Alfred Massé (2 June 1870 – 28 December 1951) was a French lawyer, journalist and politician who was twice Minister of Commerce and Industry shortly before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18).

Early years

Alfred Louis François Pierre Massé was born on 2 June 1870 in

Pougues-les-Eaux Pougues-les-Eaux () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. Pougues-les-Eaux station has rail connections to Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire and Paris. Demographics See also * Communes of the Nièvre department The following is a ...

, Nièvre. He was the son of a former mayor of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

and former general councilor. His grandfather, also Alfred Massé, was a Senator for

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.La Tribune ''La Tribune'' () is a French weekly financial newspaper founded in 1985 by Bruno Bertez. Its main competitor is the French newspaper '' Les Échos'', which is currently owned by LVMH. From 1993 to 2007, ''La Tribune'' was part of LVMH. In 2010 ...

'' and contributed to ''

Le Siècle ''Le Siècle'' ("''The Age''") is a daily newspaper that was published from 1836 to 1932 in France. History In 1836, ''Le Siècle'' was founded as a paper that supported constitutional monarchism. However, when the July Monarchy came to an end ...

'', ''La Lanterne'', and ''Le Rappel''. He participated in conferences of the Union of Republican Youth, and in pro-democracy demonstrations in the Latin Quarter.

Deputy and minister

On 22 May 1898 Massé was elected deputy for the first district of Nevers in the first round of voting, and sat with the Radical Socialist group. He was reelected on 11 May 1902, 6 May 1906 and 8 May 1910. He was rapporteur for the Finance Committee, and participated in all budget discussions. On 3 July 1905 he voted in favor of the complete bill for separation of church and state. Massé was Minister of Commerce and Industry from 2 March 1911 to 27 June 1911 in the cabinet of

Ernest Monis Antoine Emmanuel Ernest Monis (; 23 May 1846 in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente – 25 May 1929 in Mondouzil) was a French politician of the Third Republic, deputy of Gironde from 1885 to 1889 and then senator of the same department from 1891 to 19 ...

. He was elected vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies on 14 November 1911, and reelected on 9 January 1912. He resigned on 14 May 1913 after being appointed Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts and Telegraphs from 22 March 1913 to 9 December 1913 in the cabinet of

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the introduction (in Jul ...

. He lost his seat in the Chamber on 26 April 1914.

Later career

During

Massé was involved in managing civilian supplies. In 1915 he wrote ''Le Troupeau français et la guerre'' (The French herd and the war) in which he argued in favor of industrial

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

s in production centers. Massé was elected Senator on 11 January 1920, and sat on committees on Customs, Education and Agriculture. He failed to be reelected in January 1924. Alfred Massé died on 28 December 1951 in Pougues-les-Eaux.

Publications

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Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masse, Alfred Louis Francois Pierre 1870 births 1951 deaths People from Nièvre Politicians from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Radical Party (France) politicians French Ministers of Commerce and Industry French Ministers of Commerce, Industry, Posts, and Telegraphs Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French Senators of the Third Republic Senators of Nièvre