Camille Bedin
Encyclopedia
Camille Fernand Bedin was a French
politician.
Camille Bedin was born at Saint-Satur
in the Cher
département. He worked as a cloth merchant. During the First World War he served in the French Army
as a junior officer in the 50th Infantry Regiment. After the war he settled in Excideuil
. He received the Légion d'honneur
in 1925 for his services during the war and was active in the Fédération ouvrière et paysanne des anciens combattants, a veterans association.
He was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), the French socialist party, and was elected to represent Périgueux
in the Chamber of Deputies
in 1936. The next year he was elected as a general councillor (conseiller général) for Excideuil. In the Chamber of Deputies he served on the Navy committee and the Commerce and Industry committee.
In June 1940, he was one of the 80
who voted against the grant of special powers to Philippe Pétain
and the creation of the Vichy régime
. This, together with the fact that he was a Freemason, led to his dismissal as general councillor for Excideuil in January 1942.
Bedin was active in the French Resistance
and was a member of the Comité d'action socialiste, the clandestine form of the banned SFIO. He headed Libération-sud
in the départements of Dordogne
and Corrèze
. He was arrested by the Gestapo
on 8 October 1943 and deported to Flossenbürg concentration camp
, later being moved to a camp in German-occupied Czechoslovakia
. He later received the Médaille de la Résistance
for his services and was made a commander of the Légion d'honneur.
On being freed in 1945 he returned to France where he sat in the Provisional Consultative Assembly. He failed to win re-election as conseiller général in October 1945 and did not stand for election to the new National Assembly. He served as mayor of Excideuil until he retired from politics altogether in 1957 following the death of his wife.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician.
Camille Bedin was born at Saint-Satur
Saint-Satur
Saint-Satur is a commune in the Cher department in central France.It is a medieval town near the Loire River in the former province of Berry.-History:...
in the Cher
Cher (département)
Cher is an administrative department located in the centre of France. It is named after the Cher River.-History:Cher is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. Most of it was created, along with the adjacent department of Indre from the former...
département. He worked as a cloth merchant. During the First World War he served in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
as a junior officer in the 50th Infantry Regiment. After the war he settled in Excideuil
Excideuil
Excideuil is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Geography:It should not be confused with Exideuil in the Charente department....
. He received the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in 1925 for his services during the war and was active in the Fédération ouvrière et paysanne des anciens combattants, a veterans association.
He was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), the French socialist party, and was elected to represent Périgueux
Périgueux
Périgueux is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.Périgueux is the prefecture of the department and the capital of the region...
in the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
in 1936. The next year he was elected as a general councillor (conseiller général) for Excideuil. In the Chamber of Deputies he served on the Navy committee and the Commerce and Industry committee.
In June 1940, he was one of the 80
The Vichy 80
The Vichy 80 were a group of elected French parliamentarians who, on 10 July 1940, voted against the constitutional change that dissolved the Third Republic and established an authoritarian regime known as Vichy France....
who voted against the grant of special powers to Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
and the creation of the Vichy régime
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
. This, together with the fact that he was a Freemason, led to his dismissal as general councillor for Excideuil in January 1942.
Bedin was active in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and was a member of the Comité d'action socialiste, the clandestine form of the banned SFIO. He headed Libération-sud
Libération-sud
The Libération-sud resistance group was established by a group of French people, including Emmanuel d'Astier, Lucie Aubrac and Raymond Aubrac. The first important Resistant group to emerge after the German occupation, it began publishing Libération in July 1941...
in the départements of Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
and Corrèze
Corrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
. He was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
on 8 October 1943 and deported to Flossenbürg concentration camp
Flossenbürg concentration camp
Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the Schutzstaffel Economic-Administrative Main Office at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia. Until its liberation in April 1945, more than 96,000 prisoners...
, later being moved to a camp in German-occupied Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. He later received the Médaille de la Résistance
Médaille de la Résistance
The French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18,...
for his services and was made a commander of the Légion d'honneur.
On being freed in 1945 he returned to France where he sat in the Provisional Consultative Assembly. He failed to win re-election as conseiller général in October 1945 and did not stand for election to the new National Assembly. He served as mayor of Excideuil until he retired from politics altogether in 1957 following the death of his wife.