Émilie Carles (29 May 1900 – 29 July 1979) was a French writer and activist.

Biography

Marie Julie Émilie Allais was born in

Val-des-Prés Val-des-Prés (; oc, Vau dels Prats) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. It is situated in the Clarée Valley. Population Personalities The village was the home of Émilie Carles who wrote her memoir ''A Wil ...

on 29 May 1900. Her parents were small farmers in a mountainous region. Her mother died when she was just four. Two of her brothers fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She became a pacifist as a result of their experiences. Carles was educated in a local school but travelled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to complete her teaching diploma when she was sixteen. She returned home were she taught in various schools in the area. in 1927 she met Jean Carles who became her husband. They were pacifists and feminists. The couple had two sons and a daughter. In 1936 they transformed their home in Val-des-Prés into a holiday inn for workers from the city. Their income continued to be supported by Carles' teaching salary. They experienced a tragedy during 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 ...

when their daughter was killed in a pedestrian traffic accident with a military truck. Though Jean Carles was entitled to a military pension as a veteran of World War I, he refused it and refused to fight in the Second World War. To avoid being arrested as a deserter, he spent most of the war in hiding. He died in 1962. Carles wrote an autobiography which detailed her life. The book became a huge success selling millions of copies and being translated into numerous languages. It was made into a TV movie in 1997. When she died on 29 July 1979 Carles donated her body to science.

Protection of the Vallée de la Clarée

During the 1970s Carles discovered there were plans to build a highway through the

Vallée de la Clarée The Vallée de la Clarée is a scenic valley in the French Alps near to Montgenèvre, Briançon and the French-Italian border. The Clarée river runs through the valley. The mountains on either side are part of the Massif des Cerces. To the west t ...

. Believing the road would cause irreparable damage to the environment and the valley she launched a campaign to get the valley protected. Posters, leaflets, petitions and hearings took place. She led a demonstration on 13 August 1974 to

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

which included 13 tractors and about 300 people at the height of harvest season. In October 1975 there was a press conference in Paris. By 1976, the highway project was abandoned. In July 1992 the valley was reclassified to protect it from future projects.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carles, Émilie 1900 births 1979 deaths People from Briançon 20th-century French women writers 20th-century French non-fiction writers