Mendès France, Pierre

(1907-1982)

   political figure

   Born and educated in Paris, Pierre Mendès France practiced law and, at age 25, was elected as a Radical-socialist deputy. in 1938, he served as undersecretary of the treasury and, during World War ii, after escaping from the prison where he had been held by the vichy regime, reached Great Britain, where he joined the Free French air force. He was named minister of economics in the provisional government of General charles de gaulle,to whom he also served as financial adviser. Following the establishment of the fourth republic (1946), Mendès France served in the National Assembly as a member of the Radical Party and opposed the government's fiscal policies. He advocated French disengagement in indochina and, in July 1954, as premier, negotiated the French withdrawal from that region (Geneva Accords). His premiership saw the beginning of the Algerian conflict, and he negotiated the treaty that led to Tunisian independence. in February 1955, after a debate in the National Assembly on North African policy, his government fell. As a leader of the Radical Party and the Radical-Socialists (1955-57), Mendès France was one of the founders of the Republican Front, a noncommunist leftist coalition. Minister of state in the government of guy mollet (1956), he soon resigned in protest over policy toward Algeria. After the May 13, 1958, uprising in Algiers, he took a stronger position against the Gaullist administration. Joining the socialist party after leaving the Radicals, he became known as a main spokesperson for a section of the French Left. Pierre Mendès France's writings include Gouverner, c'est choiser (195 3); La Science économique et l'Action (1954); La République moderne (1962); Pour préparer l'avenir (1968); and La vérité guidait leurs pas (1976).