Destins: Général De Bollardière (1975)

The exceptional portrait of a pacifist general, the only senior officer to have spoken out against torture. This film is due to the talent and tenacity of two Swiss directors, who proposed these interviews in 1974. This precious testimony is still censored in France, since no national channel has yet decided to program this precious document. Son and brother of a soldier, General Paris de Bollardière was destined for a career in the military. For many years, he was one of the most brilliant representatives of this career in France; From Narvik to the Algerian War, he acquired a reputation as a brave warrior, a leader of men, with almost legendary courage and knowledge. After fighting in the French maquis, he joined Indochina, where he suddenly found himself in the camps of the aggressor. His convictions were greatly shaken. But it was in Algeria, where the French army practiced torture and summary executions, that he took a big turn. He expressed his contempt for Massu, and was relieved of his command. After the generals' putsch, he handed in his resignation to Pierre Messmer, Minister of the Armed Forces. The circle was complete. Until his death in 1986, Jacques de Bollardière would fight fiercely for peace in the world, from the Larzac plateaus to the Mururoa atolls.