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

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

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 du ...

and a silver in the same event at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. 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 automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

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

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

, 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) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

and supported French forces of

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 ...

. In 1940, he was jailed by the Vichy authorities, but released after 1.5 months. He then fought in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

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 ( ), 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 ...

and was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''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 awarded during World ...

, 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 sportsmen {{France-fencing-Olympic-medalist-stub