François Debeauvais

**François Debeauvais** (January 1903 – March 20, 1944) was a Breton nationalist activist. He worked for Brittany’s autonomy and independence. During World War II, he supported Nazi Germany to achieve this goal.

## Early life

François Debeauvais was born in January 1903 in Rennes, France. His father worked in a pharmacy. He trained as a pharmacist and read books about the Irish independence movement.

### Breton Regionalist Group

In 1920, Debeauvais joined the Breton Regionalist Group (Unvaniez Yaouankiz Breiz). He became an administrator on January 9, 1920, with Yann Bricler and Olier Mordrel. He was the director of the group’s newspaper, _Breiz Atao_. He attended the Pan-Celtic Congress in Quimper in 1924 with Yann Sohier, Youenn Drezen, Jakez Riou, Abeozen, and Marcel Guieysse.

### Breton Autonomist Party

In September 1927, Debeauvais helped start the Breton Autonomist Party (PAB) in Rosporden. He was its president. In 1930, he tried to start a weekly newspaper, _Le Peuple Breton_, but it failed due to lack of money.

### Breton National Party

In August 1931, the PAB split in Guingamp. Debeauvais joined the nationalist side and helped form the Breton National Party (PNB). He stayed as an administrator of _Breiz Atao_. He was linked to the armed group Gwenn ha Du. After their attack in Rennes on August 7, 1932, his home was searched. In 1933, he was attacked by the Camelots du Roi in Saint-Goazec.

In 1936, Debeauvais and Olier Mordrel saw a coming war between France and Germany as a chance for Breton independence. They sought German support. Mordrel pushed Nazi ideas in the magazine _Stur_, but Debeauvais and others in the PNB did not fully agree. In 1937, Debeauvais’s tuberculosis forced him to share leadership with Raymond Delaporte, who opposed Mordrel’s pro-Nazi views. At the Carhaix congress in August 1937, the PNB became more fascist.

In October 1938, Debeauvais went to Belgium to avoid arrest. He was charged with harming national unity. On December 14, 1938, he was sentenced to one year in prison. He was freed on July 25, 1939, due to his health.

### World War II

In 1939, Debeauvais refused to join the French army and fled to Germany. He and Mordrel worked with the German Abwehr to spread anti-French propaganda. On October 25, 1939, they sent a manifesto from Amsterdam against France’s war. They started a bulletin, _Ouest-Information_, and a war letter, _Lizer Brezel_. On May 7, 1940, a French court sentenced them to death in absentia.

During the German invasion, Debeauvais and Mordrel worked with the Abwehr in Brussels. On July 3, 1940, they formed the Breton National Committee in Pontivy and started the newspaper _L'Heure bretonne_. Debeauvais’s health worsened in October 1940, and he stepped back from the PNB. He helped remove Mordrel and appoint Delaporte as leader.

Debeauvais wanted a pro-Nazi Breton nationalist group outside the PNB. He planned newspapers like _La Fraternité bretonne_ and _La Bretagne socialiste_, but they never started. From 1941 to 1943, he worked at the Breton Celtic Institute. He supported the Bezen Perrot paramilitary group and a new _Breiz Atao_ in 1944.

### Death

Debeauvais died of tuberculosis on March 20, 1944, in a SS sanatorium in Colmar. Before dying, he praised the Bezen Perrot and Germany, saying he supported them for shared beliefs, not opportunism.

## Ideas

Debeauvais and Mordrel ran the magazine _Stur_ from 1934, claiming Celtic heritage was linked to the “Nordic race.” They expressed anti-Semitic, anti-capitalist, and anti-communist views. Their nationalism was far-right and fascist-like.

## Personal life

Debeauvais used names like Francis Debauvais, Fransez Debauvais, Fañch Deb, and Fanch Denoual. He married Anna Youenou, who wrote six books about his work. Before his death, he placed his son Hervé in the Hitler Youth in Zillisheim.

## Publications

- _L’intérêt breton et l’avenir de la Bretagne: essai d’un nationalisme breton positif_. Rennes: Breiz Atao, 1926.
- _Diskleriadur... Déclaration_. Signed tract with Mordrel, October 25, 1939.
- _Stourm_. Bulletin of the Breton National Committee, two issues (February and March 1942).

## Further reading

- Boissou, Lionel (2002). "L'Allemagne et le nationalisme breton (1939–1945)". In _Bretagne et identités régionales pendant la Seconde guerre mondiale_. Brest: Centre de recherches bretonnes et celtiques - UBO, p. 326.
- Cadiou, Georges (2001). _L'hermine et la croix gammée: le mouvement breton et la collaboration_. Paris: Mango. ISBN 2-914353-06-5.
- Carney, Sébastien (2019). _Breiz Atao! Mordrel, Delaporte, Lainé, Fouéré: une mystique nationale (1901–1948)_. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes. ISBN 978-2-7535-6067-3.
- Déniel, Alain (1976). _Le mouvement breton (1919–1945)_. Paris: Maspero. ISBN 978-2-7071-0826-5.
- Guidet, Thierry (1997). _Qui a tué Yann-Vari Perrot? Enquête sur une mort obscure_. FeniXX réédition numérique. ISBN 978-2-402-61996-7.
- Lafon, Jean-Marc (2000). "Graal païen, Urvolk et croix gammées. Quelques réflexions sur l’œuvre d’Otto Rahn". _Heresis: revue d'hérésiologie médiévale_, volume 32, number 1, pp. 73–95. doi:10.3406/heres.2000.1893.
- Le Boterf, Hervé (1984). _La Bretagne dans la guerre: 1938–1939 - 1940–1941_. Éditions France-Empire.
- Maignen, Étienne (2010). "De 1940 à 1941, réapparition d'une Bretagne provisoirement incomplète, un provisoire destiné à durer". _Bulletin et mémoires de la Société archéologique et historique d'Ille-et-Vilaine_, volume CXIV.
- Ory, Pascal (1980). _Les collaborateurs, 1940–1945_. Paris: Seuil. ISBN 978-2-02-005427-0.
- Pasquier, Romain (2004). "L’Union Démocratique Bretonne ou les limites de l’expression partisane autonomiste en Bretagne". _Pôle Sud_, volume 20, number 1, pp. 113–132. doi:10.3406/pole.2004.1181.
- Youenou, Anna (1974–1983). _Fransez Debeauvais de Breiz-Atao et les siens: Mémoires du chef breton commentés par sa femme_. Rennes: chez l’Auteur.

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: François Debeauvais
- **image**: Debeauvais.png
- **caption**: _François Debeauvais, as presented in Ouest-Éclair on August 10, 1932_
- **birth date**: January 1903
- **birth place**: Rennes, France
- **death date**: March 20, 1944
- **death place**: Colmar, France
- **nationality**: French
- **occupation**: Activist, editor
- **known for**: Breton nationalism
- **party**: Breton Regionalist Group (1920–1927)
Breton Autonomist Party (1927–1931)
Breton National Party (1931–1940)