FRANCE. 



329 



French Republic, see THIERS.) The most prom- 

 inent man, next to Thiers, in the history of 

 France in 1871, especially in the former part 

 of the year, was JULES FAVRE. 



Jules Gabriel Claude Favre was born at 

 Lyons, March 23, 1809. His family were of 

 Savoyard descent. He was brought up piously. 

 At school he showed much promise. When 

 seventeen years old, he went to Paris to study 

 law. When the Revolution of 1830 broke out he 

 shared its spirit and attached himself to the Re- 

 publican party. He was grievously disappoint- 

 ed when the Duke d'Orleans was made gover- 

 nor-general of the kingdom, and it became evi- 

 dent that the revolution would result only in 

 the substitution of one monarchy for another. 

 He gave vent to his feelings in two articles in 

 the National, the organ of the doctrinaires, in 

 which he advocated the abolition of the mon- 

 archy and the chambers, and the formation of 

 a National Assembly, like that of the first 

 revolution. His views found no favor. But 

 they placed him in unpleasant relations with 

 the Government, and he returned to Lyons, 

 and engaged in practice in the local courts. 

 He continued as ardent a republican as ever, 

 and had become a bitter partisan. When some 

 persons in Lyons had been condemned to im- 

 prisonment for political intrigues, Favre de- 

 fended them, criticised the judgment of the 

 court, and castigated the judges in the journal 

 Le Precurseur. The publisher of the paper 

 was enjoined. Favre went from a sick-bed 

 to the court-room, and acknowledged the 

 authorship of the obnoxious articles. Being 

 brought to trial, he made a sturdy attack on 

 the system of the Government, and a vigorous 

 defence of republican institutions and the 

 .rights of the press, by which he gained great 

 popularity. In 1834 he defended the members 

 of the Society of the Mutualists, when they were 

 tried for provoking a strike, and the disturb- 

 ances which resulted from it. A riot occurred 

 during this trial, in consequence of which the 

 military were put in control of the city, and 

 Favre was exposed to imminent personal dan- 

 ger on account of his connection with the in- 

 dicted persons. This and other disturbances 

 occurring in different parts of the kingdom 

 were brought before the Chamber of Peers, 

 which was organized as a court for their in- 

 vestigation. The Republicans made a party 

 matter of the affair, and appointed a commit- 

 tee of 124 persons for the defence of the pris- 

 oners. Dr. Pasquier, president of the court, 

 refused to recognize this committee, and made 

 out another list of counsel, from whom the 

 prisoners were required to select their defence. 

 The Republicans insisted that, rather than sub- 

 mit to a limitation of their right to choose 

 their own counsel, the prisoners should refuse 

 to be defended. Favre thought it would be 

 better for them to take such counsel as would 

 be allowed them, by selecting from the Gov- 

 ernment list. He was overruled by his col- 

 leagues, but refused to be bound by their de- 



cision. He afterward, though against the views 

 of the Republican leaders, himself engaged in 

 the defence. He made an unequivocal republi- 

 can speech, and bitterly denounced the Govern- 

 ment as responsible, by reason of the severity 

 of its measures, for all the difficulties. Not- 

 withstanding the misunderstanding in which 

 Favre was involved with the Republican com- 

 mittee-men, and although the prosecution car- 

 ried the cases, Favre's action gave him great 

 favor with the friends of the prisoners. His ex- 

 ertions brought on a fever, from which he near- 

 ly died. He afterward removed to Paris, where 

 he gained a very extensive practice, and formed 

 confidential relations with Ledru-Rollin. 



Under the Provisional Government he was 

 appointed Minister of the Interior. He made 

 his influence felt in the policy of the Govern- 

 ment. He resigned, to accept an election as 

 deputy from the department of the Loire, but 

 a few months afterward accepted office again 

 under Bastide, Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

 While he was in the National Assembly, an 

 authorization was demanded by Cre'mieux, 

 Procurator-General, for a prosecution against 

 Louis Blanc, for his action in relation to the 

 emeute of the 15th of May, 1848. Favre was a 

 member of the committee to whom the subject 

 was referred by the Assembly, and was assigned 

 the duty of presenting the report, which was 

 favorable to the prosecution. He executed this 

 function with such an appearance of animosity 

 against Louis Blanc, that the impression was 

 created that he was seeking -revenge for the 

 manner in which Blanc, in the " Hutoire des 

 DixAns^ had spoken of his conduct in the casa 

 of the trials before the Peers. The authoriza- 

 tion was denied in his report, although it was 

 afterward granted upon a report presented by 

 another member. In January, 1849, Favre re- 

 plied to the attacks of Rateau and Frenan 

 against the Assembly and the ten organic laws 

 with such vigor and clearness as to fully 

 restore himself in the sympathy of his fellow- 

 republican members. 



After the coup d'etat Favre withdrew from 

 politics. He was engaged in many important 

 law cases, the most noted of which was the 

 defence of the Red-republican conspirator 

 Orsini. Orsini remembered him in his will, 

 by directing the presentation to him of a suit- 

 able memorial for his services. 



In his fiftieth year M. Favre was again re- 

 turned to the Chambers, and was one of the 

 five members of whom the opposition at that 

 time consisted. When his party became more 

 numerous, he was tacitly recognized as its 

 leader. His speeches were very strong, and 

 were aimed at the foundations of the imperial 

 throne. His party were called the irreconcil- 

 alles. He denounced the Italian War in 1859 

 as undertaken for dynastic purposes. In Jan- 

 uary, 1868, he was one of the speakers against 

 the new press law, which imposed onerous 

 regulations on the press, under the guise that 

 they were liberal concessions. 



