Gabriel Plançon

Gabriel Plançon was a French Resistance fighter born in Besançon on July 10, 1916, and shot dead by German occupying forces in the same town on September 14, 1943. Nicknamed ''Bibi'', he led a "classic" existence, divided between his family, his mechanical work on typewriters and his artistic and cultural hobbies. However, his routine was disrupted when he was posted to the air force during World War II. After being captured and escaping, he returned to a country under Nazi domination. He joined the French Resistance, using his skills and equipment to convince the population to fight, provide false papers and hide his companions, later becoming leader of the local ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' movement, in conjunction with the Guy Mocquet group.

At the peak of his fight, he is said to have organized, with the help of British allies, the bombing of Besançon in 1943, which cost the lives of some 50 people and destroyed the Comtois capital's main railway station and other infrastructure. He planned to carry out a final bomb attack targeting the quarters of a German military police unit, before fleeing to London, but was denounced by a traitor. During his arrest, he was seriously wounded while trying to escape, and died of his injuries. Decades after the war, the French authorities paid tribute to him, awarding him several posthumous titles, as well as a commemorative plaque and a street in his name.

Childhood and adulthood

Gabriel Plançon, son of Jules Irénée known as René (1891-1959) and Jeanne Marie Angèle Georgette Caire (1891-1974),p. 9 was born on July 10, 1916 in Besançon, a town in the Franche-Comté region of France, during, World War I.p. 5 Nevertheless, the city was not involved in the conflict, and his father was discharged from the army, giving Gabriel, nicknamed ''Bibi'' at the time, a "normal" life. His parents owned property in the Tilleroyes district to the west of the city, where he grew up. He attended the Arsenal elementary school, then scouted during 1928 as a patrol scout with the Éclaireurs de France, before attending the ''École nationale d'horlogerie'' (National Watchmaking School), now the ''Lycée Jules-Haag''.p. 10

At the age of 15, he gave up his watchmaking studies, which did not interest him, and lived in the family home, entertaining many friends, most of them from the worlds of art and culture.p. 8 A lover of nature and animals, he planted an Atlas Cedar in the vicinity of his house, a tree that still stands on the premises today. In 1931, his little sister Janine, nicknamed ''Nino'', was born, and Gabriel, despite some initial emotional misgivings towards her, ended up showing great brotherly love and becoming a role model for her. Later, he decided to work as a typist in the family workshop, specializing in the sale and repair of typewriters. At the same time, he became a self-taught intellectual, with a particular interest in literature, including a great deal of poetry.

He also took an interest in aviation, passing his pilot's license and taking up parachuting.p. 12 His political awareness developed, and as a young adult, he began militating in the city's socialist circles with comrades such as Jean Minjoz, Gilbert Bourquin and Henri Chapatte. His thinking was humanist, and he advocated bringing people together and teaching Esperanto to the whole world.p. 36 In addition to his professional and political activities, ''Bibi'' made it a point of honor to restore and improve the house where he was born. As the situation in Europe deteriorated, he worried about a possible new war, and feared that his property would be bombed because the work he had begun could be perceived as suspicious.

War and Resistance

In 1939, World War II was declared. Gabriel Plançon was mobilized and assigned to the air force, first in Montpellier, then at the Valence headquarters in the Drôme region.p. 17 He was taken prisoner, but escaped to Istres with two companions. He told them, "We're useless here, we have to go back to Besançon and join a Resistance group". Despite his precarious financial situation and the risks involved, he managed to return to the Comtois capital, where he intended to fight against the occupation as part of a faction. On February 3, 1941, he married Marguerite Marsoudet (1909-1967), a hairdresser seven years his senior, divorced with two children to support; although he loved her passionately, he did not wish to have any more children, believing that his Resistance activities would lead to his death.p. 23

In his idea of struggle, he sought out a resistance group; but the only group in the city at the time was the Communist Party, a movement to which ''Bibi'' was not ideologically close, but which he joined anyways. In fact, the Resistance did not fully take root in Besançon until 1942, with genuine attacks such as the one on the Hôtel de Paris and the ''Frontbuchhandlung'' bookshop ('' place du Huit septembre''), both the work of the Valmy group. Thus, the only real actions carried out beforehand were those of this party, such as graffiti writing, flyer distribution or the organization of a protest at the war memorial on November 11, 1941. After being demobilized, he resumed his work as a mechanic to survive in these precarious conditions and help his fellow soldiers. After the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' group was created and set up in Besançon, Plançon became its local leader, working with the Guy Mocquet group and Abbot Georges Martin, vicar in the Saint-Ferjeux district, to organize resistance in the region, particularly in Besançon and Pontarlier. He produced numerous leaflets against the Nazis and the Vichy government, and urged people to join the Resistance. He also sold posters to benefit the families of those shot and deported in the Doubs region.p. 19

With the help of Henri Chapatte, his clandestine printing works also enabled him to make forged identity cards. He hid and supported the survivors of the Guy Mocquet group, to whom he was very close, at his home and in another house in the hamlet of Plaisir-Fontaine, near Ornans

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