A pastry cook who came up to Paris at sixteen, he was a deputy for the Seine by 1926, then for five years organised the underground propaganda of the French Communist Party under the name “Frédéric”. A candidate in the presidential election of 1969, he won 21.3 per cent of the vote. His first name is carved “Jaques”, without the c.
The story
His first name is carved without the c: “Jaques DUCLOS, 1896-1975, éminent dirigeant, du parti Communiste Français.” A spelling mistake that no one ever put right, on the grave of a man who was a deputy, a senator, a vice-president of the National Assembly and a candidate for the presidency of the Republic.
Born at Louey, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, on 2 October 1896, the son of a carpenter, he came up to Paris at sixteen and worked as a pastry cook. Called up in 1915 and taken prisoner in 1917, he joined the Communist Party as soon as he returned, in 1920, became a deputy for the Seine in 1926, went underground in 1928 and was granted an amnesty in 1933.
In 1939 he refused to disown the Nazi-Soviet pact. Five years in hiding followed: he ran the party's propaganda under the name “Frédéric”, with Benoît Frachon. Vice-president of the Constituent Assembly in 1945, he lost his seat in 1958, became a senator for the Seine the following year and chaired the Communist group in the Senate.
In 1969, at seventy-three, he stood for the Communist Party in the presidential election that followed General de Gaulle's departure: 21.3 per cent of the vote, and the run-off missed by a whisker. He died at Montreuil on 25 April 1975. His wife Gilberte rests with him.
The grave
A stone in the communist plot, bearing a mistake that nothing ever corrected: “Jaques DUCLOS, 1896-1975, éminent dirigeant, du parti Communiste Français.” — eminent leader of the French Communist Party. The first name is carved without the c — on the grave of a man who was a deputy, a senator, vice-president of the National Assembly and a candidate for the presidency of the Republic. His wife Gilberte Duclos (1911-1990) rests there with him.
On site, do not miss
Read the first name: the stone carves “Jaques”, without the c. His wife Gilberte Duclos (1911-1990) rests with him.
Visitors' questions
Where is Jacques Duclos's grave?
In Division 97, avenue Circulaire, first row, in the plot of the Communist leadership. The inscription carries a mistake: “Jaques DUCLOS, 1896-1975, éminent dirigeant, du parti Communiste Français” — an eminent leader of the French Communist Party.
Maurice ThorezIs there a mistake on his grave?
Yes, on his first name: the stone reads “Jaques”, without the c. It is one of many carving errors at Père-Lachaise — but one of the few to fall on the forename of a national leader. His wife Gilberte rests there with him.
Marcel CachinWhat did Duclos do before politics?
He was a pastry cook. The son of a carpenter from the Pyrenees, up to Paris at sixteen, he was called up in 1915 and taken prisoner in 1917, joining the Communist Party on his return, in 1920.
Henri KrasuckiWho was “Frédéric”?
He was: the name under which he ran the Communist Party's underground propaganda during the Occupation, with Benoît Frachon. He had refused, in 1939, to disown the Nazi-Soviet pact, and lived five years in hiding.
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