Pierre Morain

Pierre Morain (12 April 1930 – 27 May 2013) was a building worker, a trades unionist, a militant libertarian communist and an anti-colonialist activist. For most purposes he would be considered a Frenchman. However, when he faced trial in connection with a newspaper article he had written opposing the government position in respect of the Algerian War, the president of the court noticed that his nineteen co-defendants were all Algerian and felt it necessary to clarify Morain's nationality: "But you .. are nevertheless French". Morain's defiant clarification is often requoted when Pierre Morain is discussed: "No, I'm not French. I'm a worker". When he was arrested on 29 May 1955 (or 29 June 1955: sources differ) Morain became the first French anti-colonialist activist to be sent to prison for supporting Algerian independence.

Life Provenance and early years Pierre Morain was born at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a short distance down-river from Paris. Robert Morain, his father, worked for the government in an administrative capacity. Suzanne Courtois, his mother, worked as a typist. In 1947 Pierre Morain started working as a tiler for a small building company based at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. During this time, in the evenings, he tried to attract support by selling copies of "Le Libertaire", in cafes frequented by Algerian workers. He was also the writer of several major articles appearing in "Libertaire", dealing with the working conditions of Algerian workers employed by the textile factories and other industrial enterprises in Roubaix. He was transferred again on 22 November 1955 to The Santé Prison in Paris, from where in the end he was released at the end of March 1956. Leading members included Jean Cassou, Daniel Guérin, Claude Dechezelles, André Breton, Albert Camus was in some ways himself conflicted over the Algeria crisis, but he was steadfast in his opposition to unjust punishment of those who struggled for Algerian independence, and he would continue to back Pierre Morain's activism the rest of his life. Pierre and Suzanne Morain were both in poor health by this stage and Pierre Morain died a couple of months later at nearby Verrières. His funeral provided an opportunity for a large reunion of old libertarian activists at the hamlet of Saint-Martin-du-Larzac.