Lucien Émile François Barbedette

Born in Levaré (Mayenne) on 13 August 1890 — died 8 February 1942 - professor of philosophy - Luxeuil-les-Bains (Haute Saône)

Lucien Barbedette, who had thought of becoming a missionary—he was born into a family of believers—renounced his vocation, obtained his bachelor’s degree at the age of twenty-three, followed by a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences.

In 1919 he was appointed professor at the Collège de Luxeuil-les-Bains; he taught philosophy and history there, and also, if necessary, Greek and Latin. Antoine Perrier, who knew him in the years 1923-1925, saw him: "of small size still shrinked by a simple pilgrim arriving almost on the ground, and by a melon hat pushed on a head lit with small bright eyes, behind large glasses, extended by a long wild beard".

Kind and gentle, Barbedette attracted sympathy. Excellent teacher, he "owned the art of teaching and knew how to interest his students" said one of them. Nothing dogmatic in the conduct of his lessons taught in the tone of the friendly conversation, the questions studied being presented in their various aspects, and the students invited to discuss it, few in number, it is true at that time in a philosophy class, a maximum of ten.

In 1925 he was a member with other anarchists—including L. Rimbault and V. Spielman - from the board of directors of the association Les Compagnons de la pensée whose presidents were Han Ryner and J.H. Rosny and who published the monthly La Houle (Lyon, 1926-1928) devoted mainly to the defence of French-language intellectuals.

L. In the early 1930’s, Barbedette was an honorary member of the Union des Intellectuels Pacifistes (UIP), whose president was Gérard de Lacaze-Duthiers, Vice President Lucie Caradek and Secretary Louis Fillet. The IPU will publish the newspaper La Clameur (at least 14 issues from November 1932 to April 1936) whose manager was René de Sanzy.

Anxious to make his thought known to a wider audience than the one who listened to him in the narrow framework of his class, he edited at his own expense brochures that dealt with philosophy at the Editions de la Fraternité Universitaire (Limoges, 1934-1940) and wrote at the same time in the anarchist press. He collaborated on a very large number of titles of the French-speaking libertarian press including: L’Action Libre (Paris, 1931-1935) monthly sheet of the Popular Talks, Bibliothèque de l’Artistocratie (Paris, 1931-1939) by Gérard e Lacaze-Duthiers, La Brochure Mensuelle (Paris, 1923-1937), Le Eglise Faut Dire (Bruxelles, 1934-1936) organ of the Comité Internationale de DéfenseLa ClameurLe CombatHem Day , Le Combat SyndicalisteLa Conquête du pain Planche, ControverseControverse (Paris, 1932-1934) by Louis Louvet, La Cravache (Brussels, 1933), L’En-Dehors (1922-1939), individualist journal of E. Armand, Le Fédéraliste (Courbevoie, 1921-1939), Le Flambeau (Brest, 1927-1934), Germinal (Toulon, 1930-1932) freethinking organ, La Grande Réforme (Paris, 1931-1939) by Eugène Humbert, L’Insurgé (Paris, 1925-1926) by André Colomer, L’19Les PrimairesLe RéfractaireLa RévolteLe Semeur de NormandieTerre libreLa Vie UniverselleLa Voix libertaire He gave to the anarchist encyclopedia of Sébastien Faure many articles on philosophical or historical questions.

Barbedette, whose health "would have needed care did not take care of. For several years he had had a weak heart, which was reflected in the exercise of his profession as a teacher by a lesser vitality, of fatigue..." (testimony of A. Perrier). He died of a heart attack on 8 February 1942 in Luxeuil-les-Bains (Haute-Saône) and was buried civilly in the cemetery of Luxeuil where his tombstone was built by subscription with his students and colleagues.

Work : - Studies on Malebranche; - Wanting and destiny, bibliographical essay (The Monthly Brochure, n°106, October 1931); - For economic justice: study on property (Ed. of the Anarchist Encyclopedia, 1933); - The real social revolution (idem, in collaboration with S. Faure, V. Meric and Volina) ; - The brotherly city; - Moral metrics; - For the age of the heart; - In search of happiness; - Supreme illusions ; - Supreme illusions (Ed. The University Fraternity, 1933); - In the margins of action: sociological research (idem, 1934); - To the sources of pain: philosophical research (idem, 1935) ; - Comments and suggestions: philosophical study (idem, 1936); - Order and reason: philosophical research (idem, 1937); - Sky full of stars (idem, 1938); - The incom

(A dozen of these texts, including those followed by an *, were the subject between 1933 and 1938 of a commentary by Régis Messac in the popular culture journal <The Primary of which he had become the editor-in-chief and whose purpose was "...to respect the word primary, to pay tribute to the artists faithful to the people, to contribute to give to his readers a culture penetrated by an international and human spirit... to fight the prejudices

SourcesSources: The Social Movement, n° 56, July-September 1966 (article by Antoine Perrier). — Le Réfractaire, n° 76, October 1982.= note by J. Maitron in "Biographical Dictionary of the Workers' Movement...", op. cit. // CIRA Bulletin, Marseille, n°23/25, 1985 "Testimonies" // R. Bianco "A Century of Press...", op. cit. // Information provided by Les Amis de Régis Messac, July 2007 // L’Unique, n°2, July 1945// La Voix Libertaire, 23 June 1934 //