Only Known Photo of Andorra's Controversial WWII Police Chief Found in Polish Archives

Historian Pau Chica has discovered the only known photograph of Paul Larrieu, the controversial instructor of Andorra's first police force, in Poland's national archives.

The image, dated 1932 and credited to Wide World Photo, shows Larrieu shortly after his arrival in Andorra. Its caption simply reads: "Mr. Larrieu, head of the Andorran police." In reality, as local historian Josep Giribet noted during last week's History Days in Canillo, Larrieu briefly served in that role on 7 April 1933. This followed the Fhasa strike, when deputy veguer Joseph Carbonell—whose position the General Council never recognised—placed him in charge due to distrust of the local officers. The síndic quickly reminded the batlles that neither Carbonell nor Larrieu held legitimate authority.

Appointed in March 1932 as instructor for the force's first intake—created by General Council decree the previous year—Larrieu quickly fell out of favour. By September, the Council sought his removal, but he manoeuvred into the role of vegueria secretary, holding it through three veguerias: Samalens, Laumond, and Lesmartres. He remained until July 1943, amid tensions with Lesmartres that ended with Larrieu fleeing to Spain ahead of a Gestapo patrol. There, he reinvented himself as a French Red Cross delegate, assisting compatriots arriving in Zaragoza amid World War II chaos.

Larrieu's tenure, however, drew dark accusations. In September 1942, at the French vegueria office, he reportedly refused visas for the Jewish Rosenthal family—father, mother, and young son—staying at Andorra la Vella's Hôtel Pyrénées. He demanded they deposit their cash and threatened deportation. The father then slashed his and his wife's wrists with a razor blade, but Larrieu had their wounds bandaged and sent them to Toulouse, according to a 5 February 1945 report by his subordinate, sotssecretari Savary, preserved in Nantes departmental archives.

Smuggler Pierre Saint Laurens, in his wartime memoirs *Contes de faits: souvenirs, témoignages*, described another incident: encountering a truck of elderly Jews and children at Port de fra Miquel refuge, driven by vegueria agent Trouvé toward German hands. Larrieu allegedly arrived, pistol in hand, and ordered Saint Laurens to stand down; the victims vanished.

Mutual accusations flew between Larrieu and Lesmartres, with Lesmartres alleging Larrieu trafficked, speculated on currencies, took commissions, and illegally occupied vegueria quarters. Larrieu countered that Lesmartres handed three groups of French refugees to the Germans in late 1942 and early 1943.

In September 1944, Larrieu returned to reclaim his secretary post but was arrested by French authorities, tried in Perpignan for collaboration, and released without conviction—thanks partly to testimony from refugees he had aided in Zaragoza. Chica found the photo while researching Andorra's World War II history in Polish archives, for a forthcoming book following his 2022 work on the Spanish Civil War. Collector Marc Pantebre has donated similar contemporary images to the National Archive. The reason for the photo's presence in Poland remains unclear.