Charles Corbin
Encyclopedia
Charles Corbin was a French diplomat who served as ambassador to Britain before and during the early part of the Second World War, from 1933 to 27 June 1940.
, a private Jesuit school where the father of Charles de Gaulle
taught. He continued his education at the Faculté des Lettres at the Sorbonne
. After World War I
Corbin served in the press bureau of the French Foreign Ministry at the Quai d'Orsay
in Paris. Here he made many British friends; he spoke English fluently and had a profound sympathy for Britain and British ways.
He was assigned to London as ambassador in 1933. His knowledge of economic affairs enabled him to arrange and skilfully preside over meetings of French and British civil servants between 1934 and 1939 – a period when the two nations were preparing for war with Germany.
Corbin was with Jean Monnet
on 16 June 1940 when the proposal for the union of France and Britain was put to de Gaulle, who had been sent to London by the French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud
. The proposed Declaration of Union was a desperate last minute attempt to bolster French resistance in the face of defeatism among the ranks of the French cabinet, and thus keep the Franco-British alliance alive.
His subsequent diplomatic appointments were as ambassador to Belgium and to Spain.
Life and career
Charles Corbin was born in Paris, the son of Paul Corbin, an industrialist. He studied at the Collège Stanislas de ParisCollège Stanislas de Paris
Le Collège Stanislas de Paris is a private Catholic school in Paris, situated on "Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs" in the Montparnasse arrondissement. It has approximately 3,000 students, and is the largest private school in France....
, a private Jesuit school where the father of Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
taught. He continued his education at the Faculté des Lettres at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Corbin served in the press bureau of the French Foreign Ministry at the Quai d'Orsay
Quai d'Orsay
The Quai d'Orsay is a quai in the VIIe arrondissement of Paris, part of the left bank of the Seine, and the name of the street along it. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai de Branly west of the Pont de l'Alma.The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is...
in Paris. Here he made many British friends; he spoke English fluently and had a profound sympathy for Britain and British ways.
He was assigned to London as ambassador in 1933. His knowledge of economic affairs enabled him to arrange and skilfully preside over meetings of French and British civil servants between 1934 and 1939 – a period when the two nations were preparing for war with Germany.
Corbin was with Jean Monnet
Jean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity and is regarded as one of its founding fathers...
on 16 June 1940 when the proposal for the union of France and Britain was put to de Gaulle, who had been sent to London by the French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...
. The proposed Declaration of Union was a desperate last minute attempt to bolster French resistance in the face of defeatism among the ranks of the French cabinet, and thus keep the Franco-British alliance alive.
His subsequent diplomatic appointments were as ambassador to Belgium and to Spain.