Gustave Cunéo d'Ornano (15 November 1845 – 17 May 1906) was a French lawyer, journalist and politician who was a Bonapartist deputy for the department of

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

for thirty years. He represented the rural constituency of Cognac, and often supported the distillers in parliament. Although he supported democracy, he was in favour of plebiscites and opposed the republicans of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, 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 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

for most of his career. He took every opportunity to speak out against the government in the chamber of deputies. At one point an article he had written led to a duel with another deputy.

Early years

Gustave Cunéo d'Ornano was born on 15 November 1845 in Rome. His grandfather was a former comrade-in-arms of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

who remained attached to the Bonaparte family. His parents were François Joseph Antoine Cunéo d'Ornano (1798–1863), former officer and prefecture councilor, and Adélaïde Françoise Dyonnet. He attended the

Collège Stanislas de Paris The Collège Stanislas de Paris (), colloquially known as Stan, is a private Catholic school in Paris, situated on " Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs" in the 6th arrondissement. It has more than 3,000 students, from preschool to '' classes préparatoir ...

, run by the

Marianists The Society of Mary (, abbreviated S.M.) is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (brothers and priests) commonly known as the Marianists or Marianist Brothers and Priests. Members append the post-nominal letters "S.M. ...

, as did the Royalist pretender and his main spokesman in the Chamber of Deputies, Fernand de Ramel^{( fr)}. He studied law and received a license. During the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

he was employed by the Prefecture of the Seine. During the

Siege of Paris (1870–71) Siege of Paris may refer to: *Siege of Paris (845), the Viking siege by Reginherus, possibly Ragnar Lodbrok * Siege of Paris (885–886), the Viking siege by Rollo * Siege of Paris (978), by Otto II of Germany, and Holy Roman Emperor * Siege of Pari ...

he served in Paris as a lieutenant in a battalion of

Garde Mobile The ''Garde mobile'' ("Mobile Guard"; also called ''Garde nationale mobile'' though it had nothing to do with the '' Garde nationale'') was intended to be a reserve force of all able-bodied men previously not drafted (such as single men and child ...

. He then joined the army of the Versailles government, and helped suppress the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

Journalist

In 1872 Cuneo d'Ornano became one of the editors of the ''Courrier de France''. From 1873 to 1874 he edited the ''Charentais'' in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

. After contributing to ''la Presse'' for a short period, he returned to Charente and founded a Bonapartist newspaper, the ''Suffrage universel des Charentes'', and became known for his extremely lively polemics. In 1876, in

Bassac, Charente Bassac () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It has Bassac Abbey, founded more than 1000 years ago (in the year 1002), partially restored in the late 20th century, and sold in 2015 to a trust ("société civile imm ...

, he married Marie-Léontine-Claire-Sara Plantevigne-Dubosquet. They had one son, born in 1883, who was held on the baptismal font by Victor, Prince Napoléon.

Politician

Cunéo d'Ornano had a combative personality and great powers as a speaker and a journalist. He was not interested in the return of the Empire so much as in a plebiscitary republic modelled on the

French Consulate The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the French Directory, Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the First French Empire, French Empire on 18 May 1804. ...

of 1799–1804 with universal suffrage and an elected president. He was a determined opponent of the parliamentary system of the Third Republic. Despite being an outsider born far away, and despite being a conservative Bonapartist intellectual, he won great affection from the common people of the Charente countryside and was elected tens times in a row by the voters of the

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

district. Cunéo d'Ornano was one of the most prominent leaders of the Bonapartist party in Charente during the 1876 legislative elections. He engaged in noisy demonstrations against the republican government, and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Cognac district of Charente in the second round of voting. There were many protests against the election, which was invalidated by the House on 5 April 1876 due to defamatory posters and attacks on the constitution. He was reelected with an improved majority on 21 May 1876. 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, consistently voted with the monarchical minority and often intervened in debates. In 1876, as a result of an article published in his ''le Suffrage universel'', Cunéo d'Ornano fought a duel with André Duclaud^{( fr)}, a republican deputy in Charente. Cunéo d'Ornano supported the act of 16 May 1877 and supported the policy of the Broglie-

Fourtou Fourtou (; ) 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 the Orbieu, ...

