Louis Puech was a député of the French Third Republic

French Third Republic

The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...

 and Minister of Public Works

Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones (France)

The Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, to which was later added the charge of Telephones , was, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of the French Postal Service and development of the national telecommunication system.The position was occasionally combined with Minister of...

 in the second government of Aristide Briand

Aristide Briand

Aristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life :...

 from 3 November 1910 to 24 February 1911. During his 30 years in office he was inscribed with the group of Républicains de gauche

Democratic Republican Alliance

The Democratic Republican Alliance was a French political party created in 1901 by followers of Léon Gambetta, such as Raymond Poincaré who would be president of the Council in the 1920s...

. He was the brother of the sculptor Denys Puech

Denys Puech

Denys Puech was a French sculptor.-Life:From a family of farmers , he began as an apprentice in the marble workshop of François Mahoux in Rodez...

, director of the Villa Médicis (1921–33).

Life

A lawyer by profession, he was noted for pleading in several varied political affairs, notably those of the grévistes of Decazeville

Decazeville

Decazeville is a commune in the Aveyron department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France.The commune was created in the 19th century because of the Industrial Revolution and was named after the Duke of Decazes , the founder of the factory that created the town.-History:The town is built...

 (also known as the Watrin affair) and the anarchists Monod and Lucas.

Conseiller municipal for Paris between 1893 and 1898 and a député for the Seine (3rd arrondissement of Paris) from 1898 to 1932, he was known for having denounced the poor care and pitiable monitoring of the archives for France's colonial African administrations, revealing he was in possession of originals which should never have left Africa. His action forced the then Minister for the Colonies to review the organisation of the archives in French West Africa

French West Africa

French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

.