Simone Segouine dead – famous teenage French Resistance fighter who captured 25 Nazis in WW2 dies aged 97

THE most famous female French Resistance fighter of the Second Word War has died aged 97. Simone Segouin ended her days in the town of Courville-sur-Eure, near Chartres, an Elysée Palace on Thursday. Simone Segouin dies at 97 She was first acclaimed around the world in August 1944 when Hollywood director George Stevens filmed her as an 18-year-old with a submachine gun slung over her shoulder. Simone had just helped capture 25 German soldiers in her home village of Thivars, also close to Chartres.  Days later, she was again hailed a hero after storming into Paris to help liberate the French capital from the Nazis. Simone’s fame was further established by images taken by the legendary war photographer Robert Capa, published in Life magazine the following month. In an interview in 2015, she said: ‘I was a Resistance fighter, that’s all. If I had to do it all again, I would, because I don’t regret anything.’ She also appears on the cover of ‘French Resistance. Fighters In The Shadows,’ by Robert Gildea, professor of Modern History at Oxford University. Simone was born into a farming family near Chartres, around 55 miles from the French capital.  In 1944, at the height of the Nazi Occupation, she joined the Free-shooters and Partisans (Francs-Tireurs et Partisans) or FTP – a combat alliance made up of militant communists and French nationalists.  False identity papers gave Simone a new name and a cover for the daring missions she would take on.  The papers claimed she was Nicole Minet, a resident of the Channel port of Dunkirk – a port bombed so badly at the start of the war that details contained in identity cards were extremely hard to check by the Germans. Her first mission was to steal a bicycle from a German military administrator. She succeeded, and the bike was re-sprayed so it could become Simone’s ‘reconnaissance vehicle’, allowing her to deliver messages and stake out targets. While fighting, Simone started a relationship with Roland Boursier, commander of the Thivars operation.  ‘I studied her for a while to see what her feelings were,’ Roland said during an interview after the war ended. ‘When I discovered she had French feelings I told her little by little about the work I was doing. I asked her if she would be scared to do such work. She said: ‘No, it would please me to kill Boche.’ The couple never never married, but had six children – all of whom were given her maiden name on their birth certificates. It was during a visit to Chartres by General Charles de Gaulle, the Free French leader and future president, that Simone came to the attention of international journalists.  De Gaulle was on his way to Paris and, after a service of thanks at Chartres Cathedral, he made a speech on the steps of the main city post office. Simone was spotted eating a baguette smeared with jam, her machine gun by her side, and wearing an FTP armband.  American reporter Jack Belden interviewed Simone, while Robert Capa took the pictures for a Life magazine feature headlined ‘The Girl Partisan of Chartres’.  After the war Simone was promoted to lieutenant and was awarded the Croix de Guerre medal.  Simone went on to become a paediatric nurse in Chartres, and campaigned for women’s rights. On April 29, 1945 French women voted for the first time in local elections, and then in a national one on October 21. Simone now has a street named after her in Courville-sur-Eure. An Elysée statement reads: ‘Her photograph had gone around the world and symbolised the eminent role of women in the Resistance.  ‘With the disappearance of Simone Segouin on February 22, 2023, our country lost a woman whose life was more than an image, and will remain a lesson.’ Referring to Emmanuel Macron, the statement adds: “The President of France salutes the memory of a woman who risked everything to defend our universal values and liberate France. He sends his heartfelt condolences to her loved ones.” THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY… The Sun is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.