François Césaire de Mahy (22 July 1830,

Saint-Pierre, Réunion Saint-Pierre (; ) is the third-largest communes of France, commune in the France, French Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of Réunion. Located on the southwest side of the island, it is the headquarters ...

– 19 November 1906,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Biography

He was born in Saint-Pierre into a family of notables whose father was elected mayor of the city in 1841. The young François first went to college in Saint-Denis before continuing his studies at the

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV () is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more ...

. He did not return to his native town until 1857, two years after obtaining his doctorate in medicine. The contact with his numerous patients gave him a vocation for politics which led him to plan to leave for the capital. A tropical cyclone leads him to cancel his project and to get involved locally. He started his career in journalism, precisely at the Courrier de Saint-Pierre. He soon developed with

Alexandre Robinet de La Serve Alexandre-Marie-Nicolas Robinet de La Serve (30 March 1821 – 4 February 1882) was a French sugar manufacturer, journalist and politician who was deputy and then senator of Réunion from 1870 to 1882 in the first years of the French Third Republi ...

a project of colonial reform which would lead to the legislative assimilation of the island to the metropolis. When the Third Republic was proclaimed and two seats of deputies were granted to Reunion, he finally presented himself as a Republican candidate, like his friend. They were largely elected on November 20, 1870. He was a member of the National Assembly until his death during his mandate. In May 1877, he was one of the 363 deputies who opposed the de Broglie government. Throughout this time, he showed a pronounced anti-clericalism, even if he voted against the separation of the Churches and the State in 1905.

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