Georges Ernest Boulanger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of War | |
| In office 7 January 1886 – 30 May 1887 | |
| Prime Minister | Charles de Freycinet René Goblet |
| Preceded by | Jean-Baptiste Campenon |
| Succeeded by | Théophile Ferron |
| Member of theChamber of Deputies | |
| In office 15 April 1888 – 12 July 1888 | |
| Constituency | Nord |
| In office 19 August 1888 – 14 October 1889[1] | |
| Constituency | Nord |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1837-04-29)29 April 1837 Rennes, France |
| Died | 30 September 1891(1891-09-30) (aged 54) Brussels, Belgium |
| Resting place | Ixelles Cemetery, Brussels |
| Party | League of Patriots |
| Spouse(s) | ; his death |
| Children |
|
| Alma mater | École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | Général Revanche |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | French Army |
| Years of service | 1856–1888 |
| Rank | General of division[2] |
| Battles/wars | |
Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamedGénéral Revanche ("General Revenge"), was aFrench Army officer and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of theThird Republic, he won multiple elections. At the zenith of his popularity in January 1889, he was feared to be powerful enough to establish himself as dictator. His base of support was the working-class districts ofParis and other cities, plus rural traditionalistCatholics and royalists. He advocatedrevanche (revenge on Germany),révision (revision of the constitution), andrestauration (restoration of the monarchy).
Theelections of September 1889 marked a decisive defeat for the Boulangists. Changes in the electoral laws prevented Boulanger from running in multiple constituencies and the aggressive opposition of the established government, combined with Boulanger's self-imposed exile, contributed to a rapid decline of the movement. The decline of Boulanger severely undermined the political strength of the conservative and royalist elements of French political life; they would not recover strength until the establishment of theVichy regime in 1940.[3] The defeat of the Boulangists ushered in a period of political dominance by theModerate Republicans.
Academics have attributed the failure of the movement to Boulanger's own weaknesses. Despite his charisma, he lacked coolness, consistency, and decisiveness; he was a mediocre leader who lacked vision and courage. He was never able to unite the disparate elements, ranging from the far left to the far right, that formed the base of his support. He was able, however, to frighten republicans and force them to reorganize and strengthen their solidarity in opposition to him.[4]
Boulanger was born on 29 April 1837 inRennes,Brittany. He was the youngest of three children born to Ernest Boulanger (1805–1884), a lawyer inBourg-des-Comptes, and Mary-Ann Webb Griffith (1804–1894), born inBristol to aWelsh aristocratic family (the Griffiths ofBurton Agnes).[2] His brother Ernestenlisted in theUnion Army and was killed in action during theAmerican Civil War.[2] After attending theLycée of Nantes, Boulanger entered theSaint-Cyr Military Academy in 1855, graduating and entering the French Army in 1856.[2]
Boulanger first saw action in 1857 inKabylia, during theFrench conquest of Algeria.[2] He fought in theAustro-Sardinian War (he was wounded atRobecchetto con Induno, where he received theLégion d'honneur) and in theCochinchina campaign,[2] after which he became acaptain andinstructor at Saint-Cyr. During theFranco-Prussian War, Boulanger was noted for his bravery, and soon promoted tochef de bataillon; he was again wounded while fighting atChampigny-sur-Marne during theSiege of Paris. Subsequently, Boulanger was among theThird Republic military leaders who crushed theParis Commune in April–May 1871. He was wounded a third time as he led troops to the siege of thePanthéon, and was promoted commander of theLégion d'honneur byPatrice de MacMahon. However, he was soon demoted (as his position was considered provisional), and his resignation in protest was rejected.
With backing from his direct superior,Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale (incidentally, one of the sons of former KingLouis-Philippe), Boulanger was made abrigadier-general in 1880, and in 1882Minister of WarJean-Baptiste Billot appointed him director of infantry at the war office,[2] enabling him to make a name as a military reformer (he took measures to improvemorale and efficiency). In 1884, he was promoted togeneral of division and appointed to command the armyoccupying Tunisia,[2] but was recalled owing to his differences of opinion withPierre-Paul Cambon, the political resident. He returned toParis, and began to take part in politics under the aegis ofGeorges Clemenceau and theRadicals. In January 1886, whenCharles de Freycinet was brought into power, Clemenceau used his influence to secure Boulanger's appointment as War Minister (replacingJean-Baptiste Campenon).[5] Clemenceau assumed Boulanger was a republican, because he was known not to attendMass.[5] However Boulanger would soon prove himself a conservative and monarchist.[5]
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It was in the capacity of Minister of War that Boulanger gained most popularity. He introduced reforms for the benefit of soldiers (such asallowing soldiers to grow beards) and appealed to the French desire for revenge againstImperial Germany—in doing so, he came to be regarded as the man destined to serve that revenge (nicknamedGénéral Revanche). He also managed to quell the major workers'strike inDecazeville. A minor scandal arose whenPhilippe, comte de Paris, the nominal inheritor of the French throne in the eyes ofOrléanist monarchists, married his daughterAmélie to Portugal'sCarlos I, in a lavish wedding that provoked fears of anti-Republican ambitions. The French parliament hastily passed a law expelling all possible claimants to the crown from French territories. Boulanger communicated to d'Aumale his expulsion from the armed forces. He received the adulation of the public and the press after theSino-French War, when France's victory addedTonkin to itscolonial empire.
