How Jean Moulin Spent His Student Years in Montpellier
Early Years and Prefecture Work in Montpellier
Long before he was a hero of the Resistance during the Second World War, Jean Moulin was a native of Béziers navigating student life in Montpellier. Born to a history-geography professor father, the young student earned just enough money to pay for his lodgings by taking a job at the Cabinet of the Prefect of Hérault. There, he handled the daily press review while maintaining a serious approach to his work despite the backdrop of war.
Moulin’s education faced a disruption in 1918 when he was mobilized for military service. Assigned to the 2nd Génie, he remained stationed in Montpellier and experienced a brief period at the front. Following his release in 1919, he promptly returned to his administrative duties at the prefecture and resumed his legal studies.
Moulin Publishes Political Caricatures as Romanin
The post-war era brought an intense wave of political and cultural activity among university students. At age twenty, with a Republican father who served as a General Councilor, Moulin joined the Lay and Republican Youth movement. He began publishing humorous drawings and political caricatures in student newspapers.
Drawing remained his primary vocation throughout his life. He consistently signed his artistic work with the pseudonym Romanin. This creative outlet existed alongside a vibrant social life where students wore traditional caps known as faluches, organized giant monômes, and hosted costume balls to cope with the trauma of the preceding conflict. Together with a circle of friends from Béziers, Moulin even founded the Saint-Agatha Brotherhood, a student group known for drawing attention.
The Legacy Connecting Student Days to Wartime Leadership
Student discussions often took place over hours spent at local cafes, the Guinguette Rimbaud along the Lez river, or through the General Union of Students of Montpellier. These formative years forged the character of a young man who would, two decades later, become a man not like others. The details of these university days form the focus of the regional broadcast titled “Romanin, the other Jean Moulin,” produced by ICI Hérault.