Commander in Paris who ran the 18 March cannon operation and advised the retreat to Versailles
Born in the Dauphiné in 1800, he rose through the Foreign Legion and the Zouaves in the conquest of Algeria to become a general and a senator of the Second Empire. After Trochu’s fall in January 1871 he commanded the army of Paris. He directed the operation to seize the cannon of Montmartre on 18 March and, when it failed, advised Thiers to withdraw all 40,000 regular troops to Versailles. On 4 April he had captured Commune officers including Duval shot; made grand chancellor of the Legion of Honour, he led an army corps in Bloody Week. He died in 1880.
Activities and affiliations
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1830–1871
Military command
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1871–1880
France state institutionsGrand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1871.01Succeeded Trochu as commander-in-chief of the army of Paris.
- 1871.03.18Directed the Montmartre cannon operation and, after its failure, advised the retreat to Versailles.
- 1871.04.04Had captured Commune officers including Duval shot.
- 1871.04.06Appointed grand chancellor of the Legion of Honour.