Louis Lépine
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Louis Jean-Baptiste Lépine (; 6 August 1846 – 9 November 1933) was a French lawyer, politician and administrator who was Governor General of Algeria and twice Préfet de Police with the
Paris Police Prefecture The Paris Police Prefecture ( ), officially the Police Prefecture (), is the unit of the French Minister of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the po ...
from 1893 to 1897 and again from 1899 to 1913. On each occasion he assumed office during a period of instability in the governance of the French state and was seen by his supporters as a man who could bring order. He earned the nickname of "The Little Man with the Big Stick" for his methodology in handling large Parisian crowds. During his periods as Préfet de police he instigated a series of reforms that modernised the French Police Force .Jean-Marc Berlière, ''Le préfet Lépine: vers la naissance de la police moderne'', Paris, 1993. (French) An efficient and clear-sighted administrator he introduced scientific analysis into policing with reforms in forensic science and the training of detectives. Lépine was also responsible for convening and re-invigorating the Exposition Universelle whereby an annual competition known as the
Concours Lépine Concours may refer to: * Concours d'Elegance, a competition among car owners on the appearance of their cars * EU Concours, a selection process for staff of the EU institutions * A competitive examination * Cadillac Concours, an automobile model * ...
was introduced for inventors and innovators to have their work presented and acclaimed. An annual competition that has now had 120-plus editions.Jean-Christophe Mabire, L'Exposition Univerelle de 1900, Editions L'Harmattan (1 Jun. 2000)


Early life

Louis Lépine studied law in his home city of Lyon and in Paris and Heidelberg. He served with distinction in the French Army during 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 ...
from 1870 to 1871. Serving as a
sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...
at
Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...
in the Alsace region, his unit was besieged and continually attacked by the Prussians. It surrendered only after the hostilities had ceased. Lépine was awarded the
Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "Military Medal") is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...
for his bravery. He then embarked on a career as a lawyer and public administrator, that included provincial postings as deputy prefect of Lapalisse, Montbrison, Langres and Fontainebleau and then prefect of the Indres, the Loire and Seine-et-Oise.Louis Lépine ''Mes Souvenirs'', Payot, Paris (1929)


The 1893 student uprising in Paris

In 1893 Lépine became prefect of police of the Seine (Paris) at a time when Paris and indeed France was politically volatile. His appointment was, in response, to the perceived failure of the previous Prefect
Henri-Auguste Lozé Henri-Auguste Lozé was a French politician who was Prefect of Police (Préfet de Police) for Paris from 1888 to 1893, a Fédération républicaine member of the National Assembly () of the third republic (), from 1902 to 1906 and a member of t ...
to quell serious student riots during the 1893 edition of the
Bal des Quat'z'Arts Bal des Quat'z'Arts ("Four Arts Ball") was a Parisian annual ball, the first held in 1892 and the last in 1966. The event was organised by Henri Guillaume, Professor of Architecture at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts for students o ...
. The riots that had taken place arose out of a trivial incident involving the arrest of an actress Sarah Brown (aka Marie Royer), a student called Nuger and a confrontation with a policeman, the consequence of which was the death of Nuger. On the following Monday, 1,000 demonstrators marched onto the Chamber of Deputies, determined to be provided with an adequate explanation. The Deputies summarily retreated and by the evening a further 1,000 students were outside and by now the mood of the demonstrators had turned hostile. At the end of the day barricades were erected around the district of the
Boulevard Saint-Germain The Boulevard Saint-Germain () is a major street in Paris on the Rive Gauche of the Seine. It curves in a 3.5-kilometre (2.1 miles) arc from the Pont de Sully in the east (the bridge at the edge of ÃŽle Saint-Louis) to the Pont de la Concord ...
. The police had lost control of the situation and the
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
was called in to regain control. Several days of bloodshed followed as several important workers’ organisations sided with the so-called students. Within five days of the arrest of Sarah Brown, the students were submerged within a violent mob that was ready to fight for control of Paris. The French Republic seemed in danger and reacted with extreme force with an estimated 20,000 troops deployed to quell the uprising. It was against this backdrop that Louis Lépine succeeded to the Prefecture of Police for Paris with a reputation as a disciplinarian prepared to use the "big stick" to keep Paris under control. Lépine’s tactics were to allow the various factions to march through Paris but to difuse any violent confrontations, by the use of innovative tactics of crowd control that in effect kept the factions, apart and confined to certain areas of Paris, arriving at the planned rendezvous in stages.