He also vigorously pressed for the accelerated adoption, in just first five months of 1886, of a new rifle for the technically revolutionarysmokeless powderPoudre B developed byP. Vielle two years earlier. Essentially, that backfired: the hastily developed8×50mmR Lebel cartridge became an unprecedented high-velocity ammunition but due to its double taper and rim the French firearm development was handicapped for decades to come, and the hastily designedLebel Model 1886 rifle, essentially a strengthenedKropatschek rifle from late 1870s, became obsolete much faster than any of the magazine rifles of other European militaries that followed during late 1880s and 1890s (before Boulanger, the French military planned to adopt a much more modern design as well). Boulanger also ordered to produce a million rifles by May 1887, but his proposal on how to achieve this was entirely unrealistic (even with the best efforts in manufacturing it took several years).[6]
On Freycinet's defeat in December of the same year, Boulanger was retained byRené Goblet at the war office. Confident of political support, the general began provoking the Germans; he ordered military facilities to be built in the border region ofBelfort, forbade the export of horses to German markets, and even instigated a ban on presentations ofLohengrin. Germany responded by calling to arms more than 70,000reservists in February 1887. After theSchnaebele incident (April 1887), war was averted, but Boulanger was perceived by his supporters as coming out on top againstBismarck. For the Goblet government, Boulanger was an embarrassment and risk, and became engaged in a dispute with Foreign MinisterÉmile Flourens. On 17 May Goblet was voted out of office and replaced byMaurice Rouvier. The latter sacked Boulanger, and replaced him withThéophile Adrien Ferron [fr] on 30 May.
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The government was astonished by the revelation that Boulanger had received around 100,000 votes for the partial election inSeine, without even being a candidate. He was removed from the Paris region and sent to the provinces, appointed commander of the troops stationed inClermont-Ferrand. Upon his departure on 8 July, a crowd of ten thousand took theGare de Lyon by storm, covering his train with posters titledIl reviendra ("He will come back"), and blocking the railway, but he was smuggled out.
The general decided to gather support for his own movement, an eclectic one that capitalized on the frustrations of Frenchconservatism, advocating the three principles ofRevanche (revenge on Germany),Révision (revision of the constitution), andRestauration (restoration of the monarchy). The common reference to it has becomeBoulangisme, a term used by its partisans and adversaries alike. Immediately, the new popular movement was backed by notable conservative figures such asCountArthur Dillon,Alfred Joseph Naquet,Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart (Duchess of Uzès, who financed him with immense sums),Arthur Meyer,Paul Déroulède (and hisLigue des Patriotes).
After the political corruption scandal surrounding PresidentJules Grévy’s son-in-law Daniel Wilson, who was secretly sellingLégion d'honneur medals, the Republican government was brought into disrepute and Boulanger's popular appeal rose in contrast. His position became essential after Grévy was forced to resign due to the scandal: in January 1888, theboulangistes promised to back any candidate for the presidency that would in turn offer his support to Boulanger for the post of War Minister (France was aparliamentary republic). The crisis was cut short by the election ofSadi Carnot and the appointment ofPierre Tirard asPrime Minister—Tirard refused to include Boulanger in his cabinet. During the period, Boulanger was inSwitzerland, where he met withPrince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte, technically aBonapartist, who offered his full support to the cause. The Bonapartists had attached themselves to the general, and even the Comte de Paris encouraged his followers to support him. Once seen as a republican, Boulanger showed his true colors in the camp of the conservative monarchists. On 26 March 1888 he was expelled from the army. The day after, Daniel Wilson had his imprisonment repealed. It seemed to the French people that honorable generals were punished while corrupt politicians were spared, further increasing Boulanger's popularity.
