René Alphonse Lemoine (29 December 1905 – 19 December 1995) was a French fencer. He won a gold medal in the team foil event at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held dur ...

and a silver in the same event at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi- ...

. At the world championships, official and unofficial, Lemoine won an individual gold in 1931 and a bronze in 1937. He also won team silver medals in 1930, 1934, 1935 and 1937. Lemoine was the son of a general manager of

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

and was trained in mathematics and law. After briefly studying in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...

, he went to Equatorial Africa in 1938 and became a coffee farmer and exporter of colonial goods. During World War II, he headed the civil and military resistance in

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the C ...

and supported French forces of Charles de Gaulle. In 1940, he was jailed by the Vichy authorities, but released after 1.5 months. He then fought in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and Northern Africa. After the war Lemoine resumed trading agricultural products. He was made an Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

, among other military decorations. Until 1981 he served as a French representative for the Central High Council of French Abroad.

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* 1905 births 1995 deaths French male foil fencers Olympic fencers for France Fencers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century French people {{France-fencing-Olympic-medalist-stub