Louis Passy

Louis-Paulin Passy is a historian and French politician, born with Paris the December 4th 1830 and died in same the city the July 31st 1913.

The heir, the scholar (1830-1860)

Louis Passy is the son of Antoine Passy, prefect, appointed but also geologist and botanist, and of Henriette Péan of Saint-Gilles. He is thus the nephew of Hippolyte Passy and the first cousin of the prize winner of the Nobel Prize of Peace, Frederic Passy.

Louis Passy studies initially with several of his cousins under the direction of a tutor, M. Pourrat. Fourth with rhetoric, it follows the courses of the college Bourbon (today Lycée Condorcet), where it contracts friendships which will follow it very a long time, or which will play a great part in its life: Helium nucleus of Luçay, Antonin Lefèvre-Pontalis, Emile Levasseur or Jules de Goncourt.

It maintains with this last - young person of the two Goncourt brothers - a correspondence, until 1863. Jules de Goncourt is not insensitive to Blanche, the young sister of Louis, born in 1833. She inspires the character of Renee Mauperin to him, heroin of the Romance of the same name. Jules de Goncourt has a tender memory of the days of youth spent in the house of the Passy, with Gisors. The courses end however up diverging and Jules de Goncourt traces a severe portrait of Louis Passy, in Renee Mauperin , under the features of Henri Mauperin, brother of Renee.

After its baccalaureat, in November 1849, Louis Passy between with the School of the charters, certainly on the councils of Auguste Prevost, appointed the Eure under the Monarchy of July, member of the Academy of the inscriptions and the humanities and friend of sound father. With the School, he is in particular the school-fellow of Arthur of Borderie and Célestin Port: he leaves there classified with a thesis entitled the organization of public work in Gaules before and after the fall of the Roman Empire . This research however already took another turn: since 1851, he had been the prize winner of the Académie of Rouen for his research on Thomas Corneille. He looks further into this interest for the literature of the 17th century, discovering an unknown letter of Madam de Sévigné and - believe-it - a new satire of Boileau. Lastly, it is also interested, following his uncles and of his cousins, with the right and the economy: he attends the Conference Mole and obtains a license of right in 1852. Continuing its studies of right, it supports on June 24th 1857 a thesis of doctorate: the part devoted to the Roman law is entitled deed of partnership in Roman law and the thesis of French right Of the origins of the community of goods between husband .

Jointly with these studies, it continues to write, especially plays: in 1854, it presents its production to Eugene Scribe, which tastes its production but writing its trade discourages from it making. It completes finally its formation by a long stay in Italy in company of the Frères Goncourt of November 1855 in April 1856. He visits monuments, museums, attends the political circles and is charged by Léopold Delisle and Auguste Prévost to seek old manuscripts.

The opponent (1860-1870)

Its ascent predisposed Louis Passy to try a political career. Wire and nephew of deputies of the the Eure, it is presented in its youth to the principal politicians of the Monarchie of July and the Second Republic whereas its uncle is Minister for Finance.

It thus prepares its candidature for the legislative Body for the elections of 1863. But the system of the official candidates of the Second Empire is not favorable for him. Eugene January of the Mound, prefect of the the Eure, is opposed to the Davy republican and to Louis Passy in order to support the candidate of the Emperor: he proceeds for that to a reorganization of the electoral constituencies. Louis Passy answers these carried out by taking the opinion to witness: he makes appear in the Journal of the economists a demographic study showing that this administrative reorganization did not take place to be in order to denounce “a district rather traced in an personal interest only in one public interest”. The advantages of the official candidates are such as the defeat was assured: the Duke of Albufera, mayor of Vernon and appointed leaving carries it with 17 702 votes against 9 081 for Passy. The protests against the irregularities of the poll do nothing there. Passy nevertheless is elected at the municipal council of Gisors the even year and there sits until in 1896.

It is represented with the elections legislative of 1869, in two districts of the Eure, still redécoupées in order to support the candidates of the Emperor. In the first district, Passy is always opposed to the Duc of Albufera; in the second Small Guillaume, appointed Louviers. It loses in both cases.

During all these years, Louis Passy is presented in the form of a liberal. Whereas it is itself in favor of a constitutional monarchy, it does not seek to reverse the Empire but only to give him a more liberal turn. This is why he votes “yes” with the plebiscite of 1870, regarding this vote as the approval of the reforms carried out during the three last years of the reign.

It is only with the advent of the Third Republic that Louis Passy is elected appointed and it will remain it until his death: the Second Empire will have been for him one period of political failures, certainly, but which will have enabled him to be made known voters, to furbish its strategy and to provide strong supports.

Remainder, the political action remains an activity among others. Pushed by his father, it takes a big part with work of the Free society of agriculture of the Eure: it finds at the same time the occasion there to better know the population of the department and that to join again with the political economy by various reports. It also continues its historical research while making appear during the summer 1867 administrative Histoire (1789-1815). Frochot, prefect of the Seine . Passy is interested of close with this famous prefect of the First Empire because his/her own mother had been married in first weddings with the son of Frochot: it thus had at disposal a documentary mass of first order in which it had to only plunge.

Lastly, in 1866, Louis Passy Marie with Francoise Wolowska. It is Hippolyte Passy which had presented to its nephew Louis Wolowski, father of the young girl, economist Polish refugee in France, deputy of Paris 1848, member of the Academy of Science morals and political and founder of the Building and loan association. It is still a powerful support for a political career which really begins starting from Sedan.

to come

The middle-class man (1870-1914)

Works

Appendices

Sources

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