The modernisation of the police

Lépine is credited as a founder of modern French policing. At the time of his first tenure the police had become renowned for corruption and low standards: trust between the police and the public was very low. Lépine recognised that if France was not to relapse into military government the relationship between the civil police and the public had to change to become one of mutual trust. The assassination in Lyon in June 1894 of President Carnot, the 5th President of the Republic was the impetus for Lépine to introduce measures to overhaul policing in France. Thus he set an agenda of reform, that was continued during his second period in office, beginning by carefully codified police procedures and regulations, improving the professional quality of the police force with the introduction of examinations and promotions and by introducing
forensic science Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...
into the work of the detective. It was during his time as prefect of police that
fingerprinting A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfa ...
became established as a method of identification. The examinations for police that he instituted were very thorough: the tests for example included determining methods of
forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally consists of the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific mens rea, intent to wikt:defraud#English, defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be fo ...
and examining lock components involved in a burglary so as to tell if a lock had been picked. As befits his training as a lawyer, his was the first prefecture to introduce
criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...
into policing and to examine the psychology of criminals. Amongst his other innovations, he introduced the white stick for directing traffic and established the river-boat brigade and armed police bicycle units. He installed a series of 500 telephone warning boxes to alert the public and fire services to fire, and he began the reorganisation of traffic movements within Paris by introducing one-way systems and roundabouts.


The Dreyfus Affair

. . Lépine succeeded
Jules Cambon Jules-Martin Cambon (5 April 1845 – 19 September 1935) was a French diplomat and brother of Paul Cambon. As the ambassador to Germany (1907–1914), he worked hard to secure a friendly détente. He was frustrated by French leaders such as Ray ...
as Governor-General of Algeria in September 1897, serving less than a year in the post. He was recalled to Paris as the Dreyfus Affair began to unravel the Third Republic.In 1894
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 ...
, an Alsatian of Jewish descent, had been found guilty of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly having communicated French military secrets to Germany. Lépine had officiated at the original trial. When two years later it became apparent that Dreyfus was innocent, as another culprit had been found, a retrial was ordered. The military court once again found Dreyfus guilty on the basis of false documents fabricated by French counter-intelligence officers. There was widespread dissent against the proceedings that culminated in a vehement public protestation from
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 ...
, the novelist. Another retrial was subsequently ordered, and this time Dreyfus was freed, although he was not exonerated until 1906
France seemed to be at the start of major civil unrest in 1899, and Louis Lépine was recalled to help control and placate the opposition. A series of virulent anti-Semitic articles against Dreyfus that appeared in the Catholic newspaper ''La Croix'' had inflamed an already febrile atmosphere. In 1901 a newly elected anti-clerical National Assembly polarised French society. France faced the possibility of a military pro-clerical intervention and open chaos.Berlière, J.-M., ''Institution policière en France sous la Troisième République, 1875-1914'', University of Bourgogne, 1991 (French) As head of the Paris Police Lépine played a crucial role in allaying the fears of the various factions. He successfully limited the role of the army as a force of internal order by handling most situations using solely the Parisienne police and the
gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
. A military government was avoided and whilst there were occasions when Lépine required military assistance to control demonstrations, the reforms in civil policing that Lépine had introduced were robust enough for these interventions to occur sparingly. In most instances the gendarmerie under Lépine were trusted and able to manage civil strife.


