31 août 1913
19 mars 1997
Koch Foccart, Jacques
Foccart, Jacques
Foccart, Jacques (1913-1997)
Beaucoup de mythes ont entouré la figure de Jacques Foccart. Il a fallu attendre 2015 pour qu’une biographie académique lui soit consacrée. Considérant désormais les avancées historiographiques sur le personnage, la présente notice biographique se borne à retracer les grandes étapes de sa vie.
Jacques Foccart est né à Ambrières-le-Grand (Mayenne). Fils d’une famille originaire de la Mayenne et d’une famille créole originaire de la Guadeloupe, il passe sa petite enfance, de 1913 à 1919, à l’habitation Saint-Charles à Gourbeyre dans la commune de Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe), où son père possède de grandes plantations de bananes. De retour en métropole, de 1919 à 1925, la famille Foccart partage son temps entre Nice et la Villa Auguste de Monte-Carlo, et Ambrières. De 1925 à 1930, Foccart est élève au lycée de l’Immaculée-Conception à Laval (Mayenne), puis de 1930 à 1931 au lycée de Monte-Carlo. Il ne passe que la première partie de son baccalauréat et quitte le lycée à l’issue de la Première. Il devient prospecteur commercial des usines Renault à L’Aigle (Orne) puis à Vendôme (Loir-et-Cher) entre 1931 et 1934. Il effectue son service militaire en 1934-1936. Il devient ensuite employé dans la société commerciale de Jacques Borel, proche de la famille Foccart, spécialisée dans l’import-export avec l’outre-mer. Le 20 avril 1939, il épouse Isabelle Fenoglio, de sept ans son aînée. Le couple n’a pas eu d’enfant.
Mobilisé en août 1939 comme sous-officier de l’armée de l’Air, il est démobilisé en août 1940 et regagne Paris puis l’Orne où il fonde une exploitation de bois. Il s’engage dans la Résistance intérieure et à partir de 1943 devient un cadre dans la région M, immatriculé au BCRA, au Bureau des opérations aériennes (BOA). Passé dans la clandestinité en 1944, il est un des responsables du Plan Tortue pour le débarquement allié. À la Libération, il intègre les forces spéciales parachutises de la DGER, l’ancêtre du SDECE. Il reste un officier de réserve du service Action où il atteindra le grade de lieutenant-colonel.
En 1944, il fonde sa propre société d’import-export : la SAFIEX, principalement spécialisée dans les Antilles. Cet engagement professionnel privé lui a permis de ne jamais dépendre d’autre salaire que du sien et de conserver son indépendance. Foccart ne fut jamais fonctionnaire de la République et attache un grand prix à la liberté d’action que lui permet son statut d’importateur-exportateur. Lorsqu’il s’engage en politique, il confie la SAFIEX à son ami Robert « Bob » Rigaud.
La guerre a été pour lui un moment formateur : à la Libération, il s’engage dans le combat politique aux côtés du général de Gaulle et au sein du RPF dont il deviendra un baron. Nommé en 1947 responsable RPF pour les Antilles et la Guyane, il est en charge dès 1948-1949 des questions ultra-marines (DOM-TOM) et se spécialise sur l’Afrique. En 1950, il est désigné conseiller de l’Union française. Membre du conseil national du RPF, puis secrétaire général adjoint, il devient secrétaire général du mouvement en 1954, en pleine « traversée du désert ». Fidèle parmi les fidèles du général de Gaulle, il s’emploie à maintenir les réseaux gaullistes en France et à travers l’Empire en vue de son retour au pouvoir. Il anime notamment jusqu’en 1958 la Lettre de l’Union française, bulletin d’information politique du RPF à destination de l’Outre-Mer.
En 1958, il est au coeur des complots qui permettent le retour du général de Gaulle au pouvoir, comptant parmi les plus proches compagnons du fondateur de la Ve République au cours du processus politique de transition (au lendemain du 13 mai, il retrouve même ses réflexes de clandestin de l’époque de la guerre). En 1958, il est nommé conseiller technique de Charles de Gaulle, dernier président du Conseil de la IVe République (Matignon) ; en 1959, il est nommé conseiller technique de Charles de Gaulle, premier président de la nouvelle République (Élysée) : son domaine de compétences couvre l’Afrique, les DOM-TOM, les services de renseignement et de sécurité et la liaison avec les formations gaullistes. En mars 1960, il est nommé secrétaire général de la Communauté en remplacement de Raymond Janot, à l’issue du 7e et dernier Conseil exécutif de la Communauté. Il réorganise son service qu’il rebaptise secrétariat général des Affaires africaines et malgaches en 1961. Il reste en fonction jusqu’en 1974, secondé par Alain Plantey (1960-1967) puis René Journiac (1967-1974), avec une éclipse lors de l’intérim d’Alain Poher en 1969. Installé à l’hôtel de Noirmoutier, 138 rue de Grenelle, le secrétariat général déménage en 1970 pour s’établir au 2 rue de l’Élysée. Durant les deux mandats du général de Gaulle, Foccart apparaît incontestablement comme son plus proche conseiller. Lors de la crise d’Algérie, notamment entre la semaine des barricades et la neutralisation de l’OAS et surtout lors du putsch des généraux, Foccart se fait le garde du corps politique du président de la République et appartient au dernier carré de grognards qui l’entourent et le protègent envers et contre tout. Membre des « Quatre Grands », il s’entretient tous les soirs en tête-à-tête avec de Gaulle (la matière de ces entretiens nourrit son Journal de l’Élysée). Ce moment de communion gaulliste lui confère un véritable rôle de Pythie, entre la stratégie arrêtée par le général et la mise en œuvre tactique qu’il convient d’inventer. Il est le seul conseiller à rester non seulement en fonction durant toute la présidence du général de Gaulle, mais aussi à poursuivre sa mission auprès de Georges Pompidou. Considéré comme le « père » de la Françafrique, il organise un « système intégré » dans lequel le président ivoirien Félix Houphouët-Boigny tient une place centrale au sein de la politique française en Afrique.