government. As official candidate in the 14 October 1877 elections he famously stated in his profession of faith that he would make "the republic and the republicans a meal that even dogs would not eat." He was elected by 9,911 votes to 7,704 for the republican candidate. In the Chamber he continued his opposition and interruptions in debates, and was often called to order. He voted against the election of

Jules Grévy François Judith Paul Grévy (15 August 1807 – 9 September 1891), known as Jules Grévy (), was a French people, French lawyer and politician who served as President of France from 1879 to 1887. He was a leader of the Opportunist Republicans, M ...

as President of France, against the law on freedom of the press, and constantly fought for the ''appel au peuple'' (referendum). On 8 December 1878 he attacked the persecution of ''La Jeune Garde'' by the government, saying, "there is no liberty if it does not exist equally for everyone". He said the republican government allowed shameful caricatures against religion and past regimes, but banned drawings that targeted republican officials. Cunéo d'Ornano was reelected on 21 August 1881 by 8,621 votes against 8,132 votes for the republican candidate. He voted against the abrogation of the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the First French Republic and the Holy See, signed by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace–Lorraine, ...

, against the cabinet of

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 Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...

and against the Tonkin credits. On 24 May 1881 he spoke out in the debate over the

Treaty of Bardo The Treaty of Bardo (, ) or Treaty of Ksar Saïd established a French protectorate over Tunisia that lasted until World War II. It was signed on 12 May 1881 between representatives of France and the Tunisian bey Muhammed as-Sadiq, placing Tun ...

that established a French protectorate over Tunisia. He stated that the government, in fighting a small war without being authorized by parliament, had violated Article 9 of the constitution which was designed to prevent such authoritarian action. The government had lied about its intent to annex the country even after the annexation has become a fact. In February 1883 Cunéo d'Ornano fought

Charles Floquet Charles Thomas Floquet (; 2 October 1828 – 18 January 1896) was a French lawyer and statesman. Biography He was born at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port ( Basses-Pyrénées). Charles Floquet is the son of Pierre Charlemagne Floquet and Marie Léocadie ...

's proposals to exile the members of former ruling families from French territory, and appealed against the arrest of Jérôme Napoléon. That year he tried without success to introduce an amendment to the constitution to allow plebiscites. He was reelected on 4 October 1885 for Charente on the conservative list. Once again he took every opportunity in the House to state his opposition to the government. Towards the end of the legislature he voted against reinstatement of the district poll, for indefinite postponement of revision to the constitution, against prosecution of three members of the

Ligue des Patriotes The League of Patriots () 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, supported among other ...

, against the draft

Lisbonne law The Law on the Freedom of the Press of 29 July 1881 (), often called the Press Law of 1881 or the Lisbonne Law after its rapporteur, , is a law that defines the freedoms and responsibilities of the media and publishers in France. It provides a lega ...

restricting freedom of the press and against the 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 ...

. By the time of the elections of 22 September 1889 Cuneo d'Ornano had become less extreme and said he no longer wished to overthrow the republic as long as it became democratic and submitted to a national plebiscite. He ran as a "Bonapartist and Revisionist" for his former district of Cognac and was reelected by 8,811 votes to 7,705 for the republican candidate. He again sat with the partisans of the Appel au peuple. On the subject of alcohol he often defended the liberty of the distillers and fought against the surtax on alcohol and controls on its sale. He was reelected in the first round on 20 August 1893. In the new legislature he submitted many proposals in favour of the distilleries. After the publication on 13 January 1898 of

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

's open letter ''

J'accuse…! "''J'Accuse...!''" (; "I Accuse...!") is an open letter, written by Émile Zola in response to the events of the Dreyfus affair, that was published on 13 January 1898 in the newspaper ''L'Aurore''. Zola addressed the president of France, Fél ...

'' attacking

antisemite Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

s during the Dreyfus affair, Cunéo d'Ornano was one of a long list of Nationalist leaders who signed an appeal posted on the walls of Paris that urged the people to take to the streets to show their support for the army and opposition to the Jewish syndicate that was trying to undermine it. He was reelected in the first round on 8 May 1898 and on 27 April 1902. He was elected for the last time on 6 May 1906. Gustave Cunéo d'Ornano died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in Paris on 17 May 1906 before taking his seat in the new legislature.

Publications

Cunéo d'Ornano made numerous speeches, proposals and reports as a deputy. Other publications include: * * * * * * * * * *

Notes

Sources