Pierre Lagaillarde (;

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is a suburb of Paris, from the Kilometre zero, center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the ci ...

, 15 May 1931 – 17 August 2014) was a French

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

politician, and a founder of the ''

Organisation armée secrète The ''Organisation armée secrète'' (OAS, "Secret Army Organisation") was a far-right dissident French paramilitary and terrorist organisation during the Algerian War, founded in 1961 by Raoul Salan, Pierre Lagaillarde and Jean-Jacques S ...

'' (OAS), a clandestine militant organisation that sought to prevent

Algeria's independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) ...

from

French colonial rule The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...

. Lagaillarde was a lawyer at

Blida Blida () is a city in Algeria. It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km south-west of Algiers, the national capital. The name ''Blida'', i.e. ''bulaydah'', is a diminutive of the Arabic word ''belda'', city. Ge ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, a reserve officer of the

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

s, and an elected deputy of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. He was president of the ''Association générale des étudiants d'Alger'' (General Association of Alger's Students) in 1957, and took part in the Alger insurrection of May 1958, which brought

Charles 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 ...

back to power. Lagaillarde was a member of the ''Comité de salut public'' which opposed

Algerian independence An independence referendum was held in French Algeria on 1 July 1962. It followed French approval of the Évian Accords in an April referendum. Voters were asked whether Algeria should become an independent state, co-operating with France; 99.7 ...

, and occupied the ''Gouvernement général de l'Algérie'' (local colonial administration). In January 1960, he became a leader of the insurrection during the week of the barricades. Lagaillarde was then detained in

La Santé Prison La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) ( or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice (France), Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the 14th arr ...

in Paris, and while imprisoned, he was visited by

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...

. He took advantage of his parole to escape to Spain (along with

Jean-Jacques Susini Jean-Jacques Susini (30 July 1933 – 3 July 2017) was a French far-right political figure, militant and co-founder of the Organisation armée secrète (OAS), a clandestine terrorist organization opposing Algerian independence from France. Life ...

, Jean-Maurice Demarquet, and Fernand Féral Lefevre), where he was joined by

Raoul Salan Raoul Albin Louis Salan (; 10 June 1899 – 3 July 1984) was a French Army general and the founder of the Organisation armée secrète, a clandestine terrorist organisation that sought to maintain French Algeria by preventing Algerian indepen ...

and co-founded the

on 3 December 1960. Deprived of his immunity as a deputy, he was sentenced ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

'' to ten years of prison in March 1961. In October 1961, he was arrested in Madrid, along with the Italian neofascist Guido Giannettini.René Monzat, ''Enquêtes sur la droite extrême'', ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

''-éditions, 1992, p.91. Monzat quotes

François Duprat François Duprat (; 26 October 1940 – 18 March 1978) was a French essayist and politician, a founding member of the Front National party and part of the leadership until his assassination in 1978. Duprat was one of the main architects in the ...

, ''L'Ascension du MSI'', Edition les Sept Couleurs, Paris, 1972. The Spanish dictator,

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 ...

, later exiled Lagaillarde to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. Lagaillarde was pardoned by France through the 1968 amnesty law.

References

External links

A picture of Pierre Lagaillarde

Another picture (ref ALG-58-226-R44 on the monument first level left in battle dress)
(ECPAD)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagaillarde, Pierre 1931 births 2014 deaths People from Courbevoie French people of colonial Algeria Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for French Algeria French far-right politicians People of the Algerian War French military personnel of the Algerian War OAS members convicted in absentia OAS members who fled to Spain Foreign nationals imprisoned in Spain Recipients of French presidential pardons