Yves Farge


Yves Farge was a French journalist and politician.

Biography

Farge was a journalist for the Progrès de Lyon. His colleague, Georges Altman, put him in contact with the French Resistance movement Franc-tireur. In 1942, Farge met Jean Moulin. Farge was put in charge of the military organization of the massif du Vercors. He was also a member of the l’état-major directed by General Delestraint. After the arrest of those two prominent resistance figures, Farge was sought by the Gestapo and went to Paris, where he presided over the Comité d’action contre la déportation.
General Charles de Gaulle named Farge commissaire de la République for the departements of la région rhodanienne. Farge saved 800 hostages who were at risk of being shot at Montluc Prison in Lyon.
Farge was politically left-wing without having any specific affiliation. He served as minister of ravitaillement, a very difficult position, in the provisional government of Georges Bidault, from 8 January to 16 December 1946. He spoke out against wine smuggling and struggled hard against the black market.
Farge was a progressive, and close to the communists. He participated in the founding of the Mouvement de la Paix in 1947, of which he became the president until his death in 1953 in a car accident in Georgia. He was also a member of the World Peace Council. For his actions in support of peace, he was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize in 1953.
Farge was a compagnon de la Libération.