Marcel-François Astier (7 January 1885 – 21 September 1947) was a French politician. Born in

Privas Privas (; oc, Privàs , also ) is a city located in France, in the department of Ardèche. With its 8,465 inhabitants (2019), it is the least populated prefecture (capital of a department). It was the location of the 1629 Siege of Privas. ...

(

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.François Astier François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

. He studied law and medicine and managed the familial vineyards. This work led him into politics where he became a leader in several agricultural groups, including that devoted to the support of French

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...

. He became mayor of Soyons and in 1924 was elected as for the Radical Party to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...

representing Ardèche. He served only a single term, being defeated in 1928. In 1938 he was reelected, this time to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

. He was among the eighty who voted against granting special powers to Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

on 10 July 1940, ending his speech "Long live the Republic all the same!" («Vive la République quand même!»). He engaged in the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

, reestablishing a clandestine organisation for the Radical Party in Ardèche. In 1943 he travelled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, joining the

Provisional Consultative Assembly The Provisional Consultative Assembly (french: Assemblée consultative provisoire) was a governmental organ of Free France that operated under the aegis of the French Committee of National Liberation (CFLN) and that represented the resista ...

established by the CFLN where he headed the agriculture commission. After the liberation he stood in the 1945 elections but was not successful and retired from politics. He died at his home in Soyons.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astier, Marcel 1885 births 1947 deaths People from Privas Radical Party (France) politicians Independent Radical politicians Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French Senators of the Third Republic Senators of Ardèche The Vichy 80 French farmers French Resistance members