Jean Bène
Encyclopedia
Jean Bène was a lifelong politician in France
and a leader in the French Resistance
.
Bène was born in Pézenas
, Hérault
. Initially a lawyer, he turned to politics. He was member of the Parti Socialiste
in the SFIO
. Bène was conseiller municipal of Pézenas in 1929, then mayor in 1931. He was recalled by the Vichy regime.
He involved himself in the resistance
and created the La Tourette
maquis, one of the maquis
networks of resistance fighters, in the commune
of Ferrières-Poussarou
. For this he would be decorated with the Légion d'honneur
, the Croix de guerre and the médaille de la Résistance
.
He returned to the mayorship of Pézenas from 1945 to 1947 and then from 1953 to 1977.
In 1945 he became president of the conseil général of the Hérault
, and continued in this role until 1979. He was senator for the Hérault from 1959 until 1971, during which he was on the commissions for foreign affairs
, for defense
and for the armed forces
.
The collège de Pézenas is named in Bène's honour.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and a leader in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
.
Bène was born in Pézenas
Pézenas
Pézenas is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon, southern France. At the 1999 census, its population was 7443.-Name:...
, Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
. Initially a lawyer, he turned to politics. He was member of the Parti Socialiste
Parti Socialiste
Parti Socialiste may refer to:*Socialist Party * Parti Socialiste * Swiss Socialist Party...
in the SFIO
Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière
The French Section of the Workers' International , founded in 1905, was a French socialist political party, designed as the local section of the Second International...
. Bène was conseiller municipal of Pézenas in 1929, then mayor in 1931. He was recalled by the Vichy regime.
He involved himself in the resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and created the La Tourette
Maquis La Tourette
The Maquis La Tourette was one of the maquis groups of French resistance fighters during the The Maquis La Tourette was one of the [[Maquis |maquis]] groups of [[French resistance]] fighters during the...
maquis, one of the maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
networks of resistance fighters, in the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Ferrières-Poussarou
Ferrières-Poussarou
Ferrières-Poussarou is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.-See also:*Communes of the Hérault department...
. For this he would be decorated with the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, the Croix de guerre and the médaille de la Résistance
Médaille de la Résistance
The French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18,...
.
He returned to the mayorship of Pézenas from 1945 to 1947 and then from 1953 to 1977.
In 1945 he became president of the conseil général of the Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, and continued in this role until 1979. He was senator for the Hérault from 1959 until 1971, during which he was on the commissions for foreign affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
, for defense
Defense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
and for the armed forces
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
.
The collège de Pézenas is named in Bène's honour.