Raymond Marcellin (19 August 1914 in Sézanne, Marne – 8 September 2004) was a French politician. Raymond_Marcellin_1950

Biography

The son of a banker, he studied law at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

and the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. He worked as a lawyer for three years, before being called into the army in September 1939. He was captured by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

, but managed to escape and return to France. Thanks to Maurice Bouvier-Ajam, he found a position in the

Vichy regime 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 ...

. His job was to diffuse the ideas of the

Révolution nationale The ''Révolution nationale'' (, ''National Revolution'') was the official ideological program promoted by the Vichy regime (the “French State”) which had been established in July 1940 and led by Marshal Philippe Pétain. Pétain's regime wa ...

among youth and professional associations. He also taught at the University Jeune-France, a Vichy organization. For these services, he received the

Order of the Francisque The Order of the Gallic Francisque () is an order and medal which was awarded by the Vichy Regime, the Nazi-aligned government of France during World War II. The order was created by the ''arrêtés'' of 26 May 1941, the law of 16 May 1941 and ...

. Later, he joined the Résistance network Alliance of

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade Marie-Madeleine Fourcade (11 August 1909 – 20 July 1989) was the leader of the French Resistance network "Alliance", under the code name "Hérisson" ("Hedgehog") after the arrest of its former leader, Georges Loustaunau-Lacau (“Navarre”), d ...

and

Georges Loustaunau-Lacau Georges Loustaunau-Lacau (17 April 1894 – 11 February 1955) was a French army officer, anticommunist conspirator, resistant and politician. Loustaunau-Lacau was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and in 1912 began his studies at the French A ...

. After the Libération, he was a gaullist candidate to the 1946 election in the Morbihan. However, he did not join De Gaulle's RPF, and caucused with the independents. He initially supported the socialist governments of Léon Blum (December 1946) and

Paul Ramadier Paul Ramadier (17 March 1888 in La Rochelle – 14 October 1961 in Rodez) was a French statesman. Biography The son of a psychiatrist, Ramadier graduated in law from the University of Toulouse and started his profession as a lawyer in Par ...

(January 1947), but voted against them on the statute of

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

in autumn 1947. In 1948, he was vice-president of the ''Union démocratique des indépendants'' (democratic union of the independents). Starting 1949, He was both secretary general of ''Centre National des Indépendents'' caucus and adjoint general secretary of this party. On 11 September 1948 he was appointed under-secretary of the Interior under the socialist minister of the Interior

Jules Moch Jules Salvador Moch (15 March 1893, in Paris – 1 August 1985, in Cabris, Alpes-Maritimes) was a French politician. Biography Moch was born into a renowned French Jewish military family, the son of Captain Gaston Moch and Rébecca Alice Po ...

in the government formed by the radical Henri Queuille. On 29 October 1949, Raymond Marcellin was appointed Commerce and Industry under-secretary in the government of Georges Bidault. After the departure of the socialists from the government on 7 February 1950 he became Commerce and Industry secretary. He then proceeded to close the ''Chambre des Métiers de la Seine'' that had been controlled by communists since the Libération. He also fired seven contractants holding key positions in the ''Centre National du Cinéma'' as they were either communists or belonged to the CGT, a labor union with close ties to the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

. In 1951, during his reelection campaign, he was allied with the Mouvement Républicain Populaire, but not with the gaullist Rassemblement du Peuple Français. On this occasion, he declared that ''voting for the gaullists was taking the risk of sending communists to the Assemblée Nationale''. He was reelected on 17 June 1951. On 8 March 1952 Raymond Marcellin was made Minister of Information in the government of Antoine Pinay. He introduced a minimal service on state radio and TV in case of strike. After December 1952, and the fall of the government of Antoine Pinay, Raymond Marcellin no longer held cabinet positions. Raymond Marcellin was supportive of the continuation of the war in

