Roger-Patrice Pelat

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Roger-Patrice Pelat (born July 31, 1918 in Saint-Cloud , † March 7, 1989 in Neuilly-sur-Seine ) was a French businessman and confidante of François Mitterrand . He became known in the French public for his role in political scandals of the 1980s.

Life

Coming from a humble background, he joined Renault at an early age and became a member of the Communist Youth. As a member of the international brigades, he took part in the Spanish Civil War. He was captured during World War II . In 1940 he met François Mitterrand in a prison camp, a so-called stalag .

Both tried to break out of the camp three times. Eventually they both made it on separate occasions. A little later they met again in the Resistance , where Pelat was with the rank of Colonel (colonel) the two levels higher superior of Mitterrand.

After the war, Pelat worked as a politician and businessman. He became mayor of Boutigny-sur-Essonne and was General Conseiller of the canton of La Ferté-Alais from 1971 to 1982 . He did trade with India and China and founded Vibrachoc , a company specializing in vibration dampers , which is now part of the Hutchinson group . In 1982 he sold this company to Alsthom - at a convenient time for him, as the company made losses and lost value in the following years.

On February 20, 1989, Pelat was charged with insider trading in connection with the purchase of the American Can Company by the French Pechiney group. His friend Mitterrand had previously distanced himself from him: “I wish that this crime will be prosecuted. I am indignant about it. ”A few days after the opening of the procedure, on February 20, 1989, Roger-Patrice Pelat suffered a pulmonary embolism and was admitted to the Hôpital américain de Neuilly ( American Hospital in Neuilly ). There he died of cardiac arrest on March 7th.

Alain Boublil , the head of cabinet ( directeur de cabinet ) of Prime Minister Pierre Bérégovoy , and the businessman Max Théret , who were involved in the affair with Pelat, were each sentenced to two years in prison.

A few years after his death, Pelat's involvement in a public scandal came to light. Pierre Bérégovoy had received from him an interest-free loan of one million francs for the purchase of a condominium in the posh 16th arrondissement of Paris, which was only partially repaid. In February 1993, Le Canard enchaîné discovered the existence of this loan. The affair undermined the credibility of the socialists' campaign in the ensuing election campaign. It is believed that this affair and the subsequent electoral defeat were the cause of Bérégovoy's suicide on May 1, 1993.

literature

  • Jean Yves Lhomeau: Roger-Patrice Pelat, “self-made man” et compagnon de guerre de M. Mitterrand . In: Le Monde , January 22, 1989.
  • Golden grandpas . In: Der Spiegel . No. 5 , 1989, pp. 136-138 ( online ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "The souhaite que ce soit délit poursuivi. Cela me scandalize. »In: Jean Yves Lhomeau: Roger-Patrice Pelat,“ self-made man ”et compagnon de guerre de M. Mitterrand . In: Le Monde , January 22, 1989.
  2. ^ Pierre Favier, Michel Martin-Roland: La Décennie Mitterrand . tome 4. éd. du Seuil, 2001, pp. 431-433.
personal data
SURNAME Pelat, Roger-Patrice
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint-Cloud
DATE OF DEATH March 7, 1989
Place of death Neuilly-sur-Seine