Aristide Briand

Aristide Briand , born the March 29th 1862 with Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), dead the March 7th 1932 with Paris, is a politician and diplomatic French. Eleven times President of the Council - the equivalent of the Prime Minister under the third Republic -, twenty times minister, Nobel Prize of peace in 1926, its name are however less known than other personalities of this period, such Jean Jaurès, Raymond Poincaré, Leon Blum, Georges Clémenceau, or even Edouard Herriot and Edouard Daladier.

Its philosopher's stone, which it continued without slackening, until in 1932, was the reconciliation between France and the Germany. For that it accepted with its German counterpart, Gustav Stresemann, the Nobel Prize of peace in 1926, after the Accords of Locarno. In 1928, continuing its dream of peace by the collective security whose axis would be the Société of the Nations, it signs with the American Kellogg a pact which wants to put the war outlaw. Finally, the diplomatic construction, patiently worked out by Aristide Briand, was only one castle of sand which collapsed under the blows of stop of the economic crisis of 1929, of the rise of the Nazisme and the Communisme. Briand acted as well as possible in the circumstances which were given to him and its great dream was carried out post-war period in UNO and the European Union.

Biography

Born with the Vault-Heulin on March 29th, 1862 in the house from his/her grandmother at the village from Gautronnières, Aristide Briand is originating in a modest family of Nantes. His/her parents, Pierre-Guillaume Briand and Madeleine Boucheau, following the occupation of landlords, they settled a few years after the birth of their son with Saint-Nazaire where they held several famous establishments. Boarder with the college which will bear his name, it will name chevalier of the Legion of Honor, when he is Minister for the State education, the director of the establishment of then. He moves towards studies of right to the college of Nantes and became clerk while returning to Saint-Nazaire. At this point in time it binds friendship with Eugene Courroné, director of the Democracy of the West, and that it written there. Itself directing policy of the Republican West, it engages in policy, as regards radical socialist. It is elected city council man of Saint-Nazaire on May 6th, 1888 and resigned on February 22nd, 1889. It then made elect " candidates-ouvriers" within the socialist first municipe of the city.

It is registered with the Bar of Pontoise of August 1900 in November 1909. Its cabinet is then installed close to the Lac of Enghien, where he likes to fish with the line with his friends, Sunday. Single person, it multiplies the conquests and had a time for partner the Psychanalyste Marie Bonaparte, disciple of Freud.

Its ashes rest, since July 3rd, 1932, in the small cemetery of Cocherel, commune of Houlbec-Cocherel (the Eure), in front of a landscape which he liked particularly. Edouard Herriot, President of the Council, pronounced the funeral oration.

Political career

Initially near to the trade unionism-revolutionist, it became appointed Socialiste of Saint-Etienne in 1902. In 1904, it leaves its position of secretary general of the French Socialist party.

He plays a big role in the process of laicization of the French State. It is in Briand more than with Combes that one must, in 1905, the law of separation of the Churches and the State and especially its application. Its talents of pragmatic man and negotiator finally allowed a measured application and an agreement in fact between the laic Republic and the Catholic church. Aristide Briand on December 9th, 1905 could above all arrive at the completion of a violent confrontation which had lasted almost twenty-five years and which had opposed two visions of France: royalist catholic France and republican and laic France (conflict of the " two Frances" ).

In March 1906, it is seen entrusting the ministry for the State education in the government of the radical Sarrien. More still than that of Millerand in 1899, this initiative was very badly perceived in the rows Socialiste S which shouted with treason. When Briand, become minister, broke strikes, H. - P. Gassier signed a poster indicated by the title “the Yellow” .

Although Socialist, it had been hostile on the question of the right to strike to the civils servant and broke an important strike of railwaymen. Jean Jaurès apostrophized it: “Not that or not you” adding that Briand, by its “play of duplicity, soils and breaks up successively all the parties” , whereas Maurice Barrès qualifies it “monster of flexibility” . In 1914, it confirms its bringing together with the line while creating, at the sides of several leaders of the democratic Republican party, transitory a Fédération of the lefts, whose it assumes the chairmanship. It however did not join its parliamentary group after the legislative elections of 1914.

At the time of the Battle of Verdun, it was effective a President of the Council, showing its capacities to face in the most difficult moments. Appear of the III {{E}} République, Briand indeed was in turn Foreign Minister and Minister of Interior Department. More than twenty times minister, this lawyer was famous for his eloquence and his capacity of persuasion. He even will try to obtain, as Minister for justice, the abolition of the capital punishment. Character headlight during the interval wars, with his rival Raymond Poincaré, he was also president of the Council - chief of the government - with eleven recoveries. It is especially with its action of Foreign Minister that Aristide Briand owes his fame. Partisan of the policy of peace and international collaboration (Agreements of Locarno), joint author of the Pact Briand-Kellogg which put “the war out the back law (...) rifles, back the machine-guns and the guns” .

The Nobel Prize of peace was decreed to him in 1926, like with its German counterpart Gustav Stresemann, in recognition of its efforts for the establishment of a durable peace resulting from freely authorized negotiations.

President of the Council, it pronounces in the name of the French government and in agreement with his German counterpart Stresemann, a project of European Union at the time of a speech at the General meeting of the Société of the Nations on September 7th 1929. The Parliament empowers to him to present a Mémorandum on the organization of a mode of European federal union (written by Alexis Leger) which was not retained.

Criticisms of its political action

Leaving socialism, it is for the Socialists a “renegade” , a “treacherous” . For the monarchists of the French Action, it is the incarnation of the republican “démocrasouille” ; for Leon Daudet, it is a “hooligan of passage” , a “streetwalker, with her tricks, its spinelessness, its ignorance, its banal sentimentality and its flexible deterioration” . Its policy of bringing together and reconciliation with the Germany is reproached to him. Compared to the policy of bringing together which it wishes with Germany, Jacques Bainville shows it to forget the “Germanic danger” which it denounces. But the French public opinion, mainly peaceful, approves it and acclaims it like “pilgrim and apostle of peace” , thinking that this policy of peace is likely to succeed. But it seems that Briand has itself of the doubts as for peace: “peace, I work there, but I am not the Master. If it there with the war, it is necessary to be ready. ” Its successor found unreal a small nest egg of 23 million gold franc, “month by month, saved on the special funds. ”

The great reproach which was made in Briand, particularly with the extreme-right-hand side, would be to have defended inlassablement a peace " impossible" to build durably at its time, to have tried “to return the war outlaw” , to have defended pacifism.

Other personalities shared the pacifist positions of Briand, even after the come to power of Hitler (Briand died before), and the rearmament of Germany: Leon Blum at the time of Munich expresses its “coward relief” , Marcel Déat clamp which he does not want “to die for Dantzig”. The French public opinion follows them: Edouard Daladier, signatory of the Agreements of Munich, receives a triumph with its descent of plane, whereas he thought that crowd was there to lynch it.

French diplomats, in particular Alexis Leger (pen name: Persian Saint-John), general secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs until 1940 and former collaborator of Briand, have until the desired end to accept possible a policy of arbitration and driving disarmament a reconciliation, even with the birth of a European Federation.

max Gallo qualifies it “model more completed of French member of Parliament of the IIIe République” , illustrating “the incapacity of a whole political community to seize the news gives which changes the play of the world” . He thinks that Briand (born in 1862), like Pétain (born in 1856), were men, born under the Second Empire, who did not have with “to pass the witness to younger men” - died in the trenches of 14-18 - and they “still held the bar” in the Années 1930 and 1940. Finally of “too old captains for an unchained sea. It absorbed them.”

The name of Aristide Briand was selected like Christian name by promotion 2006-2008 of the National school of administration.

Electoral mandates

Elected and re-elected: appointed of the Loire in 1902, 1906, 1910 and 1914.
Elected and re-elected: appointed Loire-Inférieure in 1919, 1924 and 1928 until its death.

Governmental functions

The figures usually retained concerning the ministerial career of Aristide Briand are: 11 times president of the Council and 23 times minister.

Without taking account of the transitory cabinets such as the Government Alexandre Ribot (4) (9 June 12th, 1914), the Government Frederic François-Marsal (8 June 10th, 1924) and the Government Edouard Herriot (2) (19 July 21st, 1926), whose we are unaware of the composition, the number of ministerial positions (apart from the presidency of the Council) reached the 26. One can suppose that the authors of calculation regarded the Laval cabinets finishing the Doumergue presidency and beginning the Doumer presidency as only one government, but there remain differences…

Quotations

the policy is art to reconcile the desirable one with the possible one.
It is one through our democracy to run blindly to the reforms. For a reform is asked… and she is not earlier voted than one is diverted some, than one runs to another.
One of the rules of the policy is never not to believe information as long as she was not officially contradicted.
I make the policy of our birthrate , in connection with his pacifism.
It is the collaboration between the countries which opens, the United States of Europe begin (during the signature of the agreements of Locarno (October 1925) which fixes an arbitration of the international litigations.

Books on

Gerard Unger, Aristide Briand, the firm conciliator , Beech, Paris, 2005,541 p. a recension of this title is available on Histobiblio.com.

Aristide Briand, the Company of the Nations and Europe (1919-1932) , Acts of conference, University Presses of Strasbourg, 2007. A recension of this title is available on Histobiblio.com.

the way of Cocherel of Andre Beauguitte - ED. Alphonse Lemerre, 1960 - 266 pages

Aristide Briand, world peace and the European Union of Achilles Elisha, editions Ivory-Clearly, 2003,396 pages.

Republication - Foreword of Rene Cassin, Nobel Prize of Peace

External bonds

On the site of the Office of the United Nations to Geneva, several chapters devoted to Aristide Briand

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