Abel Jean Désiré Bonnard (; 19 December 1883 31 May 1968) was a French poet, novelist and politician.

Biography

Born in

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

, Vienne, his early education was in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

with secondary studies at the

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. A student of literature, he was a graduate of the École du Louvre. Politically, a follower of Charles Maurras, his views evolved towards

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

in the 1930s. Bonnard was one of the ministers of National Education under the

Vichy regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

(1942–44). The political satirist Jean Galtier-Boissière gave him the nickname "la Gestapette," a portmanteau of

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and ''tapette'', the latter a pejorative French slang term for

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

. The name, along with the homosexual inclinations it implied, became well known. He was a member of the committee of the Groupe Collaboration, an organisation that aimed to encourage closer cultural ties between France and Germany.David Littlejohn, '' The Patriotic Traitors'', Heinemann, 1972, p. 222 Bonnard was one of four members expelled from the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

with Germany. Bonnard was condemned ''in absentia'' to death during the '' épuration légale'' period for wartime activities. However, he had escaped to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

where

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

granted him

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

. In 1960, he returned to France to face retrial for his crimes. Bonnard received a symbolic sentence of 10 years banishment to be counted from 1945, but dissatisfied with the verdict, he chose to return to Spain where he lived out the remainder of his life.

Bibliography

*1906 ''Les Familiers'' *1908 ''Les Histoires'' *1908 ''Les Royautés'' *1913 ''La Vie et l'Amour'' *1914 ''Le Palais Palmacamini'' *1918 ''La France et ses morts'' *1924 ''Notes de voyage : En Chine (1920-1921), 2 vol.'' *1926 ''Éloge de l'ignorance'' *1926 ''La vie amoureuse d'Henri Beyle'' *1927 ''L'Enfance'' *1928 ''L'Amitié'' *1928 ''L'Argent'' *1929 ''Saint François d'Assise'' *1931 ''Rome'' *1936 ''Le drame du présent : Les Modérés'' *1937 ''Savoir aimer'' *1939 ''L'Amour et l'Amitié'' *1941 ''Pensées dans l'action'' *1992 ''Ce monde et moi'' (selection of aphorisms, posthumous)

References

External links

*
L'Académie française
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnard, Abel 1883 births 1968 deaths People from Poitiers French fascists Groupe Collaboration members Ministers of national education of France Government ministers of Vichy France Members of the National Council of Vichy France 20th-century French poets 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni People convicted of indignité nationale French politicians convicted of crimes Expelled members of the Académie Française French emigrants to Spain University of Paris alumni Nazis sentenced to death in absentia by France Nazis who fled to Spain