Jacques Lemaigre Dubreuil (October 30, 1894 – June 11, 1955) was a French businessman and activist, born in Solignac murdered in Casablanca on June 11, 1955[1] presumably by members of La Main Rouge (Red Hand) for being allegedly sympathetic to the Moroccan nationalist cause.
He married Simone Lesieur, daughter of Georges Lesieur – founder of the brand of edible oils of the same name (Huiles Lesieur). Having joined its board of directors in 1926, he directed and developed the company until his death. He owned the Maroc-Presse newspaper and had interests in the Printemps department store chain.
An active militant of the anti-communism movement, he was one of the funders of La Cagoule in the late 1930s.[2]
During the Second World War, he was very active in the underground. He was one of those who favoured the Allied landings in North Africa, on 8 November 1942, Operation Torch. He was a link between Robert Murphy and Henri Giraud; when the latter arrived in Algeria, he was accommodated in Lemaigre Dubreuil's house[3]
Later, Lemaigre Dubreuil was very active in supporting Moroccan claims for autonomy, for which he drew fierce hatred from movements supporting the retention of Morocco as a French protectorate. These movements, described at the time as terrorist-cons had many accomplices in European circles, including the French administration. It is suspected the French secret service were closely related to some of them, such as La Main Rouge (Red Hand).
Lemaigre Dubreuil was assassinated in Casablanca on the evening of June 11, 1955, in the square that later bore his name, at the foot of the "Liberté" building where he lived. His funeral took place on June 14 in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Casablanca.
References
edit- ^ William A. Hoisington, The Assassination of Jacques Lemaigre Dubreuil: A Frenchman Between France and North Africa, ISBN 0-415-35032-8, 2004
- ^ Annie Lacroix-Riz, When the US wanted to take over France, Le Monde Diplomatique, May 2003
- ^ Colin Smith, England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-1942, ISBN 0-297-85218-3, 2009