Charles Petiet

Biography

With high size, 1m82, with good stature, Charles Petiet was endowed with an exceptional vitality and a surprising capacity for work.

This very large worker overflowed of life. In its youth, it had practiced all the sports: football, fencing, horse, shooting, it had been at 20 years Champion of Shooting junior. Contemporary of the birth of the bicycle, then first and modest machines with oil, their control was for him an enthralling play. But already at this age, hunting was its favorite sport and will remain it until the year of its death, at 79 years.

Its capacity for work and its will were been useful by a health without failure it was truly built “with lime and sand”.

Beyond often hard appearances, it could show a major human comprehension, made experiment, dashes of the generous and clear-sighted heart. One respected “his original interventions where it knew, in a few words, to put friendly and adversaries opposite realities”.

It was a surprising speaker. Not that it employed the artifices of the art of public speaking. In its remarks, not of brilliant periods, not of purple passages. He spoke about an equal voice, impressed of a good-naturedness a little narquoise, but he said well what he wanted to say” (Philippe Girardet). One spoke about his terrible jokes: indeed, “of the voice at the voluntarily slowed down beginning, his trailing tone and readily gouaillor, Baron PETIET struck sometimes terrible attacks, precis like the balls of his rifle, fatal with so much of wild boars. Its outspokenness was not worth only friends to him”.

Those which knew it well, celebrated its strong personality and its high intelligence, its savage independence and its satisfying, its technical training, its spirit corrosive and sometimes sarcastic.

Those which knew it better still, testified to its sensitivity: “under its access that it wanted bourru, it hid discreetly an acting generosity, an affectionate sensitivity” (Jacques Loste).

Its proud pace was only the outer jacket recovering a sensitive and fraternal heart which did not want to appear it. One could have applied to him what Louis Barthou had said of Poincaré: “It carried its pinks in inside”. (Bulletin of the employers' federation of the Manufacturers of Cars - October 16th, 1958).

Sure in friendship at the most point, when it granted its confidence it was total, and it withdrew it only in front of the obviousness without complaining about ingratitude”.

As a President of the living room, it accommodated successively the following Presidents of the Republic: Raymond Poincaré, Alexandre Millerand, Gaston Doumergue, Paul Doumer, Albert Lebrun, Vincent Auriol, Rene Coty like various foreign sovereigns, of which the Sultan of Morocco.

“The personality of Baron PETIET dominated the inauguration; one saw it leaning, at the same time deferent and smiling to the ear of the Head of the State “to locate” such manufacturer of cars to him, to indicate such technical detail characterizing to him a new type of engine, of transmission or brake, a body or new equipment”.

Functions

From 1903 to 1958 Charles PETIET marked the world of the Industrie where it was called “Baron PETIET”.

The functions which he exerted testify to the place that he held:

founder and president of the Company of the Cars directing ARIES
of the Automobile Central Store of the French Army during the First World War
president of the Grouping Hispano (construction of engines of planes) in 1916,1917 and 1918
founder and president of the Consumers' union of Metallurgical and Industrial Products (Forging mills and Steel-works of Hagondange)
president of the Company for the Electrical equipment of Vehicles (SEV)
vice-president of the Company of the Meters and Driving Aster
president of the Employers' federation of the Car manufacturers (1918-1953)
President of the committee of the Motor-show (1919-1958)
President national federation of the Car, Cycle, Motor bicycle, Aeronautics and Industries which are attached to it
founder and president of the International Permanent Office of the Manufacturers of Cars
honorary president of the Company of the Engineers of the Car
president of the General Automobile Frenchwoman (GFA) (Trucks Bernard, Delage, Delahaye, Laffly, Simca, Unic)
founder and member of the Road Union of France
vice-president of the Automobile Club of France
president of the General confederation of French Employers
member of the council of the Employers' federation of the French Iron and steel industry
member of the office of the Union of Metallurgical and Mining Industries
member of the Chamber of commerce of Paris
president of the friendly Association of the former students of the Central School of Arts and Manufactures

See too

Claude-Louis Petiet (1749 - 1806), Minister for the war.
Jules Petiet, engineer of the railroads

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