Ferdinand Lop

French politician (1891–1974)

Ferdinand Samuel 1939

Ferdinand Samuel Lop, later Samuel Ferdinand-Lop, known as Ferdinand Lop (10 October 1891 in Marseille – 29 October 1974 in Saint-Sébastien-de-Morsent) was a French Jewish journalist, draughtsman, English language teacher, writer, poet, and humourist.[1] He stood repeatedly as a satirical candidate for the French Presidency and for the Académie française.[2]

He married Sonia Seligman on 18 January 1923 in Paris.

During the French Fourth Republic, Lop stood on an electoral platform which consisted of:

* the elimination of poverty after 10 pm;[3]
* the construction of a bridge 300 m wide, to shelter vagrants;
* the extension of the roadstead of Brest to Montmartre and of the Boulevard Saint-Michel to the sea (in both directions) – a policy reprised from an earlier satirical candidate, Paul Duconnaud;
* the installation of a slide in the Place de la Sorbonne, for students of the University of Paris [notorious for instigating political unrest];
* the nationalization of brothels, to give prostitutes the benefits of public servant status;
* the reduction of pregnancy from nine to seven months;
* the installation of moving pavements, to make life easier for wanderers;
* providing a pension to the widow of the unknown soldier;
* the relocation of Paris to the countryside, for fresh air;[4]
* the removal of the last coach from Paris métro trains.

He authored numerous booklets, often with evocative titles, such as Thoughts and aphorisms (1951), Pétain and history: What I would have said in my inaugural speech at the Académie française if I had been elected (1957), History of the Latin Quarter (1960–1963), Where is France going? (1961) and Antimaxims (1973).

He died and was buried at Saint-Sébastien-de-Morsent.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Ferdinand Lop, bouffon égaré - Libération". archive.wikiwix.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
2. ^ LIFE. Vol. 21\. Time Inc. 1946-11-11. pp. 2–4\. ISSN 0024-3019.
3. ^ Felton, Bruce; Fowler, Mark (March 1985). Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual. Random House Value Publishing. ISBN 978-0-517-46297-3.
4. ^ "FRANCE: Le Front Lopulaire". Time. 1946-05-13. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2023-01-09.

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