Obituary article: "Paul Magès is no more" (1999)

In this document

This press article announces the passing of Paul Magès, introduced immediately as "the father of Citroën hydraulics" p. 3.

Biographical elements recalled

The text indicates that he was "born in 1907" and "joined Citroën in 1942" p. 3. It specifies that he was "very quickly integrated into the Citroën design office under the direction of André Lefèbvre" p. 3.

Technical contributions

The article mentions his participation "in the studies of the suspensions of the 2 CV" and his invention of "hydropneumatics" p. 3. It highlights that this suspension "revolutionised the automobile in its time and gave a boost to all the competition", and that "as Citroën never wanted to sell licences, it remained the only one to have this suspension" p. 3.

The document also mentions that he "notably studied in the years an 'anti-roll' DS", by establishing a link with more recent solutions: the "Xantia Activa" marketed by Citroën and an ABS system developed by "Mercedes" p. 3.

Illustrations

The page contains three photographs: a dark Citroën XM-type sedan with an elderly man at its side, an elderly couple posing in front of a garden, and a light-coloured convertible vehicle photographed from a low angle p. 3.

Context

The collection establishes that Paul Magès was born in 1908 and joined Citroën in August 1925, at 17 and a half years old (biographical notice ; autobiographical notes) : the dates of "1907" and "joined in 1942" given by the article are therefore erroneous with regard to the internal sources of the collection. He remained in automotive history as the inventor of the hydropneumatic suspension, an iconic device of the DS presented on 6 October 1955 then generalised on several Citroën models (2 CV, GS, CX, XM, Xantia).

André Lefèbvre, mentioned in the article, was the chief engineer of the Citroën design office, at the origin of the Traction Avant, the 2 CV and the DS. The Xantia Activa, cited at the end of the article, is a 1990s model equipped with an active anti-roll system directly derived from the hydropneumatic research initiated by Magès.

After his retirement from Citroën in September 1974 (photographs of the departure), Magès had retired to Ramatuelle (Var), where he was a municipal councillor then 2nd deputy mayor; he died there on 22 September 1999, a few days before the probable publication of this article, as evidenced by the tribute from the mayor of Ramatuelle.

Archivist's perspective

This short obituary article synthesises, in a very condensed way, the essence of Paul Magès' career as the press remembered it at the time of his passing in 1999. It testifies to the late public recognition of his role, with hydropneumatics being presented as an invention that left a lasting mark on the automotive industry p. 3. It should be noted that the biographical information in the article (birth in 1907, joined Citroën in 1942) is contradicted by the internal documents of the collection, which give 1908 and August 1925 respectively — a frequent approximation in the general press at the time of death.

The mention of an "anti-roll DS" p. 3 is interesting: it suggests that Magès continued, beyond the basic hydropneumatic suspension, to explore attitude correction solutions — a thread that is probably developed in other documents in the collection, notably around the Activa system mentioned here.

This document can usefully be compared with the portrait of Paul Magès in Ramatuelle, published ten years earlier, which offers a more personal light on the man retired in the Var, as well as the AC COMINT "HYDRAULICS" memo, distributed the same month, which seems to accompany internally the announcement of his death to the Citroën network.