Anatole de Monzie (22 November 1876,
Bazas
Bazas (; oc-gsc, Vasats) is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France.
Geography
Bazas stands on a narrow promontory above the Beuve valley 60 km/37 mi southeast of Bordeaux and 40 km/25 mi southwest of ...
,
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
– 11 January 1947,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
) was a French
administrator
Administrator or admin may refer to:
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* Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database
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* N ...
, encyclopaedist (''
Encyclopédie française
The ''Encyclopédie française'' was a French encyclopedia designed by Anatole de Monzie and Lucien Febvre. It appeared between 1935 and 1966.
Volumes
*I. L'Outillage mental. Pensée, langage, mathématique.
*II. La physique.
*III. Le Ciel et la ...
''),
political figure and scholar. His father was a tax collector in
Bazas
Bazas (; oc-gsc, Vasats) is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France.
Geography
Bazas stands on a narrow promontory above the Beuve valley 60 km/37 mi southeast of Bordeaux and 40 km/25 mi southwest of ...
,
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
where Anatole – a name he disliked from an early age – was born in 1876. A nurse mishap resulted in an accident where the infant Anatole lost the proper use of his leg and he remained crippled for the rest of his life. He never married but had several relationships. A brilliant mind, he studied in
Agen
The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux.
...
before attending the
Collège Stanislas, a famous
Roman Catholic school
Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...
in Paris, where he became friend with writer to be
Henry de Jouvenel and Roman Catholic activist
Marc Sangnier.
Career
He studied law and started to practice but finally chose politics. He was
chef de cabinet of education minister
Joseph Chautemps in 1902. At about the same time, he started a career as a local politician in the
Lot
Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to:
Common meanings Areas
* Land lot, an area of land
* Parking lot, for automobiles
*Backlot, in movie production
Sets of items
*Lot number, in batch production
*Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
, a forlorn and backwater, yet charming, department in the south west of France. Successively, and very often simultaneously, he became counsellor, general, mayor of
Cahors (the local prefecture), deputy and senator. Soon commanding a huge following among the local voters, pleased by his culture, his easy access to government and proficiency in handing out public sector jobs, he made of the Lot a lifelong stronghold.
Member of a small centrist faction, called ''Républicains Socialistes'', he soon cut a fine figure in the Chambre des Députés because of its abilities and its central positioning. His thriving ministerial career started in 1913 when he was appointed ''sous-secrétaire d'État à la marine marchande''. From 1918 to 1940, he occupied numerous positions in all sorts of governments and was appointed minister eighteen times.
As a
finance minister, he is remembered for recommending to cut the budget in 1925. He was deeply involved in diplomatic affairs, starting a campaign for a renewal of the relations with the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
followed, in 1922, by a plea for the acknowledgment of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
From 1924 to 1927, he headed the Russian Affairs Commission and as such dealt with some of the prominent Russian figures of that time. He started discussing the reimbursement of the Russian loans but, after the return to power of
Poincaré
Poincaré is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Henri Poincaré (1854–1912), French physicist, mathematician and philosopher of science
* Henriette Poincaré (1858-1943), wife of Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré
* Luci ...
in 1926, the negotiation failed.
In 1925, he also served briefly as
Minister of Education and Fine Arts. He is credited for introducing philosophy in the high school curriculum, perhaps a reflect of his
masonic affiliation. He also banned the teaching of
local dialects or languages in school – for instance, declaring in 1927 that "''for the linguistic unity of France, the Breton language must disappear''".
During a new stint as Minister of Education in the government of
Édouard Herriot in 1932, the name of the department was changed to ''Éducation nationale'', a name it has kept hitherto. His policy generally promoted a free and neutral education system.
Minister of ''Travaux publics'' in 1938, he was confronted to a great dockers strike, which enhanced the
Left
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* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
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* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
distrust for his person. Between 1938 and 1940, he led several diplomatic missions. During that time of international tensions, Anatole's position was a matter of controversy. A stalwart pacifist, he was indeed actively promoting a Latin alliance between France and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
who would mediate between
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
and the Allies.
He voted to assent governmental powers to
Maréchal Pétain Maréchal is the French equivalent of English Marshal. Maréchale is the feminine form mainly used to denote the wife of a marshal in France. It can also refer to:
Military ranks
* Maréchal général des camps et armées du roi, former French d ...
in 1940. Being a friend of
Otto Abetz
Heinrich Otto Abetz (26 March 1903 – 5 May 1958) was the German ambassador to Vichy France during the Second World War and a convicted war criminal. In July 1949 he was sentenced to twenty years' hard labour by a Paris military tribunal, he was ...
,
Darquier de Pellepoix and
Fernand de Brinon, he was nonetheless an object of hatred for many among the
Vichy regime
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
. He was forced to resign from his mayorship in 1942. Indicted by the ''Comité national des écrivains'' (National Writers' Committee) in 1945, he died in Paris two years later.
Anatole de Monzie was a scholar and something of a writer. His intellectual legacy numbers the publication of the
Encyclopédie française
The ''Encyclopédie française'' was a French encyclopedia designed by Anatole de Monzie and Lucien Febvre. It appeared between 1935 and 1966.
Volumes
*I. L'Outillage mental. Pensée, langage, mathématique.
*II. La physique.
*III. Le Ciel et la ...
from 1935 on. He was also connected to various French writers and intellectuals of the time, including
Colette
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...
,
Roland Dorgelès
Roland Dorgelès (; 15 June 1885 – 18 March 1973) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Goncourt.
Born in Amiens, Somme, under the name Roland Lecavelé (he adopted the pen name Dorgelès to commemorate visits to the spa town of ...
,
Lucien Febvre
Lucien Paul Victor Febvre (, ; 22 July 1878 – 11 September 1956) was a French historian best known for the role he played in establishing the Annales School of history. He was the initial editor of the ''Encyclopédie française'' together wit ...
and
Pierre Benoit, whom he introduced to the Lot, especially the little town of
Saint-Céré
Saint-Céré (; Languedocien: ''Sant Seren'') is a commune in the Lot department, southern France. Its population is 3,414 (2019). The commune includes within its borders the castle of Saint-Laurent-les-Tours, where the artist Jean Lurçat li ...
, where the writer wrote several of his works. Despite his achievements, however, his legacy will be forever tainted by his genocidal opposition to Breton culture.
Works of Anatole de Monzie
*''Les Réformes scolaires'', Paris, Stock, 1905
*''Aux confins de la politique'', Paris, Grasset, 1913
*''Si resucitara !'', Paris, Alcan, 1915 (sur les
relations Franco-espagnoles)
*''Rome sans Canossa, ou la diplomatie de la présence'', Paris, Albin Michel, 1918
*''L'entrée au forum : vingt ans avant'', Paris, Albin Michel, 1920
*''La Mort de Julie'', Paris, Auguste Blaizot, 1922
*''Du Kremlin au Luxembourg'', Paris, Delpuech, 1924
*''Les Contes de Saint-Céré'', Paris, Gallimard, 1929
*''Grandeur et servitude judiciaires'', Paris, Kra, 1931
*''Petit manuel de la Russie nouvelle'', Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1931
*''Livre d'oraisons'', Paris, Excelsior, 1934
*''Les Veuves abusives'', Paris, Grasset, 1937
*''Ci-devant'', Paris, Flammarion, 1941
*''Pétition pour l'histoire'', Paris, Flammarion, 1942
*''Mémoires de la tribune'', Paris, Correa, 1943
*''La Saison des juges'', Paris, Flammarion, 1943
*''Le Conservatoire du peuple'', Paris, Société d'Édition d'enseignement supérieur, 1948
References
*Guillaume Lagane, ''Anatole de Monzie et les élections de 1936'', Mémoire de
Sciences Po Paris
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public research university''Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, accreditation ...
, 1992
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monzie, Anatole De
1876 births
1947 deaths
People from Gironde
Politicians from Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Republican-Socialist Party politicians
French Socialist Party (1919) politicians
Socialist Republican Union politicians
Transport ministers of France
French Ministers of National Education
French Ministers of Finance
Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
French Senators of the Third Republic
Senators of Lot (department)
Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni