In December 1941, the Vichy government abolished Rugby union with a simple decree; rugby union, shaken to its foundations, was then able to regain momentum. Story of an enormous struggle for influence.
It’s a story that was long hidden. LDecember 19 1941, the Vichy regime issued a brutal decree that disintegrated a sport entirely. Unique and unfair fact. The text stated: “The association known as the French Rugby League League, whose head office is in Paris, 24, rue Drouot, is dissolved, approval having been refused.” Rugby league, introduced in France by Jean Galia, was no longer accepted. Behind this move by Jarnac, there were obviously fifteen players, including a certain Joseph Pascot, army colonel and former international fly half (six caps between 1921 and 1927). He was then chief of staff to Jean Borotra (the former tennis star) who became commissioner for general education and sports. To understand this blow daggerit must be remembered that the XV was in complete disaster since the exclusion of the French XV from the Tournament in 1931 due to violence and brown amateurism. “There were no more international matches to fill the coffers, the leaders were jealous of the success of the XIII. They were on the street ” reminded us of Robert Fassolette in 2020, PE teacher and rugby union historian. On the eve of the Second Gto pour worldla “Rugby League to XIII” had 225 clubs and advocated unapologetic professionalism for its elite. He had also created a sort of Top 14 before the letter. He demanded a modern and dynamic game at a time when fifteen-a-side matches were chopped up by incessant saves and kicks.
A XIII on the rise
The best quiz players accepted the proposals from the house opposite (Power, Dauger, Rousié). “The fifteen members have always had a knack for being close to power. Against them, we always play two against one.” moving forward again Fasollette. In 1939, the Quinzists had managed to patch things up with the British federations under pressure, it is true, from the Foreign Office. The time had come for the Franco-English alliance to counter Hitler, despite the reluctance towards French rugby still suspected of all evils. The dates of the 1940 Tournament had even been planned but the outbreak of war had thrown everything into disarray. The French defeat recorded, French rugby only had to show off its “marshalist” side“. It is the great tour de force of the FFR to have quickly exchanged its pro-British belly dancing in Petainist genuflection, always playing on the same chord: anti-professionalism. “The role of Doctor Voivenel was considerable ” continues Robert Fassollette.
Voivenel and others at work
The Toulouse Paul Voivenel was the second fifteenth man on the maneuver, he was a figure of the time: psychiatrist, novelist, journalist, radio columnist. He chaired the Pyrenees committee after being one of the founders of Stade Toulouse. He embraced without problem the theses of the national revolution. In his book, “My beautiful rugby” it was from him that Jean Borotra commissioned a report on French rugby and Voivenel did not hesitate to draw a parallel between the rise of the XIII and the spirit of decay of the 1930s which would have led to defeat with great blows of formulas moralizing: “Purity of birth; pollution of thirteenth dissidence on the body of our weakened rugby. “In conclusion, he calls for the union of the two sports… on the condition that we play at XV and without professionalism. The decree of 1941 ratifies the merger which turns into capture. Since the XIII no longer exists, all its riches are absorbed by the FFR: “It is difficult to estimate the sums involved. After the war, English journalists put forward a sum of 1.3 million francs. This is possible because, according to the press, in 1939, the congress of the Thirteenist federation claimed 2.5 million in expenses and 3.4 million in revenue. But the archives have disappeared. We no longer even know in which bank the Thirteenists put their money. clubs, their equipment, their stadiums, their treasuries Everything found itself controlled by the fifteen players. ” Pascot and Voivenel were not the only Quinzists close to Vichy power, we could cite Jean Ybarnégaray, the doctor Albert Ginesty president of the FFR and brief mayor of Toulouse or André Haon, former president of Stade Toulouse and also mayor of Toulouse. August 22, 1940 déjàJean Ybarnegaray, deputy for Basses Pyrénées, president of the Basque pelota FF, Secretary of State for Youth and Families had Thus declared : “The fate of rugby union is clear, it has lived (and), is purely and simply removed from French sport. […]” In October 1940, the thirteen clubs were asked to disband or change sports. Then the rugby league was banned, in November 1940, from school, middle school, high school or university clubs, these were members of the sports federations specific. The black clouds were gathering in the sky of the thirteen.
Fatal name change
La punishment thirteen players was even harder than you might think. Robert Fassolette reminded us that the liberation did not heal their wounds. Certainly the XIII was authorized to resume its activities but not without obstacles in its wheels. : “In 1943, from London, General De Gaulle issued an order according to which all associations which had suffered from Vichy could regain their property, their rights or their staff. But he we had to wait for a decree of… 1949 which established the name of XIII game and not rugby league. That was it, as it was not the same name, we could not ask to find pre-war riches. “
Rugby union took advantage of the end of the war to resume its relations with the British and, finally, to participate in the Tournament again from 1947. It would be able to reap good revenues. The thirteen players found themselves free, but destitute like the destitute of French sport. Robert Fassollette sees in this epilogue the hand of the Quinzists, close to all powers. Always the conspiracy theory…”You should know that the Thirteenist clubs started completely from scratch at the end of 1944. In 1947, they signed a protocol which prohibited them from creating clubs on Quinzist land. They had to confine themselves to their traditional strongholds, Carcassonne, Albi, Roanne, Perpignan… And not have more than two hundred professionals. Paul Barrière, the president at the time, told me that he had been forced to go through that. In fact, it is a situation comparable to that of the Edict of Nantes between Catholics and Protestants.”
The Audois Barrière was 25 years old, he had been an authentic resistance fighter but ran into a wall to restore the XIII to its true place. He fought to join the National Sports Council in 1946. It was there that he discovered this famous term: “XIII game”. This sport, still so young, held little weight against the power of the Quinzistas. In addition, the Liberation was also a formidable recycling machine. Colonel Pascot had nevertheless well deserved collaboration since from 1942, he replaced Jean Borotra in whom the Germans no longer had confidence. Pascot became Secretary of State in Pierre Laval’s government. A heavy pedigree to take on? Not so much. Although he was initially sentenced to five years of national indignity, he had the conviction overturned by producing certificates of resistance. Paul Voivenel will also escape sanctions by finding allies in the winning camp, he still had to redact a few pages from his work “Mon Beau rugby”, those which refused the existence from the 13th. It’s sweeter than ending up in a jail. The Ginesty, Haon and Ybarnegaray also escaped the most severe sanctions. The third was still placed in a state of national indignity but his sentence was suspended for “acts of resistance”.
The resistance fighters of the twenty-fifth hour all had their way of flying to the aid of victory. The Thirteenists, helpless, understood that they could only count on themselves.
But they were able to find a second golden age in the 1950s, in attracting as many people as the fifteen players in the stadiums, France was even World champion in 1951, before experiencing a new decline from the 1970s. But on a legal level at least, the thirteen players recovered their name in 1993 after eight years of procedure under the influence of Jacques Soppelsa, university president of the federation. The 15th-13th war did not end with the Liberation, it was even quite lively until the 1980s. But curiously, the 1941 affair was little remembered in the media before the 2010s, Let us cite a 2013 article by Jean-Christophe Colin: “La Grande Spoliation” in theMagazine Team which made the file bounce back in the memories.
