Joannès Ambre
Joannès Ambre | |
|---|---|
 Joannès Ambre's tumb | |
| Born | 12 April 1915 |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Joannès Pierre Ambre, born on April 12, 1915,[1] in Lyon and died on August 21, 1984, in Menton,[2][3] was a French criminal defense lawyer.
World War II
[edit]The son of Adrien Ambre, born in the Croix-Rousse district of Lyon, he was mobilized in 1939 in the Air Force. In 1940, he returned to Lyon to resume his work as a lawyer. A supporter of Marshal Pétain, he co-authored with Henri Baudry The Public and Private Status of Jews in France (Statut des Juifs): a theoretical and practical treatise, published in Lyon by Joannès Desvigne & Cie in 1942.
In 1942, he became the lawyer for Léon Faye,[4] an officer arrested by Vichy police in 1941 for attempting to rally the Army of Africa. Initially serving as a contact between Faye and his comrades, Ambre eventually joined the Alliance network under the pseudonym "Gibbon," with Faye becoming the network’s military leader. Ambre helped recruit new agents[5] and participated in a major meeting of sector leaders in July 1943. In August, he flew to London, accompanying Faye. After Faye’s arrest upon his return in September, Ambre was sent to Algiers for various missions.
In May 1944, after further arrests within the Alliance, Ambre joined the BCRA (Central Bureau of Intelligence and Operations). Following the June landings, he joined Squadron No. 226 of the Royal Air Force alongside [[Joseph Kessel].
After the war, he was awarded the Resistance Medal.
Career
[edit]Known as the "lawyer of gangsters," he defended the Gang des Lyonnais,[6] which he renamed the "Gang of the Century," alongside André Soulier.[7] He also defended Pierre de Varga, the alleged mastermind behind the assassination of Jean de Broglie.
Ambre challenged Judge François Renaud on procedural grounds, accusing him of playing with the freedom of women and mistresses of criminals by manipulating visitation rights to pressure suspects. Judge Renaud was assassinated on July 2, 1975. The film The Judge Fayard, aka The Sheriff by Yves Boisset implicated the SAC (Civic Action Service), while Jacques Derogy's book Investigation of an Assassinated Judge: The Life and Death of Lyon Magistrate François Renaud explored the mafia angle.
Throughout his career, Ambre was a defense attorney or represented civil parties in criminal trials. In January 1977, he was one of the civil party lawyers in the trial of Patrick Henry, defending the interests of the family of seven-year-old victim Philippe Bertrand, who was kidnapped and murdered.
In 1979, he appeared on the TV show Apostrophes to present his book I Will Never Be Silent and declared: "I fight in an absolute way, refusing any sacrifice that is not in the interest of my client."[8]
Ambre also served as deputy mayor of Lyon and was a member of the Radical Party. He belonged to the Masonic lodge "Union et Liberté" and presided over the Lyon International Festival.[9][10]
A square in Lyon’s 4th arrondissement, on the border between Lyon and Caluire, is named after him.[11]
Publications
[edit]- Joannès Ambre and Henri Baudry, The Public and Private Status of Jews in France (Statut des Juifs): A Theoretical and Practical Treatise, Lyon, Joannès Desvigne & Cie, 1942.
- Joannès Ambre, I Will Never Be Silent, Robert Laffont, May 1, 1979, 333 pages. (ISBN 978-2221003008)
References
[edit]- ^ https://www.fondsenligne.archives-lyon.fr/v2/ark:/18811/a007bb162de90fa02c197fca07aad648
- ^ "Me Joannès Ambre est mort". August 23, 1984 – via Le Monde.
- ^ "matchID - Moteur de recherche des décès". deces.matchid.io.
- ^ Fourcade, tome 1, p. 298.
- ^ Mure 1994.
- ^ "Mort d'Edmond Vidal, ancien chef du gang des Lyonnais". September 9, 2024 – via Le Monde.
- ^ "Interrogatoire de André Soulier sur Lyonpeople.com". www.lyonpeople.com.
- ^ Apostophres, Crime et châtiment, IMDb
- ^ "francs-macons-resistants - Une notice : Joannès Ambre". francmacon-lyon.onlc.fr.
- ^ "IT1 13H : émission du 25 juin 1982 | INA" – via www.ina.fr.
- ^ "Place Joannès Ambre". Les rues de Lyon. October 19, 2016.
