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, and the great-grandson of Karl Marx.[1]

Robert-Jean Gustave Longuet
Born9 December 1901
Died19 March 1987 (aged 85)
Paris, France
Burial placePère Lachaise Cemetery
NationalityFrench
Occupation(s)Journalist, politician, lawyer
Political partyFrench Section of the Workers' International
Parents
FamilyKarl-Jean Longuet (brother)

He notably rejected many overtures by Communists to whom it is said he often replied "No. You have falsified my great-grandfather." He was a supporter of Charles De Gaulle during the Second World War.[1]

Biography edit

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 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 he defended National Liberation Front activists as well as the activists at the Grand Mosque of Paris.

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 on 19 March 1987.

Bibliography edit

  • 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 edit

  • 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 edit

  1. ^ a b "Robert-Jean Longuet". The New York Times. Associated Press. 21 March 1987. Retrieved 14 July 2018.

External links edit