Préfet de police 1900-1913

The final decade of Lépine's tenure as préfet de police proved not to be as politically dramatic as his early years. He continued in the task of reforming the police force intent on creating a modern police force to meet the needs of Paris and France. In 1900 he founded the Musée des Collections Historiques de la Préfecture de Police in response to the Exposition Universelle. The museum concentrated on the forensic science of policing and has gradually grown through subsequent years. It now contains evidence, photographs, letters, memorabilia, and drawings that reflect major events in the history of France (including conspiracies and arrests), famous criminal cases and characters, prisons, and daily life in the capital such as traffic and hygiene. In 1912 he founded a detective training school based on modern forensic methods of training. This was a lasting legacy and was a methodology admired and copied by other countries.The article subtitled "M.Lépine, Head of The Police Department, Creates a School for Training Detectives" is available at https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/08/25/100374695.pdf ''New York Times'' August 25, 1912.


Great Flood of Paris

Lépine faced a number of high-profile events and crimes during this period of office. In late January 1910, following months of high rainfall, the
River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...
in Paris flooded the French capital, reaching a maximum height of 8.62 metres. The Great Flood of Paris as it is colloquially known caused extensive damage and forced thousands out of their homes. The infrastructure within Paris came close to destruction and there were major concerns for public health. France mobilised to save its capital. Lépine whose office included public health proved as tough and authoritarian as he had been on policing matters. In the flood's aftermath he oversaw the establishment of new procedures to address the problems of flooding. The instructions explained the importance of chemical cleansing and institutionalized the growing medical consensus about the causes of water borne diseases that had been controversial just a few years earlier.Jeffrey H. Jackson, ''Paris Under Water: How The City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910'', (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)
Armand Fallières Clément Armand Fallières (; 6 November 1841 â€“ 22 June 1931) was a French statesman who was President of France from 1906 to 1913. Clément Armand Fallières was a symbol of republicanism in the French Third Republic. He was born into ...
, president of the French Republic and Lépine worked closely with each other at the outset of the flood as they were concerned that Paris could dissolve into major disorder if the government response was seen to be ineffectual. In the event major disturbances were largely avoided. Throughout the crisis Lépine was a visible presence attempting to lead from the front by reassuring Parisians that order would be maintained alongside the humanitarian efforts that were taking place.


The theft of the Mona Lisa

The theft on August 22, 1911, of the
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...
from the
Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
was more of an embarrassment to Lépine. Initially, he acted with his usual decisiveness ordering the museum to be closed for a week whilst forensic analysis was carried out. French poet
Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...
came under suspicion; he was arrested and put in jail. Apollinaire tried to implicate his friend
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
, who was also brought in for questioning, but both were later exonerated. The real thief was Louvre employee
Vincenzo Peruggia Vincenzo Peruggia (8 October 1881 8 October 1925) was an Italian decorator best known for stealing the ''Mona Lisa'' from the Louvre, a museum in Paris where he had briefly worked as glazier, on 21 August 1911. Early life and work at the Louvre ...
, an Italian wishing to return it to Italy. He was caught with the painting in Florence two years later when he attempted to sell it to the directors of the
Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of ...
.


The defeat of the Bonnot Gang

One of Lépine's last successes was the capture and destruction of the notorious
Bonnot Gang The Bonnot Gang (''La Bande à Bonnot''), or The Tragic Bandits (''Les Bandes Tragiques''), was a French criminal anarchist group that operated in France and Belgium during the late ''Belle Époque'' from 1911 to 1912. Composed of individuals wh ...
(La Bande à Bonnot), an anarchist criminal group that operated in France and Belgium during the
Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...
, from 1911 to 1912. In 1910 Lépine had instigated La Brigade Criminelle a dedicated unit of specialist law enforcers whose purpose was to gather intelligence and take direct action against high-profile criminals.Richard Parry, ''The Bonnot Gang'', Rebel Press.(1987) . ''La Brigade Criminelle''s reputation was established after they were instrumental under Lépine's leadership in destroying the Bonnot Gang. Lépine ordered the leader of the gang
Jules Bonnot Jules Joseph Bonnot (14 October 1876 – 28 April 1912) was a French soldier, Illegalism, illegalist anarchist, bank robber, and murderer. He is notorious for his role in the French anarchist band "The Bonnot Gang" that committed many crimes in ...
to be captured on discovering his whereabouts in Paris. The operation began badly when three of his officers were shot during the operation. Lépine then ordered the building to be blown up with dynamite and reputedly administered the final debilitating shot to the head of Jules Bonnot.


Concours Lépine

The Exposition Universelle provided the catalyst for innovation and Lépine decided to create a competition for inventors that continues to be held annually to this day. It was originally intended to encourage small toy and hardware manufacturers, but over the years it has grown into an annual event that includes a multitude of innovative ideas. The 114th edition of the Concours Lepine Show took place over two weeks in April and May 2015 at the '' Foire de Paris'' in the Porte de Versailles. Louis Lépine retired in 1913 and was succeeded by
Célestin Hennion Célestin Hennion CVO (8 September 1862 – 14 March 1915) was a French police officer who rose to head the Prefecture of Police (). He was responsible for the reorganisation of the Préfecture and the introduction of The Tiger Brigades, an ...
. In the same year he was elected a member of the
Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. He published his memoirs in 1929, four years before his death in 1933. He was the brother of the Professor
Raphaël Lépine Jacques Raphaël Lépine (6 July 1840 – 17 November 1919) was a French physiologist who was a native of Lyon. Biography From 1860 he served as interne to the hospitals of Lyon, and later moved to Paris, where from 1865 he also worked as a hospi ...
, the pioneering physiologist.


Bibliography

* Louis Lépine ''Mes Souvenirs'', Payot, Paris (1929) * Jacques Porot, ''Louis Lépine : préfet de police-témoin de son temps : 1846-1933'', Paris, (1994) *


Cultural references

* The 4th Arrondissement of Paris contains
Place Louis Lépine The Place Louis-Lépine is a square in the 4th arrondissement of Paris on the île de la Cité The Île de la Cité (; English: City Island, "Island of the City") is one of the two natural islands on the Seine River (alongside, Île Sain ...
, the venue for a flower market and appropriately the headquarters of the Prefecture of Police (Préfecture de Police) * In 1912, the grateful City of Paris authorities commissioned Charles Pillet for a plaque bearing the likeness of Louis Lépine, a copy of which is found at the
Musée Carnavalet The Musée Carnavalet () in Paris is dedicated to the History of Paris, history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, ...
. * Paris Commissioner Lépine is a main character in the French crime drama television
Paris Police 1900 ''Paris Police 1900'' is a French crime drama television series created by Fabien Nury that was first broadcast on 8 February 2021 on Canal+ in France and was shown on BBC Four in October 2021. A follow-up series of six episodes, featuring the ...
and its second season follow-up Paris Police 1905. Louis Lépine is portrayed by actor Marc Barbé. * Lépine is portrayed by
Didier Flamand Didier Flamand (born 12 March 1947) is a French actor and theatre director. He has appeared in more than 200 films and television shows since 1973. He starred in Raúl Ruiz's 1978 film '' The Suspended Vocation''. Theater Filmography Actor ...
in the 2007 movie
The Tiger Brigades ''The Tiger Brigades'' (French: ''Les Brigades du Tigre'') is a period crime television series which originally ran between 1974 and 1983. Created by Claude Desailly,Bosseno p.30 it follows the activities of a police squad in the early twentieth ...
. * An annual contest of useful inventions bearing his name, the Concours Lépine, was founded by Lépine in 1901 to encourage technical innovation. It is still taking place annually after more than 120 years.


Notes


References


External links


Concours Lépine


{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepine, Louis 1846 births 1933 deaths 19th-century police officers Lawyers from Lyon Civil servants from Lyon Democratic Republican Alliance politicians Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Loire Governors general of Algeria Prefects of Indre Prefects of Loire Prefects of Seine-et-Oise Prefects of police of Paris 19th century in Paris 20th century in Paris Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order