Georges Boulanger

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Georges Boulanger, photo taken by Nadar

Georges Ernest Jean Marie Boulanger (born April 29, 1837 in Rennes , † September 30, 1891 in Ixelles near Brussels ) was a French Général de division .

Life

Military career

Boulanger entered the Saint-Cyr Military School in 1855 and was promoted to Sous-lieutenant in the infantry in 1856 . In the campaign in Italy he was seriously wounded on June 3, 1859 at Turbigo as a result of a bullet through the chest. He received the Cross of the Legion of Honor , was promoted to lieutenant in 1860 and then went to Indochina ( Vietnam , Cochinchina ). There he took part in the campaign in China between 1861 and 1864 and became Capitaine on July 21, 1862 .

In 1867, Boulanger was called to teach at the Saint-Cyr Military School. On July 15, 1870 he was promoted to Chef de bataillon and on November 9 to Lieutenant-Colonel . In the Franco-Prussian War he led the "114 e regiment d'infanterie de ligne" and was wounded again on November 30 in the Battle of Champigny . In January 1871 Boulanger was promoted to Colonel and was wounded again in the fighting against the Paris Commune . He was then awarded the Commander's Cross of the Legion of Honor. During the reorganization of the French military, Boulanger was demoted to lieutenant-colonel and he took over command of the "133 e regiment d'infanterie de ligne".

In the Third Republic , he became Colonel for the second time in 1874 and General de brigade in 1880 . Soon after, he was given command of the 14th Cavalry Brigade and represented the French government at the 100th anniversary of the independence of the United States . In doing so, he drew public attention. In 1882 he took over the management of the infantry inspection in the War Ministry . In this capacity, he worked towards the improvement of military education and training and simplified the administrative service in authorities and troops. In 1884 he was promoted to Général de division and took command of the French siege troops in Tunisia . There were unpleasant grievances in the administrative apparatus, against which Boulanger stood up and defended the honor of his troops and the officers' corps . As a result, he quickly gained support within the military organization.

politics

Georges Ernest Boulanger

On January 7, 1886, Boulanger took over the War Ministry in the cabinet of Charles de Freycinet . He was popular among large sections of the working class because he obliged the clergy to serve in the military, reduced the length of service of the Service National and removed descendants of noble families from the military. For a long time, Boulanger was an ardent advocate of retaliation for the defeat against Germany suffered in the Franco-Prussian War . Among other things, he submitted a draft law that was supposed to provide the French army with the necessary means to successfully wage war against the German Reich . Similar to Léon Gambetta , Boulanger wanted to significantly increase the peacekeeping strength of the troops and provide a large number of reserves for war preparation . However, due to the shortening of the active service period and temporary leave of absence for the teams, the expenses for this should not rise significantly above the previous level. The chamber approved his demands.

The following reinforcement of the barracks and the garrisons on the eastern border with Germany were an indication of the start of an imminent revenge campaign against Germany. Boulanger was considered the least replaceable minister in the cabinet at that time, although he was exposed to attacks from the press and the public against his arbitrariness and belligerent tendencies. He kept his post after the fall of Freycinet under his successor René Goblet . Only when he resigned on May 17, 1887 and Maurice Rouvier refused to form a cabinet with Boulanger, he lost his post.

He was then appointed commander of the 13th Army Corps in Clermont-Ferrand , but remained in constant contact with the Ligue des Patriotes, led by Paul Déroulède , and repeatedly came to Paris in secret without having asked for leave. Thereupon he was put into “inactivity” by the new Pierre Tirard government for serious offenses against discipline on March 15, 1888, and after a verdict on March 26, he was dismissed from the army with a simple farewell. Since this was also approved by the Ligue des Patriotes, some supporters of Boulanger left the party and called themselves Boulangists from then on , including Laguerre, Drugnot Laisant, Déroulède and Senator Raquet. Boulanger settled in Paris, made a princely effort and was henceforth an advocate for all forces in France who were dissatisfied with the prevailing system of "chamber terrorism" and the uncertainty of government goals. He received ample funds from banking circles. His friends constituted themselves as the "Republican Committee of National Protest". The monarchists, with whom he had long since got in touch, also supported him because they believed they could use him as a driving force. On April 15, 1888, he was elected MP in the Northern Department with a large majority. He now demanded the dissolution of the Chamber and handed over a letter in which he submitted his resignation. But this approach did not weaken its influence. At this meeting there was a heated exchange between him and Prime Minister Charles Floquet , which resulted in a duel . Boulanger was wounded in the neck by Floquet on July 13, 1888.

Depiction of Boulanger's suicide in a contemporary magazine

In August he was re-elected as a member of parliament in three departments and on January 27, 1889 was even able to outstrip the radical candidate in a by-election in Paris. This increased the number of visitors and he received an offer to take state power quickly. He irresolutely refused. But so much had already been set in motion that the government brought a formal charge against the Ligue des Patriotes and Boulanger themselves for “conspiracy and the assassination of the security of the state”.

Boulanger evaded his arrest by leaving for Brussels with his lover. This greatly weakened his cause. In the subsequent by-elections, the "Boulange" suffered numerous defeats. The trial against him was now over. The verdict was deportation to a fortified place for conspiracies and embezzlement of state funds. The facts unearthed in the process alienated him from almost all supporters. The government in Brussels asked him to leave, so Boulanger went to Jersey . After the Boulange suffered heavy defeats again, the party's representatives saw only one way to save their cause: Boulanger should face the State Court in Paris. He did not respond to this request, but resigned his position as party leader in mid-May.

After the sudden death of his mistress Marguerite de Bonnemains, the flow of money to Boulanger was also stopped and his financial situation became uncomfortable. Georges Ernest Jean Marie Boulanger shot himself on September 30, 1891 at the grave of his mistress in Ixelles near Brussels.

Honors

In the movie

Georges Boulanger was the inspiration for the character of General François Rollan in the film White Daisies by Jean Renoir .

literature

  • Frederic H. Seager: The Boulanger affair. Political crossroad of France, 1886-1889 , Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY 1969
  • Philippe Levillain: Boulanger. Le fossoyeur de la monarchie , Flammarion, Paris 1982
  • Irvine, William D .: The Boulanger affair reconsidered. Royalism, Boulangism, and the origins of the radical right in France , Oxford University Press, New York 1989. ISBN 0-19-505334-6 .
  • Jean Garrigues: Le général Boulanger . Perrin, Paris 1999. ISBN 2-26201-534-1 (EA Paris 1991).
  • Jörg Wildenberg: Bismarck, Georges Boulanger and the Septennat Battle of 1887. Causes and consequences of a Franco-German crisis , Kovač, Hamburg 2016. ISBN 978-3-8300-9191-2 .

Web links

Commons : Georges Boulanger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Jean-Luc de Ochandiano: Lyon, un chantier limousin - Les maçons migrants (1848-1940) . 2nd Edition. Éditions Lieu Dits, Lyon 2011, ISBN 978-2-36219-044-5 , pp. 159 .
predecessor Office successor
Jean-Baptiste Campenon Minister of War of France
January 7, 1886-30. May 1887 		Théophile Adrien Ferron
personal data
SURNAME Boulanger, Georges
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Boulanger, Georges Ernest Jean Marie (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French general
DATE OF BIRTH April 29, 1837
PLACE OF BIRTH Rennes
DATE OF DEATH September 30, 1891
Place of death Ixelles near Brussels