Marcel Flouret, (March 29, 1892 – November 29, 1971) was a French

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

, and fourth

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

Électricité de France Électricité de France SA (; ), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational corporation, multinational electric utility company owned by the government of France. Headquartered in Paris, with €139.7 billion in sales in 2023, EDF ope ...

(EDF) from 1952 to 1962.

Career

Flouret graduated from the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in 1912. Committed to the army for four years initially, he became a Second Lieutenant on August 2, 1914, a Lieutenant Airman on August 2, 1916, and an aviation squadron leader and Captain on December 29, 1920. Wounded, Flouret earned the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

with four citations. On foreign missions from 1920 to 1925, Flouret participated in aviation operations in Austria and Hungary. He then became a professor at the War College at the Center of Advanced Military Studies in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland. After entering the War College in March 1925, he then transferred to the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

as Deputy Chief of Staff for

Joseph Caillaux Joseph-Marie-Auguste Caillaux (; 30 March 1863 – 22 November 1944) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic. He was a leader of the French Radical Party and Minister of Finance, but his progressive views in opposi ...

on April 18, 1925, and left the army in November 1925. Various bureaucratic roles followed from 1925 to at least 1944, including becoming the Chief of staff of the Minister of Finance,

Vincent Auriol Vincent Jules Auriol (; 27 August 1884 – 1 January 1966) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1947 to 1954. Early life and politics Auriol was born in Revel, Haute-Garonne, as the only child of Jacques Antoine Aurio ...

on June 4, 1936, and becoming the Director of Staff for Auriol, the Minister of Justice, on July 1, 1937. He was mobilized as a Lieutenant Colonel in September 1939 until June 1940. He was the director of staff for Blocus Georges Monnet and Bertrand Pujo in 1940. He was a

member, operating under the name ''Fevrier'' – ''February'', when he took City Hall of Paris on August 20, 1944. Flouret performed the duties of Prefect of the

Seine Department Seine is a former department of France, which encompassed Paris and its immediate suburbs. It was the only enclaved department of France, being surrounded entirely by the former Seine-et-Oise department. Its prefecture was Paris and its INSEE n ...

from September 2, 1944, with Edgar Pisani, future minister of

General de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

, as the director of his cabinet. Following the

liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

, Flouret became an executive at various organizations. This included becoming an Honorary Prefect of the Department of Seine in August 1946, the chair of the national railways,

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

, in September 1946, the Governor of the Banque de l'Algérie et de la Tunisie on May 18, 1949, and the Chair of Électricité de France (EDF) in 1952. His role at SNCF ended in 1949. Flouret was the Chair of EDF for ten years from 1952 to 1962, after which he took an honorary chair role. He was known for investing heavily in the electrification of France after World War II. Flouret died in

Mougins Mougins (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southeastern France. It is located on the heights of Cannes, in the arrondissement of Grasse. Mougins is a 15-minute drive from Ca ...

in 1971.

Awards

Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

(January 15, 1954) *

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Commandeur ribbon

Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (March 26, 1962) *

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

(World War I)

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flouret, Marcel 1892 births 20th-century French engineers French soldiers Électricité de France 1971 deaths Recipients of the Legion of Honour People from Bergerac, Dordogne Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres École Polytechnique alumni