Robert-Jean Gustave Longuet, (9 December 1901 – 19 March 1987) was a French lawyer, journalist and militant socialist. He was the son of

Jean Longuet Jean-Laurent-Frederick Longuet (; 5 October 1876 – 11 September 1938) was a French socialist politician and journalist. He was the grandson of German-born philosopher Karl Marx. Early years Jean, often called 'Johnny' as a boy by his family, ...

, and the great-grandson of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

. He notably rejected many overtures by

Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

to whom it is said he often replied "No. You have falsified my great-grandfather." He was a supporter of

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 ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

Biography

From 1924–1926, Longuet was the editor of '' Le Quotidien'' and later became the editorial secretary of the ''Nouvelle revue socialiste'' in 1926. After a trip to Morocco in 1926 and in 1927, his work as a lawyer led him to defend

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...

activists. Longuet founded the magazine ''Maghreb'' in 1932, which existed until 1935. Before the start of the Second World War, he emigrated to the United States and lived there for five years. After the conclusion of the war, Longuet worked primarily as a journalist. He was the Washington correspondent of the communist daily ''Tonight'', and additionally the editor of the newspaper ''Libération Emmanuel d'Astier La Vigerie''. He also travelled to Africa, Morocco in particular, and Eastern Europe. During the

Algerian War 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 (Algeri ...

he defended National Liberation Front activists as well as the activists at the

Grand Mosque of Paris The Grand Mosque of Paris (, ; ), also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the largest mosques in France. It comprises prayer rooms, an outdoor garden, a small lib ...

. In August 1979 he cooperated with Czechoslovak communist secret police on demonstration supporting the invasion of Warsaw pact armies to Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Longuet died in

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 ...

on 19 March 1987.

Bibliography

* ''La Profession d’avocat'', 1932 * ''Colonialisme et civilisation'', 1934 * ''La Question coloniale'', 1936 * ''Karl Marx, mon grand-père'', Stock, 1977 * ''Au cœur de l’Europe, le "printemps" ou "l’automne" de Prague'', Coopérative ouvrière de presse et d’éditions, Luxembourg, 1978, Préface by Jeannette Vermeersch

Sources

* Dictionnaire biographique du mouvement ouvrier français, tome 35 (fr) * Georges Oved, La Gauche française et le nationalisme marocain, 1905-1955, L’Harmattan, 1984 (fr)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Longuet, Robert-Jean 1901 births 1987 deaths 20th-century French lawyers 20th-century French journalists Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French people of German-Jewish descent French Section of the Workers' International politicians