Governor of besieged Paris and head of the Government of National Defence who vowed never to capitulate; every sortie failed
Born on Belle-Île in Brittany and trained at Saint-Cyr, he served in Algeria as aide-de-camp to Marshal Bugeaud and in the Crimea as a brigade commander. In 1867 he published anonymously L'Armée française en 1867, a work of Orleanist sentiment that offended the court, and he was refused a field command at the outbreak of war. After the early defeats he became governor of Paris and commander-in-chief of its defence on 17 August 1870, and the revolution of 4 September made him president of the Government of National Defence. He proclaimed that the governor of Paris would never capitulate, yet the sorties made under pressure of public opinion all failed; on 22 January 1871 he handed the governorship to Vinoy, keeping the presidency until after the armistice. Deputy for Morbihan, he retired from politics in 1872 and the army in 1873, and died at Tours in 1896.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1837Commissioned in the Staff Corps
- 1854–1855Brigade commander in the Crimean War
- 1867Published L'Armée française en 1867 anonymously
- 1870Governor of Paris from 17 August
- 1870–1871President of the Government of National Defence
- 1871–1872Deputy for Morbihan in the National Assembly