Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle
Encyclopedia
Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, (1922 - December 26, 1942) was a member of the French resistance who assassinated Admiral of the Fleet François Darlan
, the former chief of government of Vichy France
and the self-proclaimed high commissioner of French North Africa and West Africa, on December 24, 1942. Bonnier de La Chapelle's speedy trial and execution have fueled numerous conspiracy theories about who may have been behind the assassination.
He was born in Algiers
. A student at the Lycée Stanislas in Paris after France's surrender to Nazi Germany
on June 22, 1940, Bonnier de La Chapelle participated in an anti-German student demonstration at the Arc de Triomphe
on Armistice Day
, November 11, 1940. He then secretly crossed the demarcation line between German-occupied France and Vichy France and made his way to Algiers, where his father was a journalist. Having passed his baccalauréat
examination in 1942, he was surprised by the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch
) on November 8, 1942 and by the participation of many of his friends in the so-called putsch of November 8
, in which the resistance seized control of several Vichy government offices and headquarters in Algiers. A monarchist and ardent anti-Vichyiste, he regretted that his friends had not asked him to take part in the putsch.
After Darlan surrendered Algiers to Allied forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower
, who feared armed resistance from Vichy sympathizers among the French, agreed to allow Darlan to govern French North Africa and West Africa under Vichyiste policies, which caused considerable consternation in the French population as well as in Washington and London. Bonnier de La Chapelle and three friends decided to eliminate the Admiral, and Bonnier de La Chapelle drew the short straw. Having obtained a Ruby pistol
, on December 24, 1942, he waited in a corridor of the Summer Palace (Palais d’Été), the admiral's headquarters in Algiers, for Darlan to return to his office. He shot Darlan twice, once in the face and once in the chest, and then shot the admiral's aide-de-camp in the thigh. At that point, the occupants of the other offices in the Palais effected his capture.
A military tribunal convened the next day, December 25. Bonnier de La Chapelle declared that he had acted alone, and he was condemned to death. He was executed by firing squad on December 26, 1942. On December 21, 1945, the Court of Appeals in Algiers overturned the conviction, stating that he had acted "in the interest of the liberation of France."
François Darlan
Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan was a French naval officer. His great-grandfather was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar...
, the former chief of government of Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
and the self-proclaimed high commissioner of French North Africa and West Africa, on December 24, 1942. Bonnier de La Chapelle's speedy trial and execution have fueled numerous conspiracy theories about who may have been behind the assassination.
He was born in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. A student at the Lycée Stanislas in Paris after France's surrender to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
on June 22, 1940, Bonnier de La Chapelle participated in an anti-German student demonstration at the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
on Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
, November 11, 1940. He then secretly crossed the demarcation line between German-occupied France and Vichy France and made his way to Algiers, where his father was a journalist. Having passed his baccalauréat
Baccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
examination in 1942, he was surprised by the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
) on November 8, 1942 and by the participation of many of his friends in the so-called putsch of November 8
Algiers putsch (disambiguation)
The Algiers putsch can be one of the three historical military coups d'état that happened in French Algeria's capital -then second to Paris as most populated French city- in different contexts;-World War II :...
, in which the resistance seized control of several Vichy government offices and headquarters in Algiers. A monarchist and ardent anti-Vichyiste, he regretted that his friends had not asked him to take part in the putsch.
After Darlan surrendered Algiers to Allied forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, who feared armed resistance from Vichy sympathizers among the French, agreed to allow Darlan to govern French North Africa and West Africa under Vichyiste policies, which caused considerable consternation in the French population as well as in Washington and London. Bonnier de La Chapelle and three friends decided to eliminate the Admiral, and Bonnier de La Chapelle drew the short straw. Having obtained a Ruby pistol
Ruby pistol
The self-loading Ruby pistol is best known as a French World War I sidearm, the Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby". A very international piece of weaponry, it was closely modeled after the American John Browning's M1903 made by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, and was...
, on December 24, 1942, he waited in a corridor of the Summer Palace (Palais d’Été), the admiral's headquarters in Algiers, for Darlan to return to his office. He shot Darlan twice, once in the face and once in the chest, and then shot the admiral's aide-de-camp in the thigh. At that point, the occupants of the other offices in the Palais effected his capture.
A military tribunal convened the next day, December 25. Bonnier de La Chapelle declared that he had acted alone, and he was condemned to death. He was executed by firing squad on December 26, 1942. On December 21, 1945, the Court of Appeals in Algiers overturned the conviction, stating that he had acted "in the interest of the liberation of France."
Sources
- Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle - Wikipédia at fr.wikipedia.org
- Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, New York: Henry Holt, 2002.
- Julian Jackson, France: The Dark Years: 1940-1944, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
- Douglas Porch, The Path to Victory: The Mediterranean Theater in World War II, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004.