The Characters in Marie-Madeleine -

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade

Léon Faye

Georges Loustaunau-Lacau (Navarre)

Navarre was born in Pau, France in 1894. In 1912, he began his military education at the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr. He later replaced Charles de Gaulle on Marshal Philippe Pétain’s staff. Navarre was known for his anticommunist views and co-founded the Corvignolles network, the military arm of La Cagoule, a far-right organization which aimed to overthrow the French Third Republic and establish an authoritarian regime. Eugène Schueller, the founder of L’Oréal, was one of La Cagoule’s financial backers. Navarre’s ties to this organization resulted in his dismissal from the army in 1938.

After being recalled to service at the outbreak of World War II, Navarre was arrested in March 1940 as a result of his prediction that the Germans would invade France via the Ardennes. His case was brought before a judge on May 10, 1940, the same day that Nazi Germany launched its long-anticipated offensive in Western Europe. Because of the accuracy of Navarre’s prediction, the judge dismissed his case with a stern warning and then dispatched him to the Maginot Line, where he sustained bullet wounds to his neck and back.

The British military historian M.R.D. Foot wrote that Navarre “positively relished being in hot water-wonderful to serve under, impossible to command.”

Monique Bontinck and Ferdinand Rodriguez (Magpie)

Henri Schaerrer

Swiss by birth, Schaerrer was a mechanics student who joined the French Navy in 1939. He was injured during the evacuation of Dunkirk in May 1940 and then discharged the following October. Was one of the first people Marie-Madeline recruited for Crusade.