Amédée Fengarol (born 30 March 1905 in

Capesterre-Belle-Eau Capesterre-Belle-Eau (; ) is a commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is located in the south-east of Basse-Terre Island. Capesterre-Belle-Eau covers an area of 103.3 km2 (39.884 sq ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

; died 11 January 1951 in

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...

) was a Guadeloupean politician. He died in the street on the day of his election as communist

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. The cause of death was contested, the communist party and the newspaper ''L'Étincelle'' continued for years to maintain he was assassinated, yet other witnesses confirm no trace of blood on his shirt and that he may have died of natural causes. In either case the accusation of foul play continued to destabilise the socialist government of

Paul Valentino Paul Calixte Valentino (born 9 June 1902 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe; died 15 March 1988) was a politician from Guadeloupe who served in the French National Assembly from 1946 to 1955. He became socialist mayor of Pointe-à-Pitre in January 195 ...

who had succeeded in getting himself reelected as mayor.''Construire l'histoire antillaise'' Lucien-René Abénon, Danielle Bégot, Jean-Pierre Sainton - 2002 "Aujourd'hui, de nombreux membres témoins en 1951 de ces événements, affirment qu 'Amédée Fengarol est mort de sa belle mort. Certains précisent même, qu'ayant examiné la chemise qu'il portait dans l'après-midi et n'ayant trouvé aucune trace de sang, ils ont eu très tôt la certitude qu 'il était mort de mort naturelle. Et pourtant, pendant plusieurs années, L'Étincelle va mener campagne et dénoncer l'assassinat. Cette campagne a un objectif politique : déstabiliser les socialistes et Paul Valentino qui a réussi à se faire réélire maire de la ville."

References

1905 births 1951 deaths People from Capesterre-Belle-Eau French Communist Party politicians Mayors of places in Guadeloupe Guadeloupean communists Communist members of the French Resistance People murdered in Guadeloupe Guadeloupean murder victims Assassinated mayors {{Guadeloupe-politician-stub