En 1960, il contribue à la fondation du service d’Action civique (SAC). Tout au long de ses fonctions élyséennes, il reste très proche des organisations politiques gaullistes autour de la rue de Solférino : en Mai-68, il est un des principaux organisateurs de la riposte des Comités de défense de la République (CDR). En 1974, il fait campagne pour Jacques Chaban-Delmas. La victoire de Valéry Giscard d’Estaing provoque la liquidation du secrétariat général des Affaires africaines et malgaches et le départ de Foccart de l’Élysée (où il est remplacé par René Journiac, son ancien bras droit). Officiellement en retrait de la vie politique et concentré sur ses activités d’import-export avec la SAFIEX, il maintient des liens très étroits avec les chefs d’État africains « amis de la France », et suit de près la recomposition de la famille gaulliste sans apparaître nécessairement au premier rang. À la faveur de l’élection présidentielle de 1981, il se rapproche de Jacques Chirac et de la tendance néogaulliste du RPR qu’il est un des rares gaullistes historiques à rallier. Dans l’opposition au gouvernement socialiste, il initie Jacques Chirac aux réseaux franco-africains et dont il devient tout naturellement le « Monsieur Afrique » à Matignon lors de la première cohabitation (1986-1988). De 1988 à 1995, Jacques Foccart crée la cellule Afrique de la Mairie de Paris, installée rue Martignac, et poursuit ses missions de « Monsieur Afrique » auprès de Jacques Chirac en vue de l’élection présidentielle de 1995. Lorsque ce dernier est élu, Jacques Foccart, déjà âgé et malade, est nommé son « représentant personnel auprès des chefs d’État africains » (14 rue de l’Élysée), en marge de la cellule Afrique de l’Élysée confiée à Michel Dupuch, ancien ambassadeur de France à Abidjan (2 rue de l’Élysée). Jacques Chirac élève Jacques Foccart à la dignité de grand officier de la Légion d’honneur. Le 19 mars 1997, Foccart décède à son appartement parisien de la rue de Prony.
Was this content helpful? Let Archives Portal Europe and the archival institution know what you think.
Feedback is sent directly to the institution holding this material and should preferably be submitted in English or in the language of the institution, if possible. The institution will aim at getting back to you as soon as possible to help you with your request, though you might need to allow between two and four weeks for this depending on the current workload at the institution.
Please select amongst the relevant tips we can help with. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
Starting your search here will include all content available in Archives Portal Europe. Simply enter your keyword(s) and hit the search button. Wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks, e.g. “French Revolution”. Check the box to “Search each term separately” in case you are looking for documents containing at least one word, but not necessarily all keywords; this will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages at the same time (e.g. “French Revolution” “Révolution Française”). You can also use wildcards - find more about Research Tools here. If you would like to use more specific settings, try our Advanced search
The additional advanced search options give you the possibility to focus your search in:
When searching with multiple terms at the same time, wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks (e.g. "French Revolution"), or check the box "Search each term separately" in case you are looking for either one term of the other. This will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages (e.g. "French Revolution" "Révolution française"). You can also choose one of the suggestions matching your search term once you start typing.
This will only show results that include documents that have been digitised and are available online
Use this option to search only one or more keywords, rather than all of them
Select where your search terms should appear specifically inside the archival description:
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the description of the archive:
Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions:
Enter a start and/or end date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01-01-1900 for 1 January 1900. This will allow you to focus your search on a specific period of time. You can use the calendar function or type directly in the text field. The checkbox "Exact date search" concentrates the search on one specific date.
Check "View in context" to view the results in the hierarchical structure of archives.
For more details see Research Tools
Please sign in to save your searches.
A holdings guide is an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.
A finding aid is a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level.
You can filter results by selecting one or more countries of interest. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by one or more holding archival institutions. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can select to view results from a specific Finding Aid, i.e., a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter by type of descriptive document:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting "Fonds description" for a general overview or "Other descriptions" for item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter
selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results
matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting only those containing digital objects, i.e. the link to the digitised version of the archival material you are looking for. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by type of digital object you are interested in:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers)
Please note that not all documents contain a machine-readable date. More information here
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the earliest dates mentioned in the materials.
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the latest dates mentioned in the materials.
You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting one or more topics of interest. Please note that this filter will only include materials where the topic has been assigned and is therefore in a machine-readable format. Read how to assign a topic to documents on the Topics page. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by type of entities:
You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results based on the type of holding institution. Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions.
Write your message in your own language and use this drop-down menu to have your message translated into English or in the language of the institution for a swifter response. By checking this box and selecting a language you will send your original message along with the translated version
What kind of suggestion would you like to make?
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Licence
This object is not or no longer protected by copyright and has been labelled with the Public Domain Mark. It can be used by anyone without any restrictions.
This object is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. All possible existing rights in the content are waived, and the object can be used by anyone without any restrictions.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution (BY) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object, even
commercially, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described
in the licence.
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Share Alike Licence
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NoDerivs
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NonCommercial
This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.
This object has been
identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in
line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive
2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.
The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the
copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.
This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, No Derivates (BY-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object, even
commercially, as long as no alteration is made to the object and you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.
If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial (BY-NC) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only and as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only, as long as you attribute the rights
holder as described in
the licence, and as long as you license your adaptations of the object under the same
terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivates (BY-NC-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object for non-commercial use only, as long as no alteration is made to the object and as long as you attribute the rights
holder as described in
the licence.
If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.
This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.
This object has been
identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in
line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive
2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.
The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the
copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.
This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.