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 did not vote for the

Pierre Mendès-France Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

government. After being reelected in 1956, Raymond Marcellin did not support the socialist government of Guy Mollet. However, he approved Mollet's policies in Algeria, and voted for giving special powers to the Army in the fight against Front de Libération Nationale on 12 March 1956. He regularly voted for the renewal of these special powers. He also supported the Suez intervention. However, he voted against the fiscal package of the Mollet government that was supposed to finance the war in Algeria. This led to the fall of the Mollet government. Raymond Marcellin continued to support the engagement of French troops in Algeria, and voted against

Pierre Pflimlin Pierre Eugène Jean Pflimlin (; 5 February 1907 – 27 June 2000) was a French Christian Democrat politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic for a few weeks in 1958, before being replaced by Charles de Gaulle during th ...

that he suspected of trying to change French policy in Algeria. On 1 June 1958 Raymond Marcellin voted for the government of Charles De Gaulle, the last government of the fourth republic. During the fifth republic, he was a member of the National Center of Independents and Peasants (CNIP) and then of the Center of Social Democrats (CDS). On 15 May 1962 Raymond Marcellin entered the government as Minister of Health. In 1965, he was elected mayor of

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

, a position he would retain until 1977. Raymond Marcellin was made Minister of Industry from 8 January 1966 to 1 April 1967. Following the events of May 1968, he was appointed Interior minister of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on 30 May 1968 replacing Christian Fouchet. De Gaulle said on this occasion that with Marcellin he now had ''the real Fouché''. To Marcellin, the demonstrators were either traitors or dupes of an operation of the Cuban secret services. He increased the police budget, and pledged to have all the necessary police force in Paris to establish order. He dissolved in 1968 the right-wing organization

Occident The Occident is a term for the West, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Western world. It is the antonym of ''Orient'', the Eastern world. In English, it has largely fallen into disuse. The term ''occidental'' is often used to ...

, along with various maoist groups. After De Gaulle resignation, in 1969, Raymond Marcellin was maintained at the ministry of Interior by the new president

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

. On 4 November 1970 Raymond Marcellin, relying on a law of 16 July 1949 on the protection of youth, signed a degree banning display, publicity and sale to minors of Hara-Kiri Hebdo, following the publication of an issue of this satirical magazine with a cover titled ''Bal tragique à Colombey: 1 mort'' alluding disrespectfully to the death of Charles De Gaulle. In 1971, Raymond Marcellin tried to introduce a modification of the law of 1901 on freedom of association, which would have made preliminary administrative authorization necessary before being able to create an association. This modification was rejected by the constitutional council, after intense lobbying by former president

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 ...

. In the same year, Raymond Marcellin introduced an anti-wreckers bill (''Loi Anti-Casseurs''), that made a crime of attendance at a meeting where violence occurs. In 1973, the Trotskyite Ligue Communiste and right-wing Ordre Nouveau were banned on the same day after a violent confrontation between the two groups. Raymond Marcellin was forced to resign on 27 February 1974, after policemen of the Directorate of Territorial Security were caught red-handed planting microphones in the offices of ''

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 ...

'', an investigating newspaper. He was replaced by Jacques Chirac as minister of the interior, and became minister of Agriculture. He was then elected to the Senate on 22 September 1974. He remained a senator until 21 June 1981.Anciens sénateurs Vème République : Raymond MARCELLIN
/ref> He then served as president of the

Regional Council of Brittany The Regional Council of Brittany (, ) is the regional legislature of the region of Brittany in France. It is composed of 83 councillors, elected in 2015, in office for six years until 2021. Seats By Departments *17 councillors for Côtes-d' ...

from 1978 to 1986.

Writings

* ''L'orientation professionnelle et le placement des jeunes'' (Paris: Recueil Sirey, 1941) (Thesis, University of Strasbourg) * with Maurice Bouvier-Ajam ''Les Principaux Problèmes de l'orientation professionnelle'' (

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...

: É. Chiron, 1942) * ''L'Ordre public et les Groupes révolutionnaires'' (Paris : Plon, 1969) * ''L'Importune Vérité. Dix ans après Mai 68, un ministre de l'Intérieur parle'' (Paris: Plon, 1978) (a book on the events of May 1968). * ''La Guerre politique'' (Paris : Plon, 1985) * ''L' Expérience du pouvoir'' (Paris : la Table ronde, 1990)

References