Paul Déroulède (2 September 1846 – 30 January 1914) was a French author and

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 ...

, one of the founders of the nationalist League of Patriots.

Early life

Déroulède was born in Paris. He was published first as a poet in the magazine ''Revue nationale'', with the pseudonym "Jean Rebel". In 1869 he produced, at the Théâtre Français, a one-act drama in verse named ''Juan Strenner''.

Military career

At the beginning of 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 ...

he enlisted as a private, but was wounded and taken prisoner at the

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Napoleon III, Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and ...

. He was sent to Breslau (now Wrocław), but escaped. He then served with generals Antoine Chanzy and Charles Denis Bourbaki, participated with the latter's disastrous retreat to Switzerland, and fought against 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 ...

. After being promoted to lieutenant, he was forced by an accident to retire from the army.

Early publications

In 1872, he published a collection of patriotic poems (''Chants du soldat''), which enjoyed great popularity. This was followed in 1875 by another collection, ''Nouveaux Chants du soldat''. In 1877 he produced a drama in verse named ''L'Hetman'', which derived a moderate success from the patriotic fervour of its sentiments. For the exhibition of 1878 he wrote a hymn, ''Vive la France'', which was set to music by

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

. In 1880 his drama in verse, ''La Moabite'', which had been accepted by the Théâtre Français, was censored for religious reasons.

Political life

In 1882 Déroulède, along with the historian Henri Martin and Félix Faure, founded the Ligue des patriotes, to promote France's " revanche" against Germany. Déroulède served initially as the deputy to vice-president Faure, and the league quickly attained a membership of 182,000, a relatively large number for the time. Déroulède eventually became the president of the league, in March 1885. The league sought education reforms intended to increase patriotism among French students, but when those reforms were ignored by the French legislature Déroulède began to despair of "parliamentarism" as a method of reform. After losing an election for the Chamber of Deputies in 1885, Déroulède decided that the parliamentary system adopted from Britain had sapped France of its vitality and virtue, and should be replaced by a presidential republic with the cabinet appointed by and responsible to a popularly elected president. Déroulède thus became a champion of constitutional revision and hoped to use the league as an organization to promote the cause among republican patriots. After the rise of General Georges Boulanger, Déroulède attempted to use the Ligue des Patriotes, until then a non-political organization, to assist his cause, but was deserted by many of the league's members and forced to resign his presidency. Nevertheless, he used the section that remained faithful to him with such effect that the government found it necessary in 1889 to decree its suppression. During the same year, he was elected to the chamber as member for

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 ...

. He was expelled from the chamber in 1890 for interrupting debates. He did not campaign for the election of 1893, but was re-elected in 1898, and distinguished himself by his vehemence as a nationalist and anti- Dreyfusard. After the funeral of President Félix Faure, on 23 February 1899, he endeavoured to persuade General Gaudérique Roget to lead his troops to the presidential palace. After the general and his troops first ignored and then dismissed Déroulède, he demanded to be arrested for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. During his trial, Déroulède declared that if released he would continue his insurrectionary activity. He was triumphantly acquitted on 31 May, and on 12 August was again arrested and accused, together with André Buffet,

Jules Guérin Jules Guérin (; 14 September 1860 – 10 February 1910) was a French journalist and anti-Semitic activist. He founded and led the Antisemitic League of France (), an organisation similar to the , and edited the French weekly (Paris, 1896–19 ...

and others, of conspiracy against the republic. After a long trial before the French Senate serving as the high court, he was sentenced, on 25 January 1900, to ten years' banishment from France, and retired to

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

in Spain. As a member of the chamber Paul Déroulède was an opponent of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

, believing that it distracted from more pressing foreign policy issues in Europe, especially German control of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. As he stated; 'I have lost two sisters and you offer me twenty servants." Déroulède was also an

Anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. In some cases, Anglophilia refers to an individual's appreciation of English history and traditional English cultural ico ...

, believing that an alliance or agreement with Britain was essential for defending France against Germany and enabling the recapture of Alsace-Lorraine. His opposition to colonialism can also be seen as being associated with a desire for France not to alienate the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

by competing with it for foreign colonies. Déroulède became a prominent presence in the annual Franco-Prussian War commemorations around Paris, most notably at Champigny. By keeping memories of the defeat alive, Déroulède hoped to keep up pressure upon the government to implement political reforms and ultimately to take back Alsace-Lorraine. He was the principal proponent of the anti-Semitic nationalist movement and suffered the dilemma of trying to decrease the anti-Semitism of the league during the Dreyfus Affair. After his banishment to Spain, the league became thoroughly anti-Semitic. During 1901, he was again publicized by a quarrel with his Royalist allies, which resulted in an abortive attempt to arrange a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

with Buffet in Switzerland. In November 1905, however, the law of

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

enabled him to return to France. When Déroulède died in January 1914 his funeral procession in Paris attracted the largest crowds since that of the national hero

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

.Joly, ''Déroulède'' 363–367 Déroulède's recommendation for a presidential republic with the cabinet appointed by and responsible to a popularly elected president was the basis of the

French Fifth Republic The Fifth Republic () is France's current republic, republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of France, Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged fr ...

introduced by

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

during the 1950s.

Other publications

Besides the works already mentioned, he published the following: *''Le Sergent'', in the ''Théâtre de campagne'' (1880) *''De l'éducation nationale'' (1882) *''Monsieur le Uhlan et les trois couleurs'' (1884) *''Le Premier grenadier de France'' (1886) *''La Tour d'Auvergne'' (1886) *''Le Livre de la ligue des patriotes'' (1887) *''Refrains militaires'' (1888) *''Histoire d'amour'' (1890) *a pamphlet entitled ''Désarmement?'' (1891) *''Chants du paysan'' (1894) *''Poésies Militaires'' (1896) *''Messire du Guesclin, drame en vers'' (1895) *''La mort de Hoche'' (1897) *''La Plus belle fille du monde'' (1898).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deroulede, Paul 1846 births 1914 deaths Writers from Paris Politicians from Paris French nationalists Boulangists Antidreyfusards Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Charente Members of the Ligue des Patriotes Proto-fascists French poets French male poets French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War People acquitted of treason