Élie Bloncourt
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Élie Bloncourt (5 May 1896 – 4 March 1978) was a French politician who represented the department of
Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...
in the
French National Assembly The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...
from 1936 to 1946. He was blinded by a shrapnel blast in the First World War and was part of the French resistance movement in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He had a degree in philosophy and worked as a high school teacher, while also being involved in organizational works relating to veterans' affairs, pacifism and politics.


Early life and World War I

Bloncourt was born in
Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...
, Guadeloupe into a political family. Melvil-Bloncourt, who was then deceased, was his great-uncle. His father had been a higher functionary but died before Élie was born, leaving his mother to raise Élie and five other siblings. With the help of a grant Élie attended Lycée Carnot in
Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...
, obtaining a
baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
in 1913.Éric Nadaud (2009
Élie Bloncourt (1896–1978), une figure du socialisme de gauche unitaire
Parlement ''Revue d'histoire politique'' 2/ 2009 (n° 12), pp. 118–131. Retrieved from Cairn.info 21 January 2015
Biographie
Based on ''Biographie extraite du dictionnaire des parlementaires français de 1889 à 1940'' (Jean Jolly) and ''Biographie extraite du dictionnaire des parlementaires français de 1940 à 1958''. Retrieved from Assemblée Nationale 21 January 2015
Family circumstances, including the death of his mother, kept him from seeking higher education in France, but in 1915 he was mobilized by the French military. After initial training in Bordeaux he was sent to the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
and the
Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...
. From September to November 1917, he was back in Guadeloupe, but returned to France and was stationed in
Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...
. In May 1918 his division entered the zone around
Château-Thierry Château-Thierry (; Picard: ''Catieu-Thierry'') is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is u ...
. During a heavy German attack on 30 May, Bloncourt was hit by a machine gun bullet which destroyed both his eyeballs and left him permanently blinded. He was taken
prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...
by the Germans and sent to a camp in
Parchim Parchim (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch: ''Parchen'') is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is the capital of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. It was the birthplace of Helmuth von Moltke the Elde ...
in
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
.


Inter-war period and start of political career

After the end of the war, he returned to France in January 1919. He stayed for some months in hospital and later learned
braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...
and
touch typing Touch typing (also called blind typing, or touch keyboarding) is a style of typing. Although the phrase refers to typing without using the sense of visual perception, sight to find the keys—specifically, a touch typist will know their location ...
in a special school. In autumn 1919 he started studying
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
at the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
and obtained a bachelor's degree in 1921. He sought jobs as teacher in secondary schools, but only managed to get temporary positions leaving him to rely on his invalidity pension. He got involved in several organizations for war victims and was at various times part of the leadership in ''Union des aveugles de guerre'', ''Association des anciens combattants de la Guadeloupe'' and ''Office national des combattants, mutilés, victimes de la guerre et pupilles de la nation''. He also became involved in international pacifist work among World War I veterans and attended several conferences. In 1932 he got a teacher position at a school in
La Fère La Fère () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in France. It was once famous for its military school (1720), one the oldest commissioned for instructing ordnance officers. History During World War II, Nazi Germany operat ...
,
Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...
. In Aisne, Bloncourt got involved in local politics. He was elected to the general council for the
French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO) was a major socialist political party in France which was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the present Socialist Party. The SFIO was founded in 1905 as the French representativ ...
(SFIO) in 1934 and reelected in 1936. In April 1936, he was elected to 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 repr ...
for the Popular Front. He was the first black député for a constituency inside the
Metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
(1936–1940, 1945–1947), and first black conseiller général of the métropole. In the Parliament, Bloncourt in particular worked with issues regarding war veterans and military pensions. He was also member of commissions regarding Algeria and French colonies. While he had previously opposed any, he supported the first ministry of
Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...
which was formed in 1936 and lasted to 1937. Bloncourt was in the 1930s preoccupied with the danger of fascism and advocated a unified anti-fascist front of Socialist and Communists. He also wanted a unified front among non-fascist countries and approved the
Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was a bilateral treaty between France and the Soviet Union with the aim of enveloping Nazi Germany in 1935 to reduce the threat from Central Europe. It was pursued by Maxim Litvinov, the Soviet forei ...
in May 1935. His insistence on the need of defense against fascism put him at odds with some former friends in the pacifist movement.


World War II

When World War II started, Bloncourt immediately took a strong stand against any cooperation with the Germans and did not attend the Parliament's gathering in Vichy on 10 July 1940. Among with other members of S.F.I.O. he organized the underground Socialist Party in the
occupied zone Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling powe ...
and became the organization's leader. He became responsible for organizing the
Libération-Nord ("Liberation-North") was one of the principal resistance movements in the northern occupied zone of France during the Second World War. It was one of the eight great networks making up the National Council of the Resistance. History Initial ...
in Aisne where he participated in the Brutus Network which spied on and registered the movements of the occupying forces. As a member of the ''Comité ministériel pour les colonies'' of the
National Council of the Resistance The National Council of the Resistance (; CNR; also, National Resistance Council) directed and coordinated the different movements of the French Resistance during World War II: the press, trade unions and political parties hostile to the Vichy ...
(CNR), he took part in the reoccupation of the building for the Ministry of the Colonies in Paris on 25 August 1944. On 30 August he took control over the
prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
of Laon of behalf of the CNR and there installed a committee for liberation of the department.


Post-World War II

In October 1945, Bloncourt and his friend Jean Pierre-Bloch topped the S.F.I.O. list in the Aisne in the election to the National Assembly and both were elected. A supporter of unity between parties on the left, Bloncourt became increasingly in opposition to the political direction of the SFIO. He lost his place in the executive board of the party in 1946 and also lost his place in parliament the same year; as the local party preferred another candidate for the second constituting parliament. He went on to reestablish and the Bataille socialiste fraction of the SFIO in 1947, turned it into a new political party ''Mouvement socialiste unitaire et démocratique'' and was eventually excluded from the SFIO in 1948. After his parliamentary career ended, Bloncourt settled in Paris and worked as teacher at the
Lycée Charlemagne The Lycée Charlemagne () is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France. Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Je ...
and at the Centre national d'enseignement par correspondence. He retired in 1960. He continued to be involved in politics through minor political parties and other engagements. In 1960 he started the ''Comité d’aide aux victimes de la répression'' to support those who opposed the French war in Algeria. On 22 June 1968, he was one of 29 signers of a letter in ''Le Monde'' which condemned as undemocratic certain measures by the
De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
government.


Personal life

After World War I, Bloncourt's wife and a son who lived in Guadeloupe joined him in metropolitan France. His brother Max Clainville-Bloncourt was an advocate in Paris. Another brother, Yves Clainville Bloncourt, participated in World War I where he was wounded and later settled in
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
.Rosie Bourget (29 October 2014) Haiti Actualites Yves Clainville's son, Tony Bloncourt, was part of the French Communist resistance movement during World War II and executed by the Germans in 1942.Alexandre Mathis (10 April 2012
La double mort de Tony Bloncourt
''Les Influences''
Tony's brother is painter and photographer
Gérald Bloncourt Gérald Bloncourt (4 November 1926 – 29 October 2018), also known as Gérard Bloncourt, was a Haitian painter and photographer resident in the suburbs of Paris, France. Born in the small city of Bainet, in Haiti's Sud-Est department, Bloncour ...
.


Awards

*Commander of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
(au titre militaire)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloncourt, Elie 1896 births 1978 deaths People from Basse-Terre French people of Guadeloupean descent Black French politicians French Section of the Workers' International politicians Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) French military personnel of World War I French Resistance members Commanders of the Legion of Honour