Édouard Lockroy (18 July 183822 November 1913) was a French

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

, the son of Joseph Philippe Simon (1803–1891), an actor and dramatist who took the name of Lockroy.

Revolutionary years

He had begun by studying art, but in 1860 enlisted as a volunteer under

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

. The next three years were spent in Syria as secretary to Ernest Renan, and on his return to Paris he embarked in militant journalism against 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 ...

in ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', the '' Diable à quatre'', and eventually in '' Le Rappel'', with which his name was thenceforward intimately connected. He commanded a battalion during the siege of Paris, and in February 1871 was elected deputy to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

where he sat on the extreme left and protested against the preliminaries of peace.

Radical politician

In March he signed the proclamation for the election of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

, and resigned his seat as deputy. Arrested at

Vanves Vanves () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris ...

, he remained a prisoner at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

and Chartres until June, when he was released without being tried. He was more than once imprisoned for violent articles in the press, and in 1872 for a duel with Paul de Cassagnac. Lockroy was returned to the Chamber in 1873 as Radical deputy for

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 ...

in 1876, 1877 and 1881 for Aix, and in 1881 he was also elected in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. He chose to sit for Paris, and was repeatedly re-elected. During the elections of 1893 he was shot at by a cab-driver poet named Moore, but was not seriously injured. For the first ten years of his parliamentary life he voted consistently with the extreme left, but then adopted a more opportunist policy, and gave his unreserved support to the Brisson ministry of 1885.

Cabinet member

In the new Freycinet cabinet formed in January 1886 he held the portfolio of commerce and industry, which he retained in the

Goblet A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

ministry of 1886–1887. In 1885 he had been returned at the head of the poll for Paris, and his inclusion in the Freycinet ministry was taken to indicate a prospect of reconciliation between Parisian Radicalism and official

Republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

. During his tenure of the portfolio of commerce and industry he made the preliminary arrangements for the Exposition of 1889, and in a witty letter he defended the erection of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...

against artistic Paris. After the

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and

Boulangist 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 ...

scandals he became one of the leading politicians of the Radical party. He was vice-president of the Chamber in 1894 and in 1895, when he became minister of marine under

Léon Bourgeois Léon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (; 21 May 185129 September 1925) was a French statesman. His ideas influenced the Radical Party regarding a wide range of issues. He promoted progressive taxation such as progressive income taxes and social insuran ...

. His drastic measures of reform alarmed moderate politicians, but he had the confidence of the country, and held the same portfolio under

Henri Brisson Eugène Henri Brisson (; 31 July 183514 April 1912) was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France for a period in 1885-1886 and again in 1898. Biography He was born at Bourges (Cher), and followed his father's profession of advocate. Havi ...

(1898) and Charles Dupuy (1898–1899). He gave his support to the Waldeck-Rousseau Administration, but actively criticized the marine policy of Camille Pelletan in the Combes ministry of 1902–1905, during which period he was again vice-president of the Chamber. In 1905, he voted for the law separating the church and state.

Works

M. Lockroy was a persistent and successful advocate of a strong naval policy, in defence of which he published: *''La Marine de Guerre'' (1890) *''Six mois rue Royale'' (1897) *''La Défense navale'' (1900) *''Du Weser à la Vistula'' (1901) *''Les Marines française et allemande'' (1904) *''Le Programme naval'' (1906) His other works include ''M. de Moltke et la guerre future'' (1891) and ''Journal d'une bourgeoise pendant la Révolution'' (1881) derived from the letters of his great-grandmother. In 1877 Lockroy married Alice Lehaene, the widowed daughter-in-law of the poet

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

. He was the stepfather of

Jeanne Hugo Léopoldine Clémence Adèle Lucie Jeanne Hugo (29 September 1869 – 30 November 1941) was a Belgian-born French heiress and socialite during La Belle Époque. She was a granddaughter of French novelist, poet, and politician Victor Hugo. As an a ...

. In 1913 he published his memoirs under the title of ''Au hasard de la vie : Notes et Souvenirs''. He died on 22 November 1913, and was buried three days later in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

.E. Delaroche
Les obsèques de M. Édouard Lockroy
in ''Le Figaro'', 26 November 1913, (in French)

Notes

References