Paul Deschanel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Eugène Louis Deschanel (February 13, 1855 - April 28, 1922) was a French statesman. He served as President of France from February 18, 1920 to September 21, 1920.
Paul Deschanel, the son of Émile Deschanel (1819-1904), professor at the Collège de France and senator, was born at Brussels, where his father was living in exile (1851—1859), owing to his opposition to Napoleon III.
Paul Deschanel studied law, and began his career as secretary to Deshayes de Marcère (1876), and to Jules Simon (1876-1877). In October 1885 he was elected deputy for Eure-et-Loir. From the first he took an important place in the chamber, as one of the most notable orators of the Progressist Republican group. In January 1896 he was elected vice-president of the chamber, and henceforth devoted himself to the struggle against the Left, not only in parliament, but also in public meetings throughout France.
His addresses at Marseille on October 26, 1896, at Carmaux on December 27 1896, and at Roubaix on April 10, 1897, were triumphs of clear and eloquent exposition of the political and social aims of the Progressist party.
In June 1898 he was elected president of the chamber, and was re-elected in 1901, but rejected in 1902. Nevertheless he came forward brilliantly in 1904 and 1905 as a supporter of the law on the separation of church and state. He was elected President of France on January 17, 1920.
Deschanel aspired to a much more active role as president than had been de rigueur under the Third Republic; but for reasons of his own mental health was unable to put his ideas to the test.
As president, his eccentric behaviour caused some consternation - on one occasion after a delegation of schoolgirls had presented him with a bouquet, he tossed the flowers back at them one by one. It all culminated when, late one night May 24, 1920, he disappeared from the presidential train near Montargis, and was found wandering in his nightshirt by a country stationmaster. This was evidence of the ill health which soon provoked his resignation September 21, 1920.
[edit] Works
He was elected a member of the Académie française in 1899, his most notable works being Orateurs et hommes d'état (1888), Figures de femmes (1889), La Décentralisation (1895), La Question sociale (1898).
| Preceded by Raymond Poincaré |
President of France 1920 |
Succeeded by Alexandre Millerand |
| Preceded by Édouard Hervé |
Seat 19 Académie française 1899–1922 |
Succeeded by Auguste Jonnart |
| Heads of State of France since 1871 |  |
|---|---|
| Third Republic: Adolphe Thiers • Patrice de Mac-Mahon • Jules Grévy • Marie François Sadi Carnot • Jean Casimir-Perier • Félix Faure • Émile Loubet • Armand Fallières • Raymond Poincaré • Paul Deschanel • Alexandre Millerand • Gaston Doumergue • Paul Doumer • Albert Lebrun Vichy France: Philippe Pétain • Free France: Charles de Gaulle Provisional Government: Charles de Gaulle • Félix Gouin • Georges Bidault • Léon Blum Fourth Republic: Vincent Auriol • René Coty |
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
