Eva Marie Denise Simon was born in
Aurillac in 1916 into a family of trade unionists. She began training to be a nurse, but left the course to become an activist in the
French Communist Party (PCF). She married the cabinetmaker Joseph Bastide and the couple had a daughter; they divorced in 1946. After the relationship with Bastide ended, she had two children with the communist politician . Their son
Pierre also became a politician and served in the National Assembly. During the Nazi occupation, she became involved in the
National Front. After being arrested in April 1943, she was sentenced to six years in prison in March 1944. Initially imprisoned in
Chalons-sur-Marne and
Romainville, she was later transferred to
Ravensbrück and
Zwodau concentration camps. Although she was freed by the allies, the time in the camps seriously affected her health. Bastide was a PCF candidate in the
1945 elections, placed second on the party's list in Loire, and was one of the 33 women elected to the National Assembly. After being elected, she joined the Family, Population and Public Health Commission. Retaining second place on the PCF list, she was re-elected in the
June and
November 1946 elections, remaining a member of the Family, Population and Public Health Commission until 1949, also sitting on the Justice and Legislation Commission and the Work and Social Security Commission. Although she was re-elected again in
June 1951, she committed suicide in March the following year. ==References==