- François Coty
François Coty (born Joseph Marie François Spoturno;
3 May 1874 ,Ajaccio ,Corsica –25 July 1934 ,Louveciennes ) was a Frenchperfume manufacturer and the founder of the fascist league "Solidarité Française ", a paramilitary organization founded in 1933, duringEdouard Daladier 's government supported by the "Cartel des gauches " (Left-Wings' Coalition).Life
He married Yvonne Alexandrine Le Baron in 1900, and took the more French-looking name "Coty", a variation on his mother's maiden name, when he moved to
Paris .He began by selling essences derived from flowers in
Grasse , and then peddled his scents to the barbers of Paris. His genius, however, was in marketing and in recognizing that the bottle made the perfume. He had bottles designed by the great ceramistRené Lalique . His first great successes were his "Rose Jacqueminot" scent, in a bottle by Baccarat, in 1904 and "L'Origan" in 1905. One of Coty's greatest success, "Chypre " (1917), gave its name to an entire fragrance family used in the industry's classifications.He was one of the wealthiest men in France and owned two Paris newspapers, the
working class "L'Ami du peuple " and thearistocrat ic "Le Figaro ". He also bought the hunting pavilion of Louveciennes nearSaint-Germain-en-Laye , once the property ofMadame du Barry . He built multiple large residences, but lived in a hotel on theChamps-Élysées .Coty was something of a recluse, disliking crowds of any kind, and hiding behind his public image. The company he founded in 1904 is now
Coty, Inc. , based inNew York City .The movement he founded drew on the previous Coty-backed
far-right leagues the "Faisceau " and the "Croix-de-Feu " WWI veterans organization. WhileMarcel Bucard 's "Francisme " imitated Fascism andMussolini , "Solidarité Française" looked more towards the NSDAP Nazi party andHitler . Never anything but marginal, the group peaked during theFebruary 6, 1934 rally in front of thePalais Bourbon , when it attempted, in alliance with other far right leagues, to topple the Third Republic (Coty had the ambition of having it replaced with amonarchy ). The group was outlawed in 1936, through a decision taken by the Popular Front government.The
Stade François Coty in Ajaccio was named after him.ee also
*
February 6, 1934 crisis
*Jean Despres External links
* [http://www.coty.com Coty, Inc.]
* [http://www.corsica-isula.com/downloads/fran%E7ois_coty.pdf François Coty – the Corsican father of modern perfumiers]
* [http://www.perfumeprojects.com/museum/marketers/Coty.php Perfume Projects Coty page]
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