Radical French prime minister at the end of the First World War who pressed harsh terms on Hungary at the Paris Peace Conference
A physician turned journalist from the Vendée, he became mayor of the 18th arrondissement of Paris in 1870 and the next year tried to broker a compromise between the Paris Commune and the government. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he advocated the separation of church and state. As interior minister in 1906 he ordered repressive policies toward the workers’ movement and was nicknamed “the Tiger”, and he was prime minister in 1906–1909 and 1917–1920. Appointed in November 1917 at one of the darkest hours of the war, he demanded total victory over Germany and achieved the Treaty of Versailles at the Paris Peace Conference. Seeking to weaken Hungary as Germany was weakened, he brought about the stringent terms of the Treaty of Trianon. He died in 1929.
Career timeline
- 1870Mayor of the 18th arrondissement of Paris
- 1906Minister of the Interior
- 1906–1909Prime minister of France
- 1917–1920Prime minister of France
- 1919President of the Paris Peace Conference
Blanquist revolutionary and head of the Paris Commune police
“Long live the Commune! Down with the assassins!”
A Blanquist under the Second Empire, Rigault wrote for republican and atheist newspapers and was repeatedly imprisoned for political activity. After the Republic was proclaimed in September 1870, he worked in the political section of the Paris police; following the Commune's uprising, he became head of the police prefecture in March 1871. He served as a Commune councillor and on its General Security Commission, then became its prosecutor in late April, participating in hostage policy and arrests of opponents. During Bloody Week he had the imprisoned lawyer Gustave Chaudey shot; on 24 May 1871, Versailles government troops captured and shot Rigault without trial.
Career timeline
- 1860sJoined Blanquist and republican circles and contributed to newspapers; repeatedly imprisoned for political activity.
- 1870Worked as an official in the political section of the Paris police after the Republic was proclaimed in September.
- 1871Appointed head of the Paris police on 20 March and elected to the Commune on 26 March; served on the General Security Commission and became the Commune's prosecutor in late April.
- 1871Ordered the execution of Gustave Chaudey during Bloody Week. Captured by Versailles troops on 24 May and shot without trial.
The Paris prefect of police, hard on the left and indulgent to the leagues, whose dismissal lit the fuse of 6 February
'Then I shall be in the street', on the telephone with Daladier as he was removed, 3 February 1934. The right-wing press read it as notice that he would take to the streets; Chiappe said he had meant only that he would be out of a job
A Corsican from Ajaccio who rose through the police administration and served as prefect of police of Paris from 1927 to 1934. He had a standing reputation for severity toward left-wing demonstrations and indulgence toward the street actions of the far-right leagues, and was popular with the right-wing press and the veterans' associations. When Prime Minister Édouard Daladier removed him on 3 February 1934, the right read it as the republic striking down its own policeman, and three days later the Place de la Concorde erupted. He remained a central figure of Paris right-wing politics after his dismissal, and died in 1940 when the aircraft carrying him to take up the Vichy post of high commissioner in the Levant was shot down over the Mediterranean.
Career timeline
- 1878Born at Ajaccio in Corsica
- 1900s–1926Rises through senior posts in the police administration
- 1927–1934Prefect of police of Paris
- 1934.02.03Removed by Daladier; refuses the residency-general in Morocco
- 1935–1940Remains a central figure of the Paris right
- 1940.11Appointed Vichy high commissioner in the Levant; shot down on the way
Vichy police chief who negotiated with the occupier
On 2 July 1942, he agreed to place the French police at the occupier’s disposal for the arrest of Jews.
René Bousquet was a senior French civil servant who pursued Vichy police collaboration while presenting it as a defense of French administrative sovereignty. He negotiated with German security officials for room to operate a French police force, while supplying that force to the persecution and deportation of Jews. His decisions helped make the July 1942 Vélodrome d'Hiver roundup possible, after which he escaped the main force of the post-Liberation purge and returned to influential business and political circles.
Career timeline
- 1930Gained national recognition for rescue work during the floods and received the Légion d’honneur
- 1931Chief of staff to Pierre Cathala at the Interior Ministry
- 1933Sub-prefect
- 1939–1942Prefect of the Marne and regional prefect
- 1942–1943Secretary-general of the Vichy police
- 1950s–1993Businessman and political influence broker in finance and the press