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Although he was not a legal candidate for the FrenchChamber of Deputies (since he was a military man), Boulanger ran with Bonapartist backing in seven separatedépartements during the remainder of 1888.Boulangiste candidates were present in everydépartement. Consequently, he and many of his supporters were voted to the Chamber, and accompanied by a large crowd on 12 July, the day of their swearing in—the general himself was elected in theconstituency ofNord. Theboulangistes were, nonetheless, a minority in the Chamber. Since Boulanger could not pass legislation, his actions were directed to maintaining his public image. Neither his failure as an orator nor his defeat in a duel withCharles Thomas Floquet, then an elderly civilian and bothPrime Minister andMinister of the Interior, reduced the enthusiasm of his popular following.
During 1888 his personality was the dominating feature of French politics, and, when he resigned his seat as a protest against the reception given by the Chamber to his proposals, constituencies vied with one another in selecting him as their representative. His name was the theme of the popular songC'est Boulanger qu'il nous faut ("Boulanger is the One We Need"), he and his black horse became the idol of the Parisian population, and he was urged to run for the presidency. The general agreed, but his personal ambitions soon alienated his republican supporters, who recognised in him a potentialmilitary dictator. Numerous monarchists continued to give him financial aid, even though Boulanger saw himself as a leader rather than a restorer of kings.
In January 1889, he ran as a deputy for Paris, and, after an intense campaign, took the seat with 244,000 votes against the 160,000 of his main adversary. Acoup d'état seemed probable and desirable among his supporters. Boulanger had now become a threat to the parliamentary Republic. Had he immediately placed himself at the head of a revolt he might have effected the coup which many of his partisans had worked for, and might even have governed France; but the opportunity passed with his procrastination on 27 January. According toLady Randolph Churchill "[a]ll his thoughts were centered in and controlled by her who was the mainspring of his life. After the plebiscite...he rushed off toMadame Bonnemain's house and could not be found".[7]
Boulanger decided that it would be better to contest the general election and take power legally. This, however, gave his enemies the time they needed to strike back.Ernest Constans, theMinister of the Interior, decided to investigate the matter, and attacked theLigue des Patriotes using the law banning the activities ofsecret societies.
Shortly afterward the French government issued a warrant for Boulanger's arrest forconspiracy andtreasonable activity. To the astonishment of his supporters, on 1 April he fled Paris before it could be executed, going first toBrussels and then toLondon.[2] On 4 April the Parliament stripped him of hisimmunity from prosecution; theFrench Senate condemned him and his supporters,Rochefort, andCount Dillon for treason, sentencing all three todeportation and confinement.
In 1890Le Figaro caused a sensation by alleging that Boulanger's London promoter[8]Alexander Meyrick Broadley had taken Boulanger and Rochefort to the male brothel at the centre of theCleveland Street scandal,[9] an allegation that Dillon was forced to publicly deny.[10]
After his flight, support for him dwindled, and the Boulangists were defeated in thegeneral elections of July 1889 (after the government forbade Boulanger from running). Boulanger himself went to live inJersey before returning to theIxelles Cemetery in Brussels in September 1891 to kill himself[11] with a bullet to the head on the grave of his mistress, Madame de Bonnemains (néeMarguerite Brouzet) who had died in his arms the preceding July. He was buried in the same grave.
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Some historians viewed the Boulangist movement as aproto-fascist right-wing movement. A number of scholars have presented Boulangism as a precursor of fascism, includingZeev Sternhell.[12][13]
France's traditional right was based in followers of theCatholic Church in France and customarily led by members of theFrench nobility whose ancestors had survived theReign of Terror, but Boulanger's new movement was based on mass populist following that was national, rather than merely religious or class-based. As Jacques Néré says, "Boulangism was first and foremost a popular movement of the extreme left".[14] Irvine says he had some royalist support but that, "Boulangism is better understood as the coalescence of the fragmented forces of the Left."[15] This interpretation is part of a consensus that the ideology of France's radical right was formed in part during theDreyfus era by men, ironically, who had been Boulangist partisans of theFar Left a decade earlier.[16]
For example, Boulanger had the support of a number of formerCommunards from theParis Commune and some supporters ofBlanquism (a faction within theCentral Revolutionary Committee). This included men such asVictor Jaclard,Ernest Granger andHenri Rochefort.
Général Boulanger inspired the 1956Jean Renoir movieElena and Her Men, a musical fantasy loosely based on the end of his political career. The role of Général François Rollan, a Boulanger-like character, was played byJean Marais.
IMDb notes that there was also a French television programme about Boulanger in the early 1980s,La Nuit du général Boulanger,[17] in which Boulanger is played byMaurice Ronet.
He is quoted as the one who authorised the institution of the "Suicide Bureau" inGuy de Maupassant's short story "The Magic Couch", reportedly "the only good thing he did".
Maurice Leblanc also mentions him in his 1924 novelThe Countess of Cagliostro.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of War 7 January 1886 – 30 May 1887 | Succeeded by |
