Simon Pierre Sabiani (1888 Casamaccioli, Niolu, Corsica – 1956 Barcelona, Spain) was a World War I hero, businessman, Marseilles politician, associate of gangsters and convicted Nazi collaborator.
Serving during World War I in the XVth corps of the 112th regiment of line infantry, he lost an eye at Douaumont. He was wounded several times when he directed six counter attacks against the enemy in six hours. Nicknamed "Le Lion de l'Argonne" (The Lion of Argonne) and "Le Bayard Corse" (The Corsican Bayard), he was awarded on the battlefield "La Legion d'Honneur"; "La Croix de Guerre" 1914-1918 with four palms and two silver stars; and "La Medaille Militaire".
He had four brothers and one sister. Three of his brothers fell in combat in WWI.
Jean-Luc was a lieutenant. He was awarded "La Legion d'Honneur" and "La Croix de Guerre". He was killed in action while in an attack in Champagne.
Joseph was a sergeant major in the 4th regiment of "Zouaves". He was killed in action in Provins in 1914.
François was a lawyer in Marseilles. As an army sergeant in WW1, he was awarded "La Croix de Guerre". He was killed in action on 16 August 1918 on board "Le Balkan" as she suffered a torpedo attack. Pierre Anfriani, the only survivor of the general staff, noted in his report to the Maritime Authorities that François Sabiani could have saved himself had he not tried to save other passengers. A marble plate in his honour used to be affixed on the walls of the Hall of Justice of the city of Marseilles.
Don-Pierre became a POW after being wounded in the head while on a mission in Bois-le-Prêtre - his helmet saved his life. He was in captivity for fifty-two months.
After the war, in 1919 Simon Sabiani joined the SFIO. For a while he was a member of the French Communist Party (PCF). In 1923, he founded the "Parti d’action socialiste" (Socialist action party).
He was elected "Conseiller général" (General counsellor) of Bouches-du-Rhône in 1925, "Député" (Deputy) in 1928, and became the first "Adjoint" (Counsellor) to the mayor of Marseille from 1929 to 1935. He became the mayor of Marseille temporarily in 1931 after the death of Siméon Flaissières. He was reelected "Député" (Deputy) in 1932.
In 1936, he joined the "Parti populaire français" (Popular French party, or PPF) of Jaques Doriot, where he became a member of the political bureau. He was the head of the local section of the PPF from 1936. Among his friends and electoral agents were the three Corsican gangsters Paul Carbone, François Spirito and Antoine Guerini, who ran much of Marseilles' criminal underworld.
During the Second World War, Sabiani ran the Marseilles Bureau of the Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF), where he was the general secretary.
For his roles during WW2 in Vichy France, and for his Collaboration with Nazi Germany, Sabiani was put on trial in a French court, convicted and sentenced to death but escaped to Sigmaringen in Germany, Italy, Argentina, and finally to Spain under the name of Pedro Multedo.
Prior to his death in 1956, he returned secretly to Corsica to visit his mother who was almost one hundred. His remains lie in the family chapel of his village of Casamaccioli.
Sabiani's son François Sabiani, then a law student aged twenty, joined the LVF. François wanted to join the Forces Françaises Libres (French Free Forces) and was already on board a ship in Port-Vendre where his father made him disembark. In his book Et J'ai Cassé Mon Fusil (And I broke my shotgun), Jean-Baptiste Emmanuelli wrote that he also joined the LVF at the demand of François Sabiani's mother, with the aim of trying to convince her son to quit the LVF.
At the beginning of June 1942, while on an LVF mission, François was killed on the Eastern Front, not far from Smolensk, by bullets fired from "Maxim" machine guns by Soviet partisans under the command of Colonel Gradov. The army report for François states: "He had a high conception of his duty. He distinguished himself on the 29th of May 1942 on a reconnaissance patrol by his calm and by his lack of fear of danger. He was fatally wounded on the 2nd of June 1942, accomplishing a mission". He died completely lucid; his last words were for his family.