Lucien Rioux

Lucien Rioux , of his true name Lucien Copfermann , is a French journalist and political militant, specialist at the same time in the trade unionism and French song.

A family life upset by the consequences of the German occupation

Born the August 11th 1928, Lucien Copfermann is resulting from an Jewish family of Rumanian origin installed with Paris since the beginning of the years 1920. Raised in an social environment as modest as enthusiast of assimilation, it appears as an excellent pupil and obtains without difficulties his certificate of studies. Large reader of books and newspapers (work, New Arts persons) as of the préadolescence, it devours in particular those which, like Paris-Evening or the Intransigent, glorifient the French colonial epopee.

But the German occupation places its family within the framework of the laws anti-semites and obliges it with the port of yellow star. In September 1942, the second Rafle of Vel' of Hiv' carries his/her parents in deportation and it must take refuge with his brothers in the countryside. Supporting its conditions of lodging badly, it leaves to work with Aix-the-Baths like groom before being committed, thanks to a German officer, in the administration of the airport of Avord, close to Bourges. It is there that it takes the name of Rioux , name which it keeps with the Libération when it joined the rows trotskisants socialist Jeunesse.

A political commitment located at the left of French socialism

Working at Renault, it is excluded from the CGT at the time of the great strikes for its political affinities. In the same way, its political mobility leaves SFIO to gather around PSU of Gilles Martinet and the revolutionary socialist Action of Yves Déchezelles. If it militates in this last organization particularly at a peak in the combat anticolonial, it quickly joined the Revolutionary Democratic Gathering, founded in February 1948 on an orientation socialist, uncommitted, European, antistalinienne and anticolonialist. In 1951, its support for the nonconformist lefts and the uncommitted cause is illustrated by its proximity with the Trust of the independent and uncommitted Lefts. It follows Claude Bourdet besides when, with others (Claude Estier, Jean Rous, Jean Cohen…), it creates the CAGI in May 1953, a small revolutionary socialist organization very near of the Observer. But it is Gilles Martinet, simple sympathizer of the CAGI which it met in 1950, which makes it enter as Observant freelance journalist to France in 1954. Responsible for the social news, he quickly becomes a regular collaborator about it.

From Obs France in Nouvel Observateur: an engaged journalist, specialist in the trade-union questions

Semi-permanent writer in load of the social questions and trade-union, it must preserve at side his activities of site foreman specialized in the building. He draws from it a contact with the social reality which gives a tonality particular to papers already quite informed thanks to its entries within the various central trade-unions. He thus draws the attention of trade union leaders who allow the newspaper to widen his assistantship beyond the intellectual mediums. It should be said that it yields in its articles, “like the majority of the ex-Communists or ex-companions of the drafting, with the myth of the Great evening”, seeing in each trade-union jolt the advertisement of the great decisive strike. Indeed, as from 1954-1955 and of the great strikes of Saint-Nazaire, the essence of its articles consists not of an attempt at analysis of the trade unionism but of feverish waiting of the resumption of the fight and unit of action CGT-CFTC.

It is besides at the time of the movement of the shipyards of the Loire-Atlantique (1955) that it ties friendly relations with the leaders of the minority of the CFTC (Eugene Descamps, Albert Detraz, Gerard Declercq and Paul Vignaux) who build at the trade-union level what it tries to make at the political level with the leaders of the drafting (Gilles Martinet, Claude Bourdet, etc). It takes part thus with the latter in successive creations of the plain Movement of the New Left (May 1955), the UGS (December 1957) and PSU (April 1960).

With the arrival of the General de Gaulle, the absence of prospects for being able for the left leads it to invest even more its hopes in the trade-union forces and the capacity, by a massive mobilization, “to capsize the ship gaullist and of enrégimenter a broad fraction of the opinion of left”. He comes from there even sometimes to regret obtaining social skills because of their démobilisateurs effects. The trade unionism is then for him the only tool of the Left able to neutralize too liberal temptations of the mode. But it is not satisfied to comment on the strikes or to seek to know Where is the trade unionism? (Buchet-Chastel) like it does it in a test published in 1960.

It shows also a fine knowledge of the trade-union history like illustrates it the Notions of history of the labor movement French which it publishes two years later in the Books of the Center of socialist studies. Then, it sometimes happens to him to take part in the fight of the newspaper against the partisans of French Algeria by clarifying the possibilities of dismantling of the OAS-subway by the interview of a person in charge of the Prefecture of Paris revoked by Papon. But its most direct engagement takes place especially with the PSU where it supports the current of his friend Gilles Martinet.

However, the principal aspect of its working life apart from the social news, it is its passion for the French song. Attending the small rooms of variety and the cabarets as from the years 1955-1956, it ensures since 1957 the popular heading of music of the newspaper. It should be said that, married with a postière working during the night and without children, it has time to survey Paris. It thus sticks to make known still unknown singers like Serge Gainsbourg, Georges Moustaki or Guy Béart.

Lastly, as of the end of the year 1950, it is done within the drafting, the enthusiastic defender of a more open and convivial formula. But, charged with “two sectors considered as bottom-of-the-range, the Varieties and the Social one”, he is scorned by “part of the drafting Observant mondano-academic of France”. Its opinions on the formula of the newspaper have little echo, more especially as, not being permanent writer there, he exerts a trade of technician in a laboratory of the Highways Departments.

Defendant running 1964 of the negotiations in progress with Claude Perdriel and equips it with Jean Daniel, it does not take part in it. But, with Gilles Trip hammer, Serge Mallet and Roger Paret, it meets several times Jean Daniel, Serge Lafaurie and Claude Krief.

A man of the left as fine expert of the Socialist party as of French song

It however feels “rather badly” the fusion and the “profile of overcome” which jumps to him to the eyes with each time it sees that the articles of old of France Observer “are judged more severely than the others”. Although shareholder of the newspaper like the majority of the founders, it does not take part in the confrontations within the board of directors and attends with regret the progressive withdrawal of his friend Gilles Martinet. He supports this last besides when, on the question of a bringing together with the FGDS, he is put in minority within PSU and decides to found association “Capacity socialist” (1967).

It is within this framework that in May 68, it attends the social explosion until it waited since so a long time. He draws from it an imposing chronicle with his colleague Rene Backmann, this last dealing with the student side of agitation while ensuring the trade-union side to him. But the obvious absence of political outlet which appeared to him accentuates its support for the unit step of Gilles Martinet. In front of the concessions made to the gauchists at the time of the congress of Lille of the PSU (June 1971), it decides, at the beginning of 1972, to follow Gilles Martinet and his friends with the PS. It collaborates in it then with the leaders of CERES within the Frontières review, founded with parity between the friends of Gilles Martinet and those of Jean-Pierre Chevènement (December 1972).

This same year, it continues its reflection on the trade unionism while publishing at Seghers Clefs for the trade unionism . The choice of this publisher is undoubtedly explained because it published Julien Clerc there the previous year (1971) and Serge Gainsbourg three years before (1969) in the collection “Songs of today”. Moreover the following year, while leaving a book on the texts Gilles Vigneault (collection “Poets of today”, 1973), it takes the direction of the collection there “Poetry and songs” and publishes there the songs of Robert Charlebois (1973).

It does not give up any therefore the political life and social as the book of Pierre Mauroy shows it which it writes with Franz-Olivier Giesbert in 1977 ( Heirs to the future , Stock). It defends there inter alia the credibility of the common Program through that of the Soviet economic model which it takes as a starting point. Because, like illustrates it its considerations on the character “secondaries” of the fights suggested by André Gorz, it seems to preserve a traditional vision of the political claims.

Besides it supports with certain old France Observer (Gilles Martinet, Philippe Viannay) the project of launching of the Morning, not hesitating to recall that nobody had protested when “to launch Nouvel Observateur, Claude Perdriel without shame had despoiled the workers of SFA”. But its close relations as Kenizé Mourad - of which it is a time the close friend - or Walter Lewino - who arrives only in summer 1978 - not being to him great help vis-a-vis the quasi-general hostility of the drafting, it must be inclined. It does not seem to hold rigor of it when in May 1982, it recalls the history of the Nouvel Observateur of the goods and the bad days (Hatchet, 1982).

Years 1980 then see its leading activities at Seghers taking the top. It thus publishes monographs or compilations of texts of certain authors and or interpreters: Georges Brassens (1980), Maxime the Forester (1982), Jacques Higelin (1987), Jane Birkin (1988) and Serge Gainsbourg (Seghers, 1991). With Xavier Mows, it publishes also books of company like Rouquin, redhead (Ramsay, 1985) or Tics of time (Ramsay, 1987). Its last book, Fifty Years of songs: of Trenet with Bruel (Editions of the Archipelago, 1992), devotes it as historian of the song. February 23rd, 1995, three weeks after having taken its retirement, he dies of the continuations of a cancer.

Random links: