{{Infobox officeholder | name = Étienne Paul-Émile-Marie Beynet | image = | alt = | caption = | order1 = High Commissioner of the Levant | term_start1 = 23 January 1944 | term_end1 = 1 September 1946 | predecessor1 = Yves Chataigneau | successor1 = Office abolished | birth_name = Étienne Paul-Émile-Marie Beynet | birth_date = {{birth date|1883|10|29}} | birth_place = Châtillon-en-Michaille, France | death_date = {{death date and age|1969|4|9|1883|10|29}} | death_place = Annecy, France | occupation = French Army officer, diplomat | allegiance = {{flag|French Third Republic}} (until 1940)<br>{{flag|Vichy France}} (until October 1942)<br>{{flag|Free France}} | branch = French Army | rank = General | battles = {{Tree list}} * World War I * World War II ** Italian invasion of France {{tree list/end}} | awards = {{Plainlist| * Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour * Croix de guerre 1914–1918 * Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 * Legion of Merit }} }} '''Étienne Paul-Émile-Marie Beynet''' (29 October 1883 – 9 April 1969) was a French Army officer who served as an infantry captain during the World War I and later joined the Free French forces in the World War II.
== Biography == Beynet was educated at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr and gained distinction during the World War I while serving as an infantry captain.<ref name="france-libre">{{cite web |url=https://www.france-libre.net/le-ralliement-du-general-beynet/ |title=Le ralliement du général Beynet |publisher=Fondation de la France libre |language=fr |date=2 October 2017 }}</ref> During the conflict, he was wounded on three occasions.{{sfn|Preston|Partridge|Smyth|2000|p=330}} In March 1915, he became the first commander of the newly created 114th Battalion of Alpine Chasseurs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6243524v/f7.item |title="114e Bataillon de chasseurs alpins [1914-1918] : historique du bataillon morts au champ d'honneur décorations et citations |website=gallica.bnf.fr |language=fr |date=1920 |page=1 }}</ref>
After the war, his military career progressed steadily. He was promoted to major in 1919, lieutenant-colonel in 1927, colonel in 1932, and brigadier general on 25 June 1935.<ref name="france-libre"/> He served in Syria in 1927 during the French Mandate and later held the post of Chief of Staff of the Levant troops from 5 May 1930. Following training at the ''Centre des Hautes Études Militaires'', he was appointed military governor of Briançon from April 1936 to January 1938.<ref name="france-libre"/>
During this period, Beynet also took part in the interim command of the Algiers Division until August 1939 and was promoted to major general on 23 September 1938.<ref name="france-libre"/> At the outbreak of the World War II, he commanded the 81st Infantry Division from September to the end of November 1939, then led the 14th Army Corps until 6 July 1940.<ref name="france-libre"/> In this role, he succeeded in halting the Italian offensive in the fortified Alpine sectors of Savoie and Dauphiné.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.memoire-des-alpins.com/historique-des-troupes-alpines/1939-1940-2/bataille-des-alpes/organigramme/ |title=Organigramme de l'armée des Alpes face aux Italiens le 10 juin 1940 |publisher=Mémoire des Alpins |language=fr }}</ref>
In July 1940, Beynet was transferred back to Algeria, where he commanded the 19th Army Corps until September 1941.<ref name="france-libre"/> He was promoted to lieutenant general on 20 February 1941. On 17 September 1941, he was appointed head of the French delegation to the Armistice Commission in Wiesbaden.<ref name="france-libre"/> Alongside the German general {{ill|Oskar Vogl|de}}, he participated in the reorganization of the French police.{{sfn|Kitson|2014|pp=80–82}} He also contributed to a program designed to strengthen French West African forces, including securing the creation of the 8th Regiment of ''Chasseurs d'Afrique'', intended to counter Free French influence from French Equatorial Africa.{{sfn|de Wailly|2012}}
Although he was treated relatively favorably by the German authorities, Beynet remained under constant surveillance by the Gestapo in Wiesbaden. His movements were restricted to a radius of approximately 20 miles (32 km) and required accompaniment by a German liaison officer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.france-libre.net/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Escaped-from-France.pdf |title=Escaped from France |website=france-libre.net |page=13 }}</ref>
Placed in reserve status in October 1942, Beynet severed ties with the Vichy regime and made contact with Colonel Passy, head of the BCRA.{{sfn|de Wailly|2012}} He traveled to London, where he was received by Charles de Gaulle, and formally joined the Free French forces on 26 March 1943.<ref name="france-libre"/> De Gaulle subsequently entrusted him with diplomatic responsibilities, including leadership of the French Military Mission in Washington, D.C. from November 1943 to 25 February 1944.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/01/06/archives/french-want-role-in-allied-invasion-head-of-mission-in-capital-says.html |title=FRENCH WANT ROLE IN ALLIED INVASION |publisher=The New York Times |date=6 January 1944 }}</ref><ref name="afsa">{{cite web |url=https://afsa.org/sites/default/files/fsj-1945-01-january_0.pdf |title=The American Foreign Service Journal |publisher=American Foreign Service Association |date=January 1945 |page=26 }}</ref> On 23 October 1944, he was granted the rank of General of the Reserve Army.<ref name="france-libre"/>
