René Nicod

René Nicod (18 July 1881 – 14 March 1950) was a French politician. He was mayor of Oyonnax from 1919 to 1940 and from 1947 to 1950.

Biography René Nicod was born René-Marius Nicod on 18 July 1881 in Saint-Claude, Jura, France. Nicod was orphaned at age 15, interrupting his studies at the College of Saint-Claude. He then worked a succession of jobs. Nicod was a supporter of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO); he became the party's secretary for the department of Ain in 1912. That year he served six days in prison for allegedly insulting the police. As a result, he was imprisoned in an internment camp in Évaux-les-Bains until he was freed by French Forces of the Interior in June 1944. He then joined the National Front and worked coordinating French Resistance activities in the Oyonnax area. He also became a member of the Provisional Consultative Assembly.

After the war, the French Communist Party refused to re-admit him. In July 1945, he re-joined the SFIO, after an absence of twenty-five years. He was re-elected to the posts he held prior to the war, being elected to the General Council of Ain in 1945, and Mayor of Oyonnax in 1947. He would hold both roles until his death in Oyonnax in 1950. His funeral was reportedly well-attended and featured a message from President Vincent Auriol.