Company of the French explorers

The Company of the French explorers ( SEF ), created in 1937, is an association gathering the large French explorers. Until 1999, it was called Société of the explorers and French travellers , and is also known under the name of Club of the Explorers . It is in particular organizing Prix Liotard, given by the President of the Republic.

Objectives

The Company of the French explorers officially endeavors to gather " the large travellers who contribute to the knowledge of the badly known areas of the Earth, those which begin an original research in zones of very difficult access, which approaches the forgotten tribes or conquers inviolate summits, those which try extreme sea routes or sail on little attended rivers, which discover the underground world and the hidden sides of our planète." (HTTP: /www.societe-explorateurs-francais.com/objectifs.html)

The company shares its activities with the Société of Geography which lodges it. But also the national Natural history museum of natural history (and particularly the Museum of the Man), the national geographical Institute (IGN), the national Record library, the Committee of ethnographic film, the alpine Club French, the French polar Forwardings of Paul-Emile Victor, the Companies of the Africanists, the Company of the americanists, etc

History

The Company of the French explorers was founded in 1937 by a group of young explorers:
  • a team returning of the first crossing of the Greenland, the doctor Robert Gessain, the scenario writer Fred Matter, the ethnologists Michel Pérez and Paul-Emile Victor.
  • Bertrand Flornoy, of return of Peruvian Amazonia.
  • the geologist Louis Liotard, who set out again for the Eastern Tibet.

They were quickly joined by already famous explorers, such Louis Audouin-Dubreuil (the yellow Croisière), Alexandra David-Néel (China-Tibet), Ella Maillart (China), Jean de Guébriant (exploring of High Amazonia), Theodore Monod (the Sahara) and Henri Lhote (the Sahara). Then by the sailor ethnographer Eric de Bishop, the scenario writer of mountain Marcel Ichac, the aviator Maurice Bellonte, the astronomer Audouin Dollfus, or the speleologist Norbert Casteret.

Small group of friends before war, the Company of the French explorers sticks to the diffusion of its ideals after the Libération. Since 1954, it organizes cycles of conferences and publishes Books. Recruitment remains nevertheless severe, the Company will never exceed 300 members.

In 1945, with the Museum of the Man, under the aegis of the Club of the explorers the famous Liotard group is founded, in remembering Louis Liotard assassinated in Tibet in 1940, a group of new and young explorers. This group organized the first great forwarding of the post-war period in Africa, the Mission Ogooué-Congo, with No5el Ballif. It had a repercussion such as the large scenario writer Jacques Becker recalled it in one of its successes general public, the film " Appointment of juillet".

The Liotard group will be the seedbed of the Club, with the polar ones, Pierre-Henri Martin, Robert Pommier, the Saharan ones of which Guy de Beauchêne and Jean-Claude Berrier, men of the rivers, Jean Rouch, Sauvy and Ponty, Jean Laporte, Joseph Grelier, those of the dense drill, Jean Cornuau, Dominique Darbois, Lucien Demesse and Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau, " Trans-Americans " Guy Morance and Jean Raspail, deaths or missings on the ground, Raymond Maufrais, Annette Laming and Jose Emperaire, Guy de Beauchêne.

Activities

The Company of the French explorers (SEF) is lodged by the Société of geography with which it shares its activities.

  • the SEF gives a program of conferences, generally accompanied by films ()

  • the SEF publishes ():

    • the end-of-term report " Latitude 37".
    • " Books of Explorateurs".
    • of the pages in " Géographie" , bulletin of the Company of Geography.
    • Of the relations of exploration of its members in " Acta Geographica "
    • a chronicle in the review " reportages".
    • a collection of books " Companies of the explorers français" published with the editions Arthaud.

  • the SEF constitutes a committee of evaluation of purses and price. In particular the Price Liotard (created in 1948) () decreed by the President of the Republic or the attribution of purses, of which those of the Foundations Renault and Kodak.

Presidents of the SEF

Sources and bonds

The site of the Company of the French explorers

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