From 23 January 1944 to 1 September 1946, Beynet served as General Delegate of Free France in the Levant, replacing Yves Chataigneau.<ref name="france-libre"/> His tenure coincided with a rapid decline in French influence in the region, as British strategic interests intensified and independence movements in Syria and Lebanon gained momentum. In December 1943, a Franco-Lebanese-Syrian agreement granted broad autonomy to local authorities while maintaining French control of the special troops of the Army of the Levant.{{sfn|Baron|2013}} After the liberation of Paris, France’s continued military presence in the Levant became increasingly difficult to justify.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://codenames.info/operation/1st-battle-of-the-alps/ |title=Tensions of Decolonization: Lebanon, West Africans, and a Color Line Within the Global Color Line, May 1945 |publisher=Radical History Review |date=May 2018 |page=45 }}</ref>
Operating from the Pine Residence in Beirut, Beynet was instructed by de Gaulle to preserve France’s privileged position in the region, including plans to establish an air base in Syria and a naval base in Lebanon in April 1945. He encountered opposition from British representative Edward Spears as well as from emerging local leaders.{{sfn|Moubayed|2018}}
Anti-French demonstrations erupted in January 1945, followed by the creation of the Arab League in March by Syria, Lebanon, and four other states. Disputes over the command of the special troops led to violent unrest in Beirut and Damascus in late May 1945.<ref>{{cite news |title=Les relations de la France avec le Liban et la Syrie |work=Le Monde |date=18 May 1945 |language=fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1945/05/18/les-relations-de-la-france-avec-le-liban-et-la-syrie_1866589_1819218.html |url-access=subscription }}</ref> During these events, French delegate General Fernand Olive ordered artillery and aerial bombardments of Damascus, actions to which Beynet did not object.{{sfn|Barr|2019}} The Levant Crisis ended only after intervention by Winston Churchill, which imposed a ceasefire.{{sfn|Baron|2013}}
In December 1945, an agreement with the United Kingdom finalized the withdrawal of French troops, which Beynet announced publicly in Beirut.{{sfn|Ammoun|2005}} Under his authority, the evacuation was completed in Syria in April 1946 and later that year in Lebanon.{{sfn|Willms|2019}}{{sfn|Baron|2013}}
He died on 9 April 1969 in Annecy at the age of 85.<ref name="france-libre"/>
== Awards == *75px Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour *75px Croix de guerre 1914–1918, with seven palms and three stars<ref name="france-libre"/> *75px Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 *75px Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit (1944)<ref name="afsa"/>
== References == {{reflist}}
== Sources == * {{cite book |last=Ammoun |first=Denise |year=2005 |title=Histoire du Liban contemporain, tome 2: 1943–1990 |language=fr |publisher=Fayard |isbn=9782213649139 }} * {{cite book |last=Baron |first=Xavier |year=2013 |title=Aux origines du drame syrien: 1918–2013 |language=fr |publisher=Tallandier |isbn=9791021001299 }} * {{cite book |last=Barr |first=James |author-link=James Barr (author) |year=2019 |title=Une ligne dans le sable |language=fr |publisher=Place des éditeurs |isbn=9782262081669 }} * {{cite book |last=de Wailly |first=Henri |year=2012 |title=1945, l'Empire rompu: Syrie, Algérie, Indochine |language=fr |publisher=Place des éditeurs |isbn=9782262040321 }} * {{cite book |last=Kitson |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Kitson |year=2014 |title=Police and Politics in Marseille, 1936–1945 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004265233 }} * {{cite book |last=Moubayed |first=Sami |author-link=Sami Moubayed |year=2018 |title=The Makers of Modern Syria: The Rise and Fall of Syrian Democracy 1918–1958 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9781838609474 }} * {{cite book |last1=Preston |first1=Paul |last2=Partridge |first2=Michael |last3=Smyth |first3=Denis |year=2000 |title=British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Western Europe, January 1946–September 1946 |publisher=University Publications of America |page=330 }} * {{cite book |last=Willms |first=Johannes |year=2019 |title=Der General: Charles de Gaulle und sein Jahrhundert |language=de |publisher=C.H.Beck |isbn=9783406741319 }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beynet, Paul}} Category:1883 births Category:1969 deaths Category:People from Valserhône Category:High commissioners of the Levant Category:French diplomats Category:French Army officers Category:École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Category:French military personnel of World War I Category:French military personnel of World War II Category:Free French military personnel of World War II Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Category:French recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Category:Chief Commanders of the Legion of Merit Category:French recipients of the Legion of Honour