Jean
Jaurés, the son of an unsuccessful businessman, was born in
Castres, France, on 3rd September, 1859.
He won a scholarship to the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.
After graduating he taught in schools before becoming a lecturer on
philosophy at the University of Toulouse (1883-85).
Jaurés
was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1885. Defeated in the 1889
elections he returned to the University of Toulouse. He became increasingly
radical in his political views and after reading Karl
Marx he began advocating socialism. He was not a revolutionary
and supported the Independent Socialists led by Alexandre
Millerand.
In 1893
Jaurés was elected to the Chamber of Deputies to represent
the working class area of Carmaux. He became involved in the campaign
to get the conviction of Alfred Dreyfus overturned. This was not a
popular cause at the time and was partly responsible for his defeat
in the 1898 election.
In
1900 a congress was held where socialists attempted to obtain a united
party. This proved impossible but two new grouping did emerge, the
revolutionary Socialist Party of France and the French
Socialist Party, under the leadership of Jaurés, that advocated
a parliamentary route to power.
The
Socialist Party of France was led
by Jules Guesde and Edouard
Vaillant. This party failed to make much progress and in 1905
it merged with the French
Socialist Party.
While out of parliament
Jaurés completed his mammoth Socialist
History of the French Revolution. He
also joined with Aristide
Briand and Rene
Viviani in 1904 to establish the left-wing
newspaper, L'Humanité in
1904.
As well as editing L'Humanité
Jaurés continued to write history books and published The
Franco-German War (1908) and The
New Army (1910). At the Second International
he opposed those European politicians calling for armed insurrection.
Instead he advocated a policy of "peace through arbitration".
The
new Socialist Party under Jaurés
grew rapidly at the beginning of the century but split over the correct
response to German militarism. Jaurés
advocated a policy of international arbitration whereas others supported
the Triple Entente.
During
the war fever that swept through Europe during the summer of 1914,
Jaurés continued to argue for peaceful negotiations between
the European governments. On 31st July, 1914, Jean Jaurés was
assassinated by a young French nationalist who wanted to go to war
with Germany.
(1)
The
Manchester Guardian (1st August, 1914)
Grave as is the international situation even the probable imminence
of war has been overshadowed for the moment in Paris by the appalling
crime this evening of which I was an eye-witness. It is impossible
to one who knew M. Jaures, whom one could not help loving, to write
about it calmly with the grief fresh upon one. I was dining with a
member of my family and a friend at the Cafe du Croissant, the well-known
resort of journalists in the Rue Montmartre close to many
newspaper offices including that of the Humanite. M. Jaures was also
dining there with some Socialist deputies and members of the staff
of the Humanite. He came in later than we did. I spoke to him
just as he entered and had a short conversation with him about the
prospects of war and peace. Like everyone else, he feared that war
was probable, but he still had some faith that Sir Edward Grey might
succeed in inducing Germany to be conciliatory. If some sort of conference
could be arranged, he thought, peace might even yet be secured; and
if the French Government would bring pressure to bear on Russia and
the German Government on Austria an arrangement might be possible.
He added, however, that he feared the French Government might not
do that. What a crime war will be and what a monstrous folly. The
last words that he said to me was an inquiry about M. Anatole France,
who, he said, must be deeply distressed by the situation.
At about half-past nine,
when we were just finishing dinner, two pistol shots suddenly resounded
in the restaurant. At first we did not understand what had happened,
and for a moment thought that there was shooting in the street outside.
Then we saw that M. Jaures had fallen sideways on the bench on which
he was sitting, and the screams of the women who were present told
us of the murder. It should be explained that M. Jaures and his friends
were sitting on a bench with their backs to the open window of the
restaurant, and the shots were feed from the street through the window.
M. Jaures was shot in the head, and the murderer must have held the
pistol close to his victim. A surgeon was hastily summoned, but he
could do nothing, and M. Jaures died quietly without regaining consciousness
a few minutes after the crime. Meanwhile the murderer had been seized
and handed over to the police, who had to protect him from the crowd
which had quickly collected in the street. At that hour in the evening
the Rue Moatmastte is filled with newsvendors waiting for the late
editions of the evening papers.
It is said that the murderer
is a member of the Royalist society Action Francaise, but I have not
yet been able to discover whether this report is true or not. A more
cold-blooded and cowardly murder was never committed. The scene in
and about the restaurant was heartrending; both men and women were
in tears and their grief was terrible to see. It is as yet too early
to say what the effect of the murder will be, but it may be considerable.
M. Jaures has died a victim to the cause of peace and humanity.
In any case the French
Chauvinists and reactionaries cannot escape a large share of the responsibility
for this murder. For years their organs in the press have been denouncing
M. Jaures as a traitor sold to Germany, and the language used by the
Action Franfaise has been almost a direct incitement to his assassination.
Even such comparatively
moderate Chauvinist papers as the Temps have bandied the charge of
treason recklessly. I have known M. Jaures well, and a more simple-hearted
man I never met in my life. He was absolutely free from personal vanity
and personal ambition, and gave up the whole of his life to the cause
of Socialism and peace. His death is a terrible loss to the
Socialist party in France which cannot replace him without the very
greatest difficulty.
It is the
intention of the Government to issue a proclamation to the people
of Paris expressing the national mourning at the death of M. Jaures
and calling upon the people of Paris to remain calm.
A register
has been opened at the offices of the Humanite in order that the people
may express their sympathy. Hundreds of people are outside the office
waiting to come in.
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