Frédéric-Alfred-Pierre, comte de Falloux (7 May 1811 – 6 January 1886) was a French politician and author, famous for having given his name to two laws on education, favoring private Catholic teaching.

Biography

Falloux was born at

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

, Maine-et-Loire. His father had been ennobled by King Charles X of France, and Falloux began his career as a

Legitimist The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They ...

and clerical journalist under the influence of Madame Swetchine. In 1846 he entered the legislature as deputy for the Maine-et-Loire, and with many other Catholics he gave real or pretended support to the

revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

Louis Napoleon 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 ...

made him minister of public instruction and worship in December 1848, but having fallen sick in September 1849, he was replaced in October. He had nevertheless secured the passage of the '' Loi Falloux'' (15 March 1850) for the organization of primary and secondary education. This law provided that the clergy and members of ecclesiastical orders, male and female, might exercise the profession of teaching without producing any further qualification. This exemption was extended even to priests who taught in secondary schools, where a university degree was exacted from lay teachers. The primary schools were put under the management of the curés. Falloux was elected to the Académie française in 1856. His failure to secure re-election to the legislature in 1866, 1869, 1870 and 1871 was due to the opposition of the stricter Legitimists, who viewed with suspicion his attempts to reconcile the

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Henri, comte de Chambord Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (french: Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois, duc de Bordeaux, comte de Chambord; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883) was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as He ...

. In spite of his failure to enter the National Assembly his influence was great, and was increased by his personal friendship with Adolphe Thiers. Nevertheless, in 1872 he offended both sections of the monarchical party at a conference arranged in the hope of effecting a fusion between the partisans of the comte de Chambord and of the Orléans princes, divided on the vexed question of the flag. He suggested that the comte de Chambord might recede from his position with dignity at the desire of the National Assembly, and not content with this encroachment on royalist principles, he insinuated the possibility of a transitional stage with the duc d'Aumale as president of the republic. His disgrace was so complete that he was excommunicated by the

Bishop of Angers The Roman Catholic Diocese of Angers ( Latin: ''Dioecesis Andegavensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Angers'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The episcopal see is located in Angers Cathedral in the city of A ...

in 1876. Of his numerous works the best known are his ''Histoire de Louis XVI'' (1840); ''Histoire de Saint Pie V'' (1845); ''De la contre-révolution'' (1876); and the posthumous ''Mémoires d'un royaliste'' (2 volumes, 1888).

Notes

References

* * James Guillaume
Falloux entry
in the ''Nouveau dictionnaire de pédagogie'' (dir.

Ferdinand Buisson Ferdinand Édouard Buisson (20 December 1841 – 16 February 1932) was a French academic, educational bureaucrat, pacifist and Radical-Socialist (left liberal) politician. He presided over the League of Education from 1902 to 1906 and the Human R ...

), 1911.
Vicomte de Falloux du Coudray
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Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

article {{DEFAULTSORT:Falloux, Pierre, Frederic Alfred, Comte de 1811 births 1886 deaths People from Angers Politicians from Pays de la Loire Legitimists Party of Order politicians French Ministers of Public Education and Religious Affairs Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Members of the Académie Française