Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie (6 January 190012 June 1969) was a French

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

Biography

Born in Paris, he attended the Naval Academy but resigned from the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

in 1923. He became a journalist and a poet and was involved with the integralist and monarchist journal ''

Action Française ''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...

'', but turned towards the

Left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

after the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

(1936–39). When the Second World War broke out, d'Astier re-enlisted into the French Navy and became the head of

naval intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

. However, after the

fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

and the proclamation of

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

, he was dismissed for his political dossier. In

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

, d'Astier formed the Resistant group ''La Dernière Colonne'', later known as

Libération-sud ''Libération-sud'' ( French for "Liberation-South") was a resistance group active between 1940-1944 and created in the Free Zone of France during the Second World War in order to fight against the Nazi occupation through coordinated sabotage a ...

, with

Raymond Aubrac Raymond Aubrac (born Samuel, 31 July 1914 – 10 April 2012) was a member of the French Resistance in World War II. A civil engineer by trade, he assisted General Charles Delestraint within the ''Armée secrète''. Aubrac and his wife Lucie Aubr ...

Lucie Aubrac Lucie Samuel (29 June 1912 – 14 March 2007), born Bernard and known as Lucie Aubrac (), was a member of the French Resistance in World War II. A history teacher by occupation, she earned a history ''agrégation'' in 1938, a highly uncommon achi ...

and

Jean Cavaillès Jean Cavaillès (; ; 15 May 1903 – 4 April 1944) was a French philosopher and logician who specialized in philosophy of mathematics and philosophy of science. He took part in the French Resistance within the '' Libération'' movement and was a ...

. During 1941, the group carried out two sabotage attacks at train stations in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

and

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

. In February, they organised the distribution of 10,000 propaganda flyers, but one of the distributors was caught by the police, leading to the arrest of d'Astier's niece and uncle. The group decided to cease activities. After a few months' hiatus, they began to work on an underground newspaper, ''Libération''. The first edition was put together with the help of the typographers from a local newspaper and printed on paper supplied by local trade-unionists. 10,000 copies were produced in July 1941. In 1942 d'Astier met with

Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and hero of the French Resistance who succeeded in unifying the main networks of the Resistance in World War II, a unique act in Europe. He served as the first Presid ...

to discuss the unification of the Resistance and eventually joined forces into the ''

Conseil National de la Résistance 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, National Council of Resistance). In 1943 he met

Charles 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 ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

and joined his

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

government-in-exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

as a Commissioner to the Interior. While in London in 1943, he wrote the lyrics for the song "

La Complainte du partisan "The Partisan" is an anti-fascist anthem about the French Resistance in World War II. The song was composed in 1943 by Russian-born Anna Marly (1917–2006), with lyrics by French Resistance leader Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie (1900–1969), ...

" with

Anna Marly Anna Marly (, Anna Yurievna Smirnova-Marli) (30 October 1917 – 15 February 2006), born Anna Yurievna Betulinskaya, was a Russians, Russian-born French people, French singer-songwriter. Born into a wealthy Russian nobility, noble family, Marly ...

, who wrote the music. In English, it is known as "

The Partisan "The Partisan" is an anti-fascist anthem about the French Resistance in World War II. The song was composed in 1943 by Russian-born Anna Marly (1917–2006), with lyrics by French Resistance leader Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie (1900–1969), ...

" and was recorded by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, Buffy Saint Marie and many others. After the Liberation, d'Astier became

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the

Provisional Government of the French Republic The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; , GPRF) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation of continental France after Operations ''Overlord'' and ''Drago ...

(GPRF). He continued to publish ''Libération'' and wrote books based on his experiences. He ran as an ally of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

on the ''Union républicaine et résistante'' list in the November 1946 French legislative elections, and won a seat 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 repr ...

for

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...

. He was later among the founders of the Union progressiste. In 1958 he received the

Lenin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals whom the panel ...

. D'Astier was one of the founders of the Stockholm Committee; he denounced the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

leadership under

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

after the crushing of the Hungarian uprising, and broke ties with communists. His brother,

Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie Henri d'Astier de La Vigerie (11 September 1897 – 10 October 1952) was a French soldier, ''Résistance'' member, and conservative politician. Life Henri d'Astier was born in Villedieu-sur-Indre, a small village in the Indre département of cen ...

, was from the far right, and, initially a member of the ''

'', may even have been involved with the ''

Cagoule A cagoule (, also spelled cagoul, kagoule or kagool), is the British English term for a lightweight weatherproof raincoat or anorak with a hood (usually without lining), which often comes in knee-length form.The Chambers Dictionary, 1994, The Ca ...

'' terrorist group. Ultimately, Henri d'Astier also took part in the

Résistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the Nazi occupation and the collaborationist Vichy regime in France during the Second World War. Resistance cells were small groups of armed men and women (called the Maquis ...

. Emmanuel d'Astier died in Paris in 1969. His wife Liubov was the second spouse of French politician

Gaston Bergery The Frontist Party (), also known as the Common Front or Social Front, was a political party in France founded in 1936 by Gaston Bergery and Georges Izard. It was a founding member of the Popular Front. Gaston Bergery and the 'Common Front Agai ...

(divorced in 1928) and the daughter of Bolshevik

Leonid Krasin Leonid Borisovich Krasin (; – 24 November 1926) was a Russians, Russian Soviet Union, Soviet politician, engineer, social entrepreneur, Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet diplomat. In 1924 he became the first List of ambassadors of Russia to ...

. They had three sons Jean-François, Christophe and Jérôme. Family friend

wrote and recorded a song, "Luba the Baroness", about learning of the death of the oldest son, Jean-François.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astier de la Vigerie, Emmanuel d 1900 births 1969 deaths Politicians from Paris Writers from Paris French barons Union progressiste politicians French interior ministers Members of the Provisional Consultative Assembly Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945) Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946) Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Members of Parliament for Ille-et-Vilaine French male poets 20th-century French poets 20th-century French journalists Lycée Condorcet alumni École Navale alumni French military personnel of World War II Members of Liberation-Sud Companions of the Liberation Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Resistance Medal Recipients of the Lenin Peace Prize