Félix Faure
Félix Faure | |
---|---|
7th President of France | |
In office 17 January 1895 – 16 February 1899 | |
Prime Minister | Charles Dupuy Alexandre Ribot Léon Bourgeois Jules Méline Henri Brisson |
Preceded by | Jean Casimir-Perier |
Succeeded by | Émile Loubet |
Personal details | |
Born | Félix François Faure 30 January 1841 Moderate Republicans |
Signature | |
Félix François Faure (French pronunciation:
According to David Bell, Felix Faure was born in Paris and moved to Le Havre where he became a successful shipowner. He moved up from local politics and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1881. He started as a junior minister and became minister for marine and colonies. He was elected seventh president of the Third Republic in 1895 and died in office in 1899. He did not excel in leadership but was successful in the symbolic role of president. His technique was to exploit his distinguished appearance and cordiality to enhance the dignity of the presidency at formal events. He tried to dampen the enormous controversy of the
Biography
Félix François Faure was born in Paris, the son of a maker of small furniture pieces Jean-Marie Faure (1809–1889) and his first wife, Rose Cuissard (1819–1852).
Having started as a
In 1894, he obtained cabinet rank as
He granted amnesty to the anarchist movements in 1895, enabling the return from exile in England of several famous anarchists, such as Émile Pouget.
In 1898 (and for the first few years of the following century), the French automobile industry was the largest in the world. President Faure was not impressed. Invited to address industry leaders at what, in retrospect, is recorded as the first Paris Motor Show, Faure told his audience, "Your cars are very ugly and they smell very bad" ("Vos voitures sont bien laides et sentent bien mauvais !").[3]
His fine presence and his tact on ceremonial occasions rendered the state some service when he received the
Freemasonry
Félix Faure was initiated in Le Havre, at "L'aménité", a lodge of Grand Orient de France, on 25 October 1865.[4][5]
Death
Faure died suddenly at the age of 58 from a stroke in the Élysée Palace on 16 February 1899.
An American newspaper segment at the time read:
About 6 o'clock M. Faure, who was then in his study went to the door of the room of M. LeGall, his private secretary, which is contiguous to the study, and said:
"I do not feel well. Come to me."
M. LeGall immediately went to the President's aid, led him to a sofa and called General Bailloud. General Secretary of the President's household, M. Blondell, Under Private Secretary, and Dr. Humbert, who happened to be at the Elysee, attending a relative.
The President's condition did not appear dangerous: but Dr. Herbert, on perceiving that he was rapidly getting worse, telephoned for Dr. Lann-Longue and Dr. Cheurlet, who arrived with M. Dupoy and were joined later by Dr. Bergeroy.
Though M. Faure still retained consciousness, the doctors recognized that the case was hopeless, but it was not until nearly 8 o'clock that the family were informed of the real state of affairs. They then came to the sofa where the President lay upon a hastily improvised bed. after he began to lose consciousness and despite all efforts expired at ten, in the presence of the family and M. Dupuy[6].
Unconfirmed rumours at the time state he was engaged in sexual activities in his office on top of the presidential desk with the then 30-year-old Marguerite Steinheil.[2]
It has been widely reported that those activities were oral sex, but their exact nature is in fact unknown and such reports may have stemmed from various jeux de mots (puns) made up afterward by his political opponents. According to the legend, Steinheil was performing oral sex on him when he suffered a fatal stroke, his convulsed hands tangled in her hair. This was not officially announced, but rumours started spreading immediately, although for several years it was believed that his partner at the time of his death was actress Cécile Sorel.[7]
According to
In popular culture
The French barque Président Felix Faure, named for the President, was involved in a 1908 case of shipwreck at the Antipodes Islands, south of New Zealand, the survivors being stranded for sixty days before being rescued.[9]
Faure's liaison with Marguerite Steinheil was the subject of the film The President's Mistress (2009) broadcast on
See also
- Félix Faure (Paris Métro), a station on line 8 of the Paris Métro
- Si-Mustapha, a town in Algeria formerly named Félix-Faure
Notes
- ^ David Bell, et al. eds. Biographical dictionary of French political leaders since 1870 (1990) p. 145.
- ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Museum label at the French National Motor Museum for the 1901 Renault Phaeton Type D. (A year after making the pronouncement Faure was dead. "L'automobile" lives on.)
- ^ Dictionnaire de la Franc-Maçonnerie (Daniel Ligou, Presses Universitaires de France, 2006)
- ^ Encyclopédie de la Franc-Maçonnerie (ed. Livre de Poche, 2000)
- ^ "President Faure Dies Suddenly". SEMI WEEKLY GAZETTE AND BULLETIN, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. 17 February 1899. p. 1. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ Armand Lanoux wrote a book about her affair with Faure, Madame Steinheil ou la Connaissance du président (1983). This title is a pun on connaissance meaning both 'consciousness' and 'acquaintance'. The priest who came to give last rites to Félix Faure when he died allegedly asked a police officer whether the president still "had his consciousness/acquaintance", to which the police officer replied "no, she left through the back door".
- ^ Germain, Galérant (23 March 1985). "L'odieuse légende de la mort du Président Félix Faure (The odious legend of the death of President Félix Faure)" (PDF). Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ "Castaways rescued". Evening Post. New Zealand. 16 May 1908. p. 6.
- ^ "Presentation of The President's Mistress on Eurochannel". Eurochannel.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Reeb, Lucie (8 February 2021). "Paris Police 1900: que vaut la nouvelle série historique de Canal+ se déroulant à la Belle Epoque ?". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Harrison, Phil (9 October 2021). "TV tonight: a classy, raunchy new French thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Faure, François Félix". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 209. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- David Bell, et al. eds. Biographical dictionary of French political leaders since 1870 (1990) p. 145. ISBN 0130846902