Paul Bastid

Nationality

France

Date of Birth

1892

Date of Death

1974

Political
Preference

Paul Bastid was a French lawyer, academic and a left liberal politician. He served as national deputy from 1924 until 1951.
During the war he as a member of the National Council of the Resistance. In 1943, Paul Bastid joined the Comité général d’études that explored the possibility of a European federation – together with Robert Lacoste, Francois de Menthon and Alexandre Parodi, Pierre-Henri Teitgen and René Courtin were involved as rapporteur for political questions and economic questions respectively.

From 1949 to 1951 Paul Bastid led the group of liberals and radicals in the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe. Together with Radical Europeanists such as René Mayer, Paul Bastid advocated a pragmatic and gradualistic approach to the European Union, focused on economic integration. Moreover, he was reluctant to allow West Germany to join the Council of Europe too quickly.