Career
Preceding that, he was Minister of Agriculture in Léon Blum"s government. He was decorated for his service in the First World War, receiving the Croix de guerre. After fighting in the First World War, Monnet became head of a large farm in Picardy before moving on to politics and joining the Socialist Party in 1928.
In 1933, he joined the administrative board and became the permanent expert of the SFIO for agricultural issues.
In Paul Reynaud"s cabinet, he became Minister of Blockade. Monnet indicated his disapproval of the French armistice after the fall of France in 1940.
However, on 10 July 1940, during the vote to give Marshal Philippe Pétain full powers held at Vichy, he did not vote against it but abstained. During the Occupation, he refused to compromise with Vichy but also to actively engage in the Resistance.
After the war, Monnet went to Africa to continue to play a political role.
He became Counselor of the French Union from 1947 to 1958. He was Minister of Agriculture under Félix Houphouët-Boigny from 1959 to 1961 and personal adviser to the President (Félix Houphouët-Boigny) of Ivory Coast shortly after its independence from France, serving from 1961 to 1964. A few years later, he returned to France and became president of the National Agricultural Exhibition and Competition (CENECA).