Jacques Marie Eugène Godefroy Cavaignac (May 21, 1853 – September 25, 1905), known as Godefroy Cavaignac, 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 ...
.
Early life
Born in
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 ...
, he was the son of
Louis Eugène Cavaignac
Louis may refer to:
People
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
Other uses
* Louis (coin), a French coin
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
* ...
. He made public profession of his republican principles as a schoolboy at the
Lycée Charlemagne
The Lycée Charlemagne () is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France.
Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Je ...
by refusing in 1867 to receive a prize at the
Sorbonne from the hand of the
Prince Imperial.
Third Republic
He received the military medal for service in the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
and in 1872 entered the
École Polytechnique
(, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris.
The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...
. He served as a civil engineer 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 ...
until 1881, when he became master of requests in the
Council of State
A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
.
The next year, he was elected as a republican deputy for the ''
arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...
'' of
Saint-Calais
Saint-Calais () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France.
Prior to the French Revolution it was known for its Benedictine abbey named after the Anisola stream (modern Aniole, a tributary ...
(
Sarthe
Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
). In 1885–1886, he was undersecretary for war in the
Henri Brisson
Eugène Henri Brisson (; 31 July 1835 – 14 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. ...
ministry, and served in the cabinet of
Émile Loubet
Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906.
Trained in law, he became Mayor (France), mayor of Montélimar, w ...
(1892) as
Minister of Marine and of the Colonies. He had exchanged his
moderate republicanism for
radical
Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century
*Radical politics ...
views before he became
War Minister
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...
in the cabinet of
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 insu ...
(November 1, 1895 to April 29, 1896).
He was again Minister of War in the Brisson cabinet from June 28 to September 5, 1898. In July 1898, he told the
French National Assembly
The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...
of documents incriminating Captain
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...
. Cavaignac's investigator, Captain Louis Cuignet, later discovered that the critical document was a forgery by
Colonel Henry, who admitted his crime when he was questioned on August 30 by Cavaignac. Still, Cavaignac refused to concur with his colleagues in a revision of the
Dreyfus prosecution, which would have been the logical outcome of his own exposure of the forgery. Resigning his portfolio, he continued to declare his conviction of Dreyfus's guilt and joined the nationalist group in the chamber of which he became one of its leaders.
(He is portrayed in precisely the opposite way in the 1937 film ''
The Life of Emile Zola
''The Life of Emile Zola'' is a 1937 American biographical film about the 19th-century French author Émile Zola starring Paul Muni and directed by William Dieterle.
It premiered at the Los Angeles Carthay Circle Theatre to great critical and ...
'' in which he is depicted as the person who finally discovers the truth and demands the resignation of all those responsible for incriminating Dreyfus.) He also was an energetic supporter of the
Ligue de la Patrie Française.
In 1899, Cavaignac was an unsuccessful candidate for
French President
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...
.
Death
He had announced his intention of retiring from political life when he died at his country home near
Flée (Sarthe) on September 25, 1905, aged 52.
Works
He wrote an important book on the ''Formation de la Prusse contemporaine'' (2 vols., 1891–1898), dealing with the
events of 1806–1813 around Napoleonic Wars.
See also
*
History of France in the nineteenth century
*
Republican Union (France)
The Republican Union (, UR), later known as the Progressive Union (, UP), was a French parliamentary group founded in 1871 as a heterogeneous alliance of moderate radicals, former Communards and opponents of the French-Prussian Treaty.
History ...
*
Opportunist Republicans
file:Theodoor Galle - Opportunity Seized, Opportunity Missed - WGA08445.jpg, 300px, ''Opportunity Seized, Opportunity Missed'', engraving by Theodoor Galle, 1605
Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of attendant circumstance, circums ...
*
Radical-Socialist Party
*
History of the French Left
*
Dreyfus Affair
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavaignac, Jacques Marie Eugene Godefroy
1853 births
1905 deaths
Politicians from Paris
Republican Union (France) politicians
Opportunist Republicans
Nationalist Republicans (France)
Ministers of war of France
Ministers of marine and the colonies
Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of Parliament for Sarthe
Members of the Ligue de la patrie française
Antidreyfusards
Children of presidents of France
Corps des ponts
École Polytechnique alumni
French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War
Burials at Montmartre Cemetery