Issue No. 20

New Series
He was famous for his eloquent speeches,
for standing up for workers’ rights and as
one of the founding members and leader of
the French Socialist Party, the forerunner to
France’s Socialist Party. He also founded
the socialist newspaper L'Humanité, still
sold today.
On a Friday evening July 31, 1914, a 29-yearold
French nationalist by the name of Raoul
Villain arrived at the Café du Croissant
(which is still there) at 146 Rue Montmartre,
Paris. He pulled a pistol from his pocket
and fired two shots at a diner, striking his
target twice in the head. The hits were fatal
for Jean Jaurès, the victim, dining with the
editor of L'Humanité.
Anti-war
Nowadays Jaurès is best remembered for
his anti-militarism and attempts to avert the
outbreak of the First World War.
Wherever you go in France you’re sure to
come across a Place Jean Jaurès, a rue Jean
Jaurès, Avenue Jean Jaurès, schools and
even metro stations of that name – Paris
and Lyon.
Every French school child will learn about
Jean Jaurès, he is one of the most wellknown
figures of French history, though he
is hardly known outside his home country.
Who was Jean Jaurès
Born 1859 in the Tarn region, Jean Jaurès
became one of the most celebrated figures
of French history, a social thinker, anti-war
campaigner and politician. A man who has
left his mark on French culture.
“Never, for forty years, has Europe been in a
more threatening and more tragic
situation," he warned in the spring of 1914.
He had been trying to force governments to
find a path other than war by organising
workers strikes in Europe. It didn’t please
everyone.
His assassination brought the strike
actions to an end. Just hours later, Germany
declared war on Russia and two days later
on France. By August 4 when Jaurès was
buried, all the major powers of Europe were
officially at war.
Jean Jaurès final resting place is in the
Pantheon, Paris.