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Charles-Alphonse Levert (11 June 1825 – 6 April 1899) was a French public servant and politician. During the
Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930 ...
he was a prefect of various departments. During the
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 19 ...
he served as deputy for Pas-de-Calais between 1872 and 1889. He held right-wing Bonapartist views and consistently voted against the republican governments.


Early years

Charles-Alphonse Levert was born on 11 June 1825 in Sens, Yonne. His parents were Antoine Levert (1793–1865) and Caroline Colombe Tarbé (1800–1847). He studied at the Collège Sainte-Barbe in Paris. In the French Revolution of 1848 he declared for the republicans. He joined the administration as secretary of
Émile Ollivier Olivier Émile Ollivier (; 2 July 182520 August 1913) was a French statesman. Starting as an avid republican opposed to Emperor Napoleon III, he pushed the Emperor toward liberal reforms and in turn came increasingly into Napoleon's grip. He en ...
, Commissioner General of the Provisional Government in
Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...
. He was adviser to the prefecture of Arras in 1850–51. He joined the cause of Prince
Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
.


Second Empire

After the coup d'état of 2 December 1951 Levert was named sub-prefect of
Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audoma ...
thanks to the influence of his uncle Pierre Carlier( fr), prefect of police of Paris at the time of the coup d'état. He was appointed sub-prefect of Saint-Omer on 6 December 1851. He became known for his strong action against the republicans. Under the
Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930 ...
he was in turn sub-prefect of
Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...
(1856) and prefect of Ardèche. On 25 June 1857 he married Elise Canonne (1836–1923). Their son Maurice was followed by their daughter Caroline Fathima in 1859. Levert was prefect at Algiers from October 1859 to December 1860, when he was replaced by Nicolas Mercier-Lacombe( fr). In Algiers he had to fight sharp opposition in the local press by Clément Duvernois( fr). In 1861 Levert was prefect of
Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
, then he was prefect of Pas-de-Calais (1864–66) and finally prefect of Bouches-du-Rhone. Levert was appointed Commander of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
on 14 August 1867. He succeeded Senator
Charlemagne de Maupas Charlemagne Émile de Maupas (8 December 1818 – 19 June 1888) was a French lawyer and politician who was head of the Parisian Police during the critical period when Napoleon III seized power in the coup of 2 December 1851. Early years Charlemag ...
as prefect of Bouches-du-Rhone at
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
in 1866 at a time of growing republican agitation. With relaxation of the press laws on 11 May 1868, new opposition daily newspapers like ''Le Phare de Marseille'' and ''Le Peuple'' started to flourish. During the revolution of 4 September 1870 Levert tried to resist a crowd of 5,000 people who invaded the prefecture in Marseille. He was badly injured and went into hiding for twelve hours. He managed to escape to Belgium, then went to stay close to Napoleon III at
Schloss Wilhelmshöhe Schloss Wilhelmshöhe is a Neoclassical palace located in , a part of Kassel, Germany. It was built for Landgrave Wilhelm (William) IX of Hesse in the late 18th century. Emperor Wilhelm II made extensive use of it as a summer residence and p ...
.


Third Republic

After the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the conclusion of peace Levert returned to France and ran for election to the National Assembly in a by-election in Pas-de-Calais on 7 January 1872 to succeed General
Louis Faidherbe Louis Léon César Faidherbe (; 3 June 1818 – 29 September 1889) was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal. Early life Faidherbe was born into a lower-middle-clas ...
, who had resigned. He ran as a Bonapartist, and received 74,629 votes against 57,248 votes for his republican opponent. In the Assembly he sat with the
Appel au peuple The Appel au peuple (Plebiscite) was a Bonapartist parliamentary group during the early years of the French Third Republic. They advocated a plebiscite by which the people would choose the form of government, which they assumed would be a revival ...
parliamentary group. He voted for the resignation of
Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...
on 24 May 1873 and abstained from the vote on the presidential septennat (seven-year mandate). In 1874 he was awarded an annual pension of 6,000 francs as a former prefect, with payment of arrears of over 18,000 francs. This caused an outcry in the democratic press. He voted against the ministry of
Albert de Broglie Jacques-Victor-Albert, 4th duc de Broglie (; 13 June 182119 January 1901) was a French monarchist politician, diplomat and writer (of historical works and translations). Broglie twice served as Prime Minister of France, first from May 1873 to M ...
on 16 May 1874, for the dissolution of the Chamber, against
Henri-Alexandre Wallon Henri-Alexandre Wallon (23 December 1812 – 13 November 1904) was a French historian and statesman whose decisive contribution to the creation of the Third Republic led him to be called the "Father of the Republic". He was the grandfather of psy ...
's amendment to the constitutional laws, for Pascal Pierre Duprat's amendment and against the constitutional laws. His term ended on 7 March 1876. On 30 January 1876 Levert ran for election as senator of Pas-de-Calais, but failed when the Legitimists formed an alliance with the Republicans against Levert in the third round. On 20 February 1876 he was elected as deputy in the 2nd district of Saint-Omer. He continued to follow a Bonapartist line, did little to support the government during the 16 May 1877 crisis, and abstained from the vote of no confidence against the Broglie-
Fourtou Fourtou (; oc, Forton) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. Geography The commune is located in the Corbières Massif. The village lies in the middle of the commune, on the left bank of the Moulin brook, a tributary of th ...
cabinet. He was reelected on 14 October 1877 and again on 21 August 1881. He opposed the internal and external policies of the cabinets of
Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...
and
Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 1881 and 1883 to 1885. He ...
and voted against the Tonkin credits. On 4 October 1885 he was elected on the conservative list of Pas-de-Calais and continued to side with the right-wing of the Bonapartist group. He voted against reinstatement of the district poll on 11 February 1889, for indefinite postponement of revision of the Constitution, against the prosecution of three members of the
Ligue des Patriotes The League of Patriots (french: Ligue des Patriotes) was a French far-right league, founded in 1882 by the nationalist poet Paul Déroulède, historian Henri Martin and politician Félix Faure. The Ligue began as a non-partisan nationalist league ...
, against the draft
Lisbonne law The Law on the Freedom of the Press of 29 July 1881 (french: Loi sur la liberté de la presse du 29 juillet 1881), often called the Press Law of 1881 or the Lisbonne Law after its rapporteur, Eugène Lisbonne, is a law that defines the freedoms and ...
restricting freedom of the press and against prosecution of
General Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...
. Levert ran for reelection in September 1889 for the 2nd district of Saint-Omer, but was defeated. His last term ended on 14 October 1889. After this he abandoned politics. Charles Levert died on 6 April 1899 in Paris.


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levert, Charles-Alphonse 1825 births 1899 deaths People from Sens Appel au peuple Members of the National Assembly (1871) Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Pas-de-Calais