Léon Chagnaud

Léon Chagnaud was born on 12 March 1866 in Le Bourg-d'Hem, rural France.[1][2] His father, Hippolyte Chagnaud, was a mason based in Guéret who owned quarries of granite which were used to pave some of the streets of Paris.[3] His mother was Jeanne Chagnaud.[2] His sister, Antoinette Chagnaud, married Philippe Fougerolle, a mason who founded Fougerolle,[1] a construction company acquired by Eiffage in 1992.

He graduated from the Arts et Métiers ParisTech engineering school in Châlons-sur-Marne.[2] His father died in 1891, when Chagnaud was 25.[2] He then did his military service.[2]

Construction of the Opéra métro station in Paris

With his inheritance, Chagnaud founded Entreprise Chagnaud, a construction company.[2][3] In Paris, he built the Viaduct of Passy across the Seine as well as the Paris Métro Line 4 under the Seine, the railroad tracks from the Gare d'Austerlitz to the Gare d'Orsay, and the Opéra métro station.[2] In provincial France, he built locks of the Canal du Centre, the Rove Tunnel, the aqueduct of Achères, the Éguzon Dam.[2] He also built the Ghrib Dam in Oued Chorfa, and the Bou Hanifia Dam in Bou Hanifia, French Algeria.[3] Additionally, he built the Lötschberg Tunnel in Switzerland.[2]

Chagnaud purchased L'Écho de La Creuse, a regional newspaper.[2] He was also a large landowner in Creuse, Indre, and French Algeria.[2] He served on the board of directors of the Société des Mines de bitume et d'Asphalte du Centre (SMAC), which owned an asphalt mine in Pont-du-Château and pioneered the use of asphalt to build roads in France.[3] Additionally, he served on the Boards of Directors of two Moroccan companies: Omnium de Transports au Maroc and Ports Marocains.[3]

He served as a member of the French Senate from 1921 to 1930, representing Creuse.[1] He was a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré.[2] He ran for re-election in 1930, but lost his seat to François Binet.[3]

He became an Officer of the Legion of Honour.[2]

He married Pauline Jouanny on 14 July 1875 in Bonnat.[2] They had a son, Charles Chagnaud, and a daughter, Mrs Jeanne Lenormand.[2] They resided at 83, Avenue Henri-Martin, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.[2] They also owned two chateaux in La Creuse: the Château de Lasvy in Champsanglard, and the Château de Beauvais in Saint-Amand-Jartoudeix,[2] and another chateau in Indre: Château de Bélâbre.[3]

He died at his Château de Lasvy in Champsanglard on 31 July 1930.[1] He was buried in Bonnat.[2] His son served in World War I and inherited the family business.[4] His company is now known as Chagnaud construction.[5]