Mendès-France, Pierre (pyĕr măNdĕs`-fräNs), 1907–82, French statesman. A lawyer and economist, he entered (1932) the chamber of deputies as a Radical Socialist. In World War II he was a pilot in the Free French forces. Popular as a democratic leader, he became premier in 1954 after the French defeat at Dienbienphu. At the Geneva Conference (1954), he arranged the armistice that halted the fighting in Indochina. He also helped bring about the formation of the Western European Union, and he proposed far-reaching economic reform. His cabinet fell (1955) on the issue of his liberal North African policy. His conflict with doctrinaire conservative Radical Socialists led to a party split; in 1957 he resigned as party head. He failed to gain reelection to the national assembly in 1958, and in 1959 he was expelled from the party. Mendès-France opposed the return to power (1958) of Charles de Gaulle, and he led the Union of Democratic Forces, an anti-Gaullist group. He won reelection from Grenoble in 1967, but lost his seat in de Gaulle's 1968 election victory. His writings include Economics and Action (tr. 1955), The Pursuit of Freedom (tr. 1956), and A Modern French Republic (tr. 1963).

Bibliography

See biographies by A. Werth (1958) and J. Lacouture (1984).

Mendès-France, Pierre

(born Jan. 11, 1907, Paris, France—died Oct. 18, 1982, Paris) French politician and premier (1954–55). Born into a Jewish family, he became a lawyer and served in the Chamber of Deputies (1932–40). In World War II he was imprisoned by the Vichy government but escaped to London, where he joined the Free French air force and served in finance posts in Charles de Gaulle's provisional government. As a legislator in postwar France (1946–58), he criticized government policies on economics and the wars in Indochina and North Africa. In 1954 he became premier; he ended France's involvement in Indochina and also helped effect autonomy for Tunisia. His proposed economic reforms led to his defeat in 1955. He sought without success to make the Radical-Socialist Party the centre of the noncommunist left and opposed de Gaulle's presidency.