Gwenn-Aël Bolloré (5 September 1925, Ergué-Gabéric – 12 July 2001) was a French soldier, businessman, author, and publisher.

Biography

At the age of 17, Bolloré decided to join in the

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 ...

in England. He sailed across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

in a small boat and met up with his brother René who had arrived in England few months earlier. He lied about his age and his

myopia Myopia, also known as near-sightedness and short-sightedness, is an eye condition where light from distant objects focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry, while close objects appear normal. ...

to enroll in the Free French Kieffer Commandos with whom he participated in

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

on 6 June 1944 by storming the beach and the city of

Ouistreham Ouistreham () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy region in northwestern France. Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town borders t ...

. Bolloré recorded his war memoirs in the book ''J'ai débarqué le 6 juin 1944: commando de la France libre (I landed June 6, 1944: commando of Free France)'' and was interviewed in the documentary film ''Les Grandes batailles du passé (The Great Battles of the Past)'' produced by Daniel Costelle. Bolloré was interested in

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...

and earned a

doctorate degree A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the Oceanographic Museum of Odet. As a

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

, he produced several short films and a feature film called "Les naufrageurs (The Wreckers)". He was vice-president of Papeteries Bolloré from 1952 to 1974 and in the 1960s, he was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

La Table Ronde LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

which published a number of books hostile to the

Gaullist Gaullism ( ) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withdrew French forces from t ...

policy in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and favorable to the OAS. He was the brother of Michel Bolloré, René Bolloré, Jacqueline Cloteaux and

Vincent Bolloré Vincent Bolloré (; born 1 April 1952) is a French billionaire businessman. He was the chairman and CEO of the investment group Bolloré until his retirement from the family business in 2022. In January 2025, his net worth was estimated at US$ ...

's uncle. Bolloré wrote books on fishing and England. He has also published essays and poems. The Prix Bretagne was established at his initiative in 1961.

Publications

* ''J'ai débarqué le 6 juin 1944 : commando de la France libre '', Le Cherche-midi, 2004 * ''Histoires troubles'', Jean Picollec, 1993 * ''Les Amants de l'espace '', Le Cherche Midi, 1985 * ''Nerfs à fleur de larmes'', Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 1982 * ''Le Diner bleu'', La Table Ronde, 1976 * ''Nous étions 177'', France-Empire, 1964 * ''Destins tragiques du fond des mers'', La Table Ronde, 1963 * ''Guide du pêcheur à, pied. Des conseils pratiques sur tout ce que vous pêchez sur nos cotes, sans bateau, ni canne à pêche et 200 recettes pour accommoder vos prises'', La Table Ronde, 1960 * ''Moïra la naufrageuse'', La Table Ronde, 1958 * ''Anatomie descriptive'', Seghers, 1955

External links

Gwenn-Aël Bolloré, writer-poet and CEO

Bibliography

* Randa, Phillippe.''Les écrivains guerriers''. Dualpha, 1998. * ''Bibliothèque littéraire de Gwenn-Aël Bolloré''. Sotheby's, Paris, 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bollore, Gwenn-Ael People from Finistère 1925 births 2001 deaths Military personnel of the Free French Naval Forces 20th-century French publishers (people)