Paul Rivière (22 November 191215 December 1998) was a French

Resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

and politician. He joined the Resistance from 1941, took part in the

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and

Algeria 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 ...

Biography

Early life

Paul Rivière was born in Montagny in the

Loire department Loire (; ; frp, Lêre; oc, Léger or ''Leir'') is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France occupying the river Loire's upper reaches. Its prefecture is Saint-Étienne. It had a population of 765,634 in 2019.

in central

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 ...

Resistance activities

In 1939, he was called up as an instructor for Cadets de Saumur. He was injured during the fighting for Pont de Gennes, then demobilised and returned to his position as literatur professor in the Saint-Joseph Jesuit Day School in Lyon. In late February 1941, Father Chaillet, Jesuit in Lyon, put him in touch with Henri Frenay and

Berty Albrecht Berty Albrecht (15 February 1893 – 31 May 1943) was a French feminist and Resistance martyr. Life Albrecht was born Berthe Wild in Marseilles on 15 February 1893 to a middle-class Protestant family. She married the Dutch banker Frédéric Alb ...

and he became involved with the French resistance. In early 1942, he abandoned propaganda for action and became liaison officer for

Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and resistant who served as the first President of the National Council of the Resistance during World War II from 27 May 1943 until his death less than two months l ...

, General

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 representative in France and the leader of the internal Resistance. After a first airdrop, he was arrested and detained four months by

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 ...

police. Upon his release, he continued his mission clandestinely until the end of War. With Mouvements unis de la Résistance (MUR), he was deeply involved in the organization of the radio transmission services and covert air operations for Southern France. After the Jean Moulin arrest in Caluire, he was ordered by the Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action to reorganize the Landing-Airdrop Section (in French "Section Atterrissages-Parachutages" or SAP). He controlled SAP until the end of War and was Head of Operations for the Rhône-Alpes Region where he organized the most important covert landing and airdrop operations : several hundred of tons of weapons and equipment and millions of French francs were so routed to the French resistance. He also organized the transfer of numerous personalities and agents between France and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

: General

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952. As ...

Vincent Auriol Vincent Jules Auriol (; 27 August 1884 – 1 January 1966) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1947 to 1954. Early life and politics Auriol was born in Revel, Haute-Garonne, as the only child of Jacques Antoine Aurio ...

, Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie,

Jacques Chaban-Delmas Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d� ...

Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury Maurice Jean Marie Bourgès-Maunoury (; 19 August 1914 – 10 February 1993) was a French Radical politician who served as the Prime Minister in the Fourth Republic during 1957. Bourgès-Maunoury was born in Luisant, Eure-et-Loir. He is famo ...

François de Menthon Count François de Menthon (8 January 1900 – 2 June 1984) was a French politician and professor of law. Early and private life Menthon was born in Montmirey-la-Ville in Jura (department), Jura. He was a son of an old noble family from Menthon- ...

, Henri Frenay,

Daniel Mayer Daniel Raphaël Mayer (29 April 1909 – 29 December 1996) was a French politician and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) and president of the ''Ligue des droits de l'homme'' (LDH, Human Rights League) from 1958 ...

, Christian Pineau,

Lucie Lucie is the French and Czech form of the female name Lucia. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Lucie Ahl, British tennis player * Lucie Arnaz, American actress * Lucie Aubrac, member of the French Resistance * Lucie Balthaz ...

and Raymond Aubrac.

After the war

He joined the military service in 1947 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was Inspector General of the French Armed Forces, then he was sent to

for two years in 1953, to

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

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 ...

in 1955 then in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

in 1956. From December 1956 to 1959, he was Military Attache in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, then security adviser in Algeria until Évian Accords. From November 1962 until 1978, he was member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, deputy of the Loire department from 1962 to 1978 and mayor of Montagny, Loire until 1983. During the same period, he sat on the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

. He died on 15 December 1998 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and was buried in Montagny.

Pseudonyms during French resistance

* François * Charles-Henri * Sif bis * Galvani * Marquis

Military honours

* Commander of the Legion of Honour *

Order of Liberation The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour ...

* War Cross 1939–1945 (6 citations) *

Cross for Military Valour The Cross for Military Valour (french: Croix de la Valeur Militaire) is a military decoration of France. It recognises an individual bestowed a Mention in Dispatches earned for showing valour in presence of an enemy, in theatres of operations wh ...

(3 citations) *

Medal of the Resistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

with Officer rosette * Colonial Medal with clasp "Far East" * Cross of the Volunteer Combatant of the Resistance *

Escapees' Medal The Escapees' Medal (french: Médaille des Évadés) is a military award bestowed by the government of France to individuals who were prisoners of war and who successfully escaped internment or died as a result of their escape attempt. The "Escap ...

* Officer of the Most Excellent

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

Order of the Crown (Belgium) The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national order of the Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 1897 by King Leopold II * ...

(Officer) * War Cross (Belgium) with Palm * Czechoslovak War Cross * Cross for Military Valour (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

)

References

Bibliography

Hugh Verity Hugh Verity, (6 April 1918 – 14 November 2001) was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and later a "special duties" squadron pilot working with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. He landed many times at clandestine airfiel ...

, "''We landed by moonlight''", Crécy publishing limited, 2000 * Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation, "''Fonds d'archives Geneviève et Paul Rivière" – Les opérations aériennes (atterrissages, parachutages) en zone sud. 1941 - 1944'', Les grands fonds d'archives du CHRD, N°1. * Noguères Henri, Degliame-Fouche Marcel, Vigier Jean-Louis, ''Histoire de la Résistance en France de 1940 à 1945'', 5 vol, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1967-1981. * Vistel Alban, ''La nuit sans ombre. Histoire des mouvements unis de résistance, leur rôle dans la libération du sud-est'', Paris, Fayard, 1970. * All the personal archives of Paul et Geneviève Rivière are freely accessible in the Center for the History of the Resistance and Deportation in Lyon, France.

External links

Résistance Foundation Website

Center for the History of the Resistance and Deportation Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riviere, Paul 1912 births 1998 deaths People from Loire (department) Politicians from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Democratic Union of Labour politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 5th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military personnel of the Algerian War Companions of the Liberation Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross