Mr. Christophe Dolbeau, Lyon, France

Christophe Dolbea published his new monograph entitled Aux cotes des patriotes croates (By the Croatian Patriots), as a private edition, in 2019. The book has a subtitle Souvenirs d'un ami francais" (Souvenirs of a French friend). The book has 171 pp, comprises 11 chapters, and ends with a complete bibliography of the author (chapter titles are translated from French): Ch 1 Who, When, and Why Ch 2 A Small Gallery Ch 3 Confrontation Ch 4 Đogović Affair Ch 5 Italian ballad Ch 6 Antonio Ch 7 Iberian Escapade Ch 8 Parisian Family Ch 9 Encounters and Correspondents Ch 10 Articles and Several Books Ch 11 Independence and War Epilog Additions - Victor Hugo Understood Everything; Bibliography (143 articles and 8 book dealing with or related to Croatia) In the middle of the book, twelve pages containing the photos of the main persons described in the book are exhibited, inserted between pp 92 and 93. The book deals with Croatian emmigration in France, with parts of which the author was very close. We also learn of Dominque Gay (on p. 152), a young Frenchman who fought during Homland Defensive War and tragically died in Croatia in 1992 near te town Drniš. Dominique Gay, burried in Roche-la-Moliere in his native France, tragically died in 1992 near the town of Drniš in Croatia. Photo from the above monograph by Christophe Dolebau. In the monograph, the name of another French victim of the Serbian aggression to Croatia, that of Jean-Michel Nicolier, is mentioned (on p. 152). His mother Lyliane Fournier has moved from France to Croatia, and since 2014 she lives in the city of Karlovac. Bust of Jean-Michel Nicolier in the center of the city of Vukovar, Croatia, near the bridge bearing his name. Photo from Wikipedia. Mrs. Lyliane Fournier, mother of Jean-Michel Nicolier, in Vukovar In his book, the author Christophe Dolbeau mentioned his friend Damien Lamothe (born in 1973), the son of a well known psychiatrist in Lyon, who fought in the Croatian army. After his stay in Croatia he went back to university, took an M.A. and is now a well-to-do finance man in Lyon! Another good friend of Christophe Dolbeau is Jean-Charles de la Chapelle (the son of a famous colonel of the French Legion). He led various humanitarian missions to Croatia and Bosnia and was briefly captured by Chetniks and JNA (Yugoslav Army). A good horseman and a faithful church-goer, he organizes every year a pilgrimage on horses to Ars, a small village near Lyon, which was the parish of Father Vianney. When the group of horsemen goes to Ars, Jean-Charles always brings with him a small Croatian flag and also a Libanese flag. See photographs below. Photos by Mr. Jean-Charles de la Chapelle with his blue cravat The book by Christophe Dolbeau represents an important contribution to the study of the history of Croatian emmigration in France.