As a young man he became interested in anarchism, and in 1915 he met French anarchists Emile Armand, Pierre Chardon, Sebastien Faure, Louis Lecoin and the Spanish anarchist Buenaventura Durruti, with whom he would remain close friends throughout his life [REF].
In May 1918, he witnessed municipal guards open fire on striking workers at an aviation factory,[REF] which he saw as an affront to his anarchist principles [REF].