General Rollet. 2/2

By Christian Morisot

Legionary Mutual Aid
Legionary mutual aid had become a priority for the General. It was essential to defend and implement the idea that the "released" soldier could find work, a crucial element for their successful integration into a civilian world unforgiving of the unprecedented economic crisis it was experiencing.

However, this mutual aid effort proved more complex to organize than anticipated, and the first and most significant difficulty was raising the necessary funds, without which no social action is possible.
Captain Rollin, concluding a second study, believed that social action could only be sustained if: it became a priority mission and, above all, if it was completely independent of the veterans' associations and societies, which were unable to unite, competed clumsily with one another, and, most importantly, failed to organize themselves.

Based on this observation, the guiding principle for the General materialized in the following actions:

• Providing employment with a contract;

• Guiding those who did not wish to settle in the Marseille region;

• Maintaining contact with all former legionnaires;

• Offering shelter to retirees and those discharged from service;

• Establishing administrative offices in Marseille and Paris;

• Studying necessary amendments to existing laws and regulations;

• Soliciting and centralizing job offers;

• Intervening and maintaining constant contact with the Ministry of Labor;

• Securing the operating funds for this social program and allocating them among the shelters;

• Monitoring the use of funds for each of these centers;

For the "Father of the Legionnaires," this was yet another battle; this time, against selfishness and indifference. General Rollet's influence did a great deal to strengthen and solidify the bonds between the active-duty Legion and its veterans.

In conclusion, what can we learn from General Rollet's "social role," or what actions were undertaken under his influence?
His actions focused on:

• Eliminating the "maquis" of administrative formalities,

• Updating individual service records,
• Paying back wages and bonuses,

• Establishing retirement and disability pensions, which had been largely neglected, particularly for disability pensions where the presumption of origin could not be established,
• The release allowance,

• Providing released soldiers with appropriate and decent civilian clothing, other than the collarless "Clemenceau" suit. • The transport conditions differed from those of sharing the ship's hold with livestock…

• The allocation of travel passes and travel expense vouchers,

• Easier residency in France for veterans of foreign nationality, with the possibility, upon obtaining a certificate of good conduct, of being granted a residence permit,

• Financial aid to the centers through numerous sources, such as the national lottery, an area of ​​influence for the "Gueules Cassées" (Wounded Faces),

• And finally, ongoing support for mobilized personnel through veterans' associations and societies.

From 1939 onwards, his health problems became more frequent, more serious, and more worrying, forcing the General to considerably reduce his activities. However, this did not prevent him from continuing to take a close interest in the reception office for veterans of the Legion, the Invalides (Veterans' Home), and from serving as president of the "Friends of the Legion" as well as the "Gueules Cassées" (Wounded Faces).

On April 15, 1941, General Rollet was still discussing current issues with a few close friends, his confidence undiminished.
On the morning of the 16th, he breathed his last, having never seen himself dying.

As a supplement, allow me to share a short text by Marshal Lyautey that could very well be relevant today:

“It is no longer a mystery that in our country, the education of the citizen remains to be done. Democracy calls for it and demands it.
Otherwise, liberty degenerates into license, public order is disturbed, and authority is flouted.
No political structure, no economic doctrine, no social system, however generous, will be worthwhile if the citizen makes senseless use of the small portion of sovereignty at his disposal.
The national interest has suffered far too much from this lack of education.
It is high time to consider this if we wish to prevent the country from plunging into the abyss.” "It was written in 1891."
THE END