Gabriel Péri

Gabriel Péri (Peri) (9 February 1902 — 15 December 1941) was a prominent French Communist journalist and politician, and member of the French Resistance. He was executed in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

Péri was born in Toulon to a Corsican family. Forced to give up his studies at an early age. The World War I and Russian Revolution caused deep effect to him in involvement of revolutionary politics. He immersed himself in political activities, and wrote for newspapers in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.

At the age of twenty-two, Péri became departmental manager of Foreign Politics at l'Humanité. He was elected Deputy for Argenteuil in 1932 and was re-elected in 1936.

In the French National Assembly, Péri distinguished himself as an expert in the field of diplomatic and international relations and was a strident anti-fascist. He denounced both Benito Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia and France’s non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War. Péri was also a prominent opponent of the Nazi regime in Germany.

After the Fall of France in 1940, the country was placed under Nazi occupation. Arrested on 18 May 1941, Péri was shot later the same year on 15 December at Fort Mont-Valérien. Albert Camus learned of Péri's execution while staying in Lyon, an event which he later said crystallized his own revolt against the Germans.

Many schools and streets have been named after Gabriel Péri, as well as a Paris and a Lyon Metro station. Paul Éluard and Louis Aragon wrote poems in his tribute (titled "Gabriel Péri" and "Ballade de Celui Qui Chanta Dans les Supplices" ["Ballad to Him who Sings While Being Tortured"], respectively).