General
Trochu became the military governor of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war.
Following the defeat of Louis-NapoleonÕs army by Bismarck during the war, he
was invited to join in the creation of the new Republic and was elected
president by the revolutionary forces. They quickly became unhappy with his
actions, however, due to the fact that he was not a quality military officer
and his decisions were not decisive enough to make a difference in the combat
and he was continuously pushed back by the Prussian army. Eventually, the
revolutionary forces deposed of him and he fled to Versailles, where he worked
on creating a force strong enough to recature Paris.
Adolphe Thiers was not born into an aristocratic
family as his father was a locksmith. However, he received a very good
education in Marseille and later in law school. He was both a journalist and a
writer, and he earned fame when he wrote the Histoire de la revolution
fran¨aise which started his
literary career and gave him political standing. During the reign of King
Louis-Phillipe he acted out roles from the effective Prime Minister to the
opposition, his opinions moving from the more radical to the more conservative
as the years passed. In the ensuing chaos through the Second Republic prior to
Napoleon IIIÕs takeover, his inconsistency got him expelled from France, though
he returned shortly afterwards. After the collapse of the new empire, he joined
the new republic and was sent to Prussia in order to achieve a cease-fire
between Bismarck and the new French government. He returned to Paris advocating
what amounted to a French surrender. Shortly thereafter he became the new
French president. During the commune years, he and the General Trochu opposed
them and fought in order to regain control of Paris.
He
held office for two years following the fall of the commune, but his ideas
became outdated and he was supplanted by newer, less conservative officials. He
resigned as president and served the remainder of his term as a member of the
French government. [1]
Gustave
Flournes
Flourens was the son of JP Flourens, a noted
physiologist, and was born in Paris in 1838. He first gained some notoriety
when in 1863 he gave a number of lectures at the College de France which were
about the history of mankind. The theories he proposed offended the clergy, who
prevented his lectures but he traveled abroad and gave his lectures in cities
such as Brussels. He continued to travel and took part in the Cretan
insurrection of 1866. He was arrested once in Italy for his writing, but
eventually was released and returned to France.
He
was a devout republican and attempted to organize various revolutