Background
Jules Ferry was born at Saint-Dié, Vosges Department, on April 5, 1832.
Jules Ferry was born at Saint-Dié, Vosges Department, on April 5, 1832.
François studied law, and was called to the bar at Paris, but soon went into politics, contributing to various newspapers, particularly to the Temps.
On receiving his law degree in 1851, he was admitted to the Paris bar, but he first made his name in journalism as one of the most vigorous critics of the Second Empire. His successes led him into more active politics, and in 1869 he was elected to the legislature from Paris.
Entering the Government of National Defense after the fall of the Empire, Ferry became the top civil administrator for Paris and had to struggle with the difficult problems caused by the siege. His stringent but necessary measures earned him an unpopularity in the capital that lasted throughout his career. Ferry became minister of public instruction in 1879 and initiated a number of reforms, the most controversial being those aimed at reducing the influence of the Church on education.
The state recovered its monopoly in the awarding of degrees, but his proposal to prohibit teaching by members of religious orders (the famous Article 7) was defeated in the Senate.
In 1880 he took administrative measures to dissolve unauthorized religious orders. More important was his introduction of legislation to make elementary education compulsory, free, and laic. In September 1880 he became premier and was able to further his program by decrees, but lack of funds and personnel prevented his ambitious plans from being implemented at once.
An ardent colonial expansionist when most Republican politicians saw foreign questions only in terms of Alsace-Lorraine and the German menace, Ferry was charged with diverting attention-and troops-away from the Continent. His first ministry ended in November 1881 as a result of criticism of the Tunisian expedition which led to the French protectorate. Ferry returned to the Ministry of Public Instruction in January 1882.
In February 1883 he was again premier and carried out a purge of antirepublican elements in the judiciary. Although his power and prestige seemed as great as ever, this time the opposition to his foreign policy proved fatal to Ferry's career.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency in 1887 and never again played a leading role in government. Shot by an Alsatian fanatic on December 10, 1892, Ferry died in Paris on March 17, 1893.
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
Elected republican deputy for Paris in 1869, he protested against the declaration of war with Germany, and on 6 September 1870 was appointed prefect of the Seine by the Government of National Defense.
A leader of the Opportunist Republicans faction, he was twice premier (1880–1881 and 1883–1885).
He was an active Freemason initiated on July 8, 1875, in "La Clémante amitiée" lodge in Paris the same day as Émile Littré.
Jules Ferry supported French involvement in Indochina, but news of a minor defeat there much exaggerated in the first report, compelled his resignation on March 30, 1885.
Quotations: In a speech on the colonial empire before the Chamber of Deputies on 28 March 1884, he declared that "it is a right for the superior races, because they have a duty. They have the duty to civilize the inferior races. "
François became a member of the "Alsace-Lorraine" Lodge founded in Paris in 1782.
François was married to Eugénie Risler.
