François Césaire de Mahy (22 July 1830,

Saint-Pierre, Réunion Saint-Pierre (; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, Sin-Pyè) is the third-largest commune in the French overseas department and region of Réunion. Located on the southwest side of the island, it is the capital of the French Southern and Antarc ...

– 19 November 1906,

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 ...

) 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 ...

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 than ...

. 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 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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