Georges Marrane

He remained in this elected position for forty years, except for the occupied period during World War II, until his retirement from politics in 1965.

Madeleine Braun, who in the 1930s had been active in the anti-fascist Amsterdam-Pleyel movement and the Aid for Spain Committee recalled that: "Georges preferred the bicycle because of a liking for sport but also to avoid checkpoints at railway stations ... Marrane always carried a loaf of bread on the back of his bike in order to look like a pensioner on his way back from market ...

This Gallic identity with his hallmark bicycle and hirsute face made him quite acceptable to anyone, almost a figure of fun and certainly not a security threat.

For three years he furrowed the back roads of the Free Zone taking vital intelligence and orders hither and thither without being intercepted.

Marrane competed against the wartime hero Charles de Gaulle; a third candidate, Albert Châtelet, represented a coalition of non-communist leftist groups.