere. From 1990 until 2004 Barrière organised the Festival de la Cite in Carcassonne for musical theatre. In 2008, Barrière was posthumously awarded the inaugural RLIF Spirit of Rugby League Award which was created to honour those deemed to have made a significant contribution to the sport during their lifetime. Barrière was survived by his wife, Jeanine, and her daughter, Babette. The Rugby League World Cup trophy was named the

Paul Barrière Trophy The Paul Barrière Trophy serves as the Rugby League World Cup, being awarded to the victorious team of each tournament's final. It is named after Paul Barrière, president of the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII from 1947 to 1955. Histor ...

, starting from the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barriere, Paul 1920 births French rugby league administrators French Resistance members 2008 deaths