Victor Chatenay is a former UCO student and a major figure in Anjou's Resistance and political life.

Born in Doué-la-Fontaine in 1886 and died in Angers in 1985, Victor Chatenay lived through almost a century of French history, marked by two world wars and profound political changes. With a law degree from UCO in 1908, he was destined for a career as a lawyer and the management of the family wine business.

A trailblazer in many fields, he was a passionate car enthusiast - holding driving license n°007 for Maine-et-Loire - and, before the First World War, took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as an on-board mechanic. A keen amateur photographer, he also had an insatiable curiosity for the innovations of his time.

Exempted from military service on account of his frail health, Victor Chatenay nevertheless volunteered to join the army in 1914. He managed to enlist and ended the Great War decorated with the Croix de Guerre. It was during this period that he met Barbara Sterling, an English ambulance driver, who became his wife and the mother of their five children.

On June 18, 1940, on hearing General de Gaulle's appeal, he immediately joined the Resistance. In Anjou, he founded the clandestine movement " Honneur et Patrie ", which focused on gathering intelligence for the British Intelligence Service. His entire family became involved in this perilous struggle, in Angers, which had become the administrative capital of the German occupying forces. Two of his children were deported and later freed, another died fighting in Normandy, while his daughter went to London to continue the fight. After the Liberation, Victor Chatenay decided to retire from public life.

It was finally at the personal invitation of General de Gaulle that he entered politics under the banner of the Rassemblement du Peuple Français (RPF). He became mayor of Angers from 1947 to 1959, welcoming the General in July 1948 for the inauguration of the square dedicated to General Leclerc.

Elected senator for Maine-et-Loire from 1948 to 1951, then member of parliament from 1951 to 1959, he was appointed by Michel Debré as a member of the very first Constitutional Council in 1959, thus consecrating a lifetime of commitment to the service of France.

He summed up his exceptional destiny with humility:

"It's true, however, that when I was in the sixth form, no doubt inflamed by reading about heroic deeds, I prayed with all my heart to the good Lord in the chapel of Mongazon, the Jesuit boarding school in Angers where I was a boarder, that He would grant me an eventful life.
My prayer was more than answered, and in 1942, as the Gestapo hunted me and my family down, my niece Marie CHATENAY, now abbess of the Poor Clares, wrote to me: " Please, find your schoolboy fervor and ask Him to stop, because we didn't ask for anything."

Victor Chatenay remains, to this day, an emblematic figure of courage, integrity and loyalty. In recognition of his commitment, Victor Chatenay is included in the list of Grand Alumni of the Université catholique de l'Ouest.