Communist Writer. Paul Charles attended the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly, followed by obtaining a law degree from the University of Paris. However, he seldom worked as an attorney. He wrote for the "Les Acmes des poetes," an anarchizing review published beginning in 1909. By 1912, a collection of his poems were published and two of his plays debuted in the provinces. He also took up watercolors, exhibiting some at the Salon des Artistes Francais. Called up to serve in the First World War from 1914 to 1919, he witnessed the horrors of trench warfare, being wounded by shrapnel in 1915 and gas in 1918. He was awarded several citations for his service, but that did not prevent his circulation of pacifistic articles to various newspapers. In 1916, he joined the French Section of the Workers' International. With two others, he created the Republican Association of Veterans. He joined the editorial staff of "Canard enchaine" and regularly published his column "The verses get there." Two volumes of poetry published reflected his war experiences as reflected in "La Guerre des soldats," and in the collection "Trains rouges." In 1919, he was elected deputy for the 1st constituency of Paris. In 1920 he participated in the establishment of the French Communist Party (FCP). He moved through the ranks and attended the congress meetings in Moscow. He became editor in chief of "L'Humanite," a publication of the FCP. Spending time in the Soviet Union, China and Spain, he published in "L'Humanite" major reports on their five year plan titled "The Builders of New Life." In 1935, he took on a major survey on France as well. He began the Association of Revolutionary Writers and Artists in 1932 after spending a year in Moscow. When died suddenly from a heart attack, his funeral drew several thousand people as he is considered the first head of the FCP. A monument was built in Villejuif in 1967. Hundreds of streets and avenues throughout France bear his name including a Paris metro station.