Paul Jules Henri Saint-Martin (4 September 1901 – 15 June 1940) was a French politician, teacher, and activist. A member of

SFIO The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...

, he was elected in 1936 to represent

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

's 1st constituency in 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 ...

. He joined the air force at the start of the

Second World War 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 ...

and died in a training accident in 1940.

Life

Born in 1901 in

Simorre Simorre (; oc, Cimòrra) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territ ...

, Saint-Martin worked as a teacher and served as the assistant treasurer for the Gers section of the National Teachers' Union in 1922. He campaigned in the 1920s for SFIO. Saint-Martin ran for the borough council of

Lombez Lombez ( or ; oc, Lombèrs) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and terr ...

in 1928 and for the general council in 1931. In 1934, he became the leader of the socialist movement in Gers after the previous leader's dismissal. Under Saint-Martin's leadership, the SFIO gained wider influence in the area. Saint-Martin was elected deputy for the 1st constituency of Gers on 3 May 1936 with of the vote. In the assembly, he promoted two bills relating to the provisions of military recruitment and the organization of the army reserves. In February 1939, Saint-Martin defended producers during a debate on the price of wheat. When the

began, Saint-Martin was mobilized for the ballooning section of 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; ...

and given the rank of

second 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 ...

. He became an observer and was sent to train on bombers in Toulouse. On 15 June 1940, on his final training flight before deployment, Saint-Martin was killed in a crash. He was 38 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Martin, Paul 1901 births 1940 deaths People from Gers French Section of the Workers' International politicians Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Gers French activists 20th-century French educators French Air Force personnel of World War II French military personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1940