Paul Béchard

Paul Béchard ( born December 25, 1899 in Alès, † April 26, 1982 in Montpellier) was a French politician. He was from 1946 to 1948 and from 1951 to 1955 Member of the National Assembly from 1955 to 1958 and member of the Conseil de la République, the Senate today.

Béchard attended the military academy Saint- Cyr and so reached the rank of Major. He voluntarily took part in the First World War, in 1918, twice wounded and received the Croix de Guerre awarded. From 1920 he attended the Electrotechnical Institute in Grenoble and was then industrialist. In 1927, he joined the SFIO and ran the following year in the Lozere department for the National Assembly, but could not win a seat. For his efforts in the Resistance, he received the Croix de Guerre, the Médaille de la Résistance and the Medal of Freedom. In 1945 he was elected to the General Council of the department of Gard and 1947 for mayor of his hometown of Alès. He also entered the Constituent Assembly and sat from 1946 in the National Assembly. In 1948 he was appointed Governor-General of French West Africa, which he remained until 1951. He then moved again to parliament. In 1955 he successfully applied for a seat on the Conseil de la République.