Émile Laurens

Émile Laurens
Member of the French Chamber of Deputies
In office 31 March 1935 – 16 June 1940
Preceded by	Camille Chautemps
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Parliamentary group	RRRS
Constituency	Loir-et-Cher
Mayor of Blois
In office February 1940 – 16 June 1940
Preceded by	Maurice Olivier
Succeeded by	Maurice Olivier
Personal details
Born	29 January 1884 Réquista, Aveyron, France
Died	16 June 1940 Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France

Émile Laurens was a French politician born on 29 January 1884 in Réquista (Aveyron) and died on 16 June 1940 in Blois (Loir-et-Cher). He was recognized as having died for France.

He replaced the former and future Prime Minister Camille Chautemps^[1] as the Radical deputy for Loir-et-Cher after a a 1935 by-election where he narrowly beat the militant agrarian leader Henry Dorgères in the second round of voting^[2] He served as Under-Secretary of State to the Prime Minister's Office from 18 January 1938 to 13 March 1938 in the Fourth Chautemps Government.^[3]

In February 1940, Maurice Olivier, then mayor of Blois, resigned due to health reasons, and Émile Laurens was appointed as his replacement^[4].

On 16 June 1940 He was fatally wounded during Battle of France when the German army bombarded the Town Hall in the Foix district in Blois, where he resided with his family^[5].

A street name in the center of Blois commemorates Laurens today, located west of Place de la Résistance.

References

1. Ory, Pascal (1975), "Le dorgérisme, institution et discours d'une colère paysanne (1929-1939)", Revue d'Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine (in French), 22 (2): 169–170, doi:10.3406/rhmc.1975.2416, retrieved 2024-11-13
2. "L'Œuvre". April 1935.
3. National Assembly biography of Émile Laurens (in French)
4. Burel, Thérèse (2018-05-31). "Maurice Olivier". Antoine Cléon Maurice Olivier (in French). Maitron/Éditions de l'Atelier. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
5. "In video: Blois during World War II". City of Blois Official Website. Retrieved 2020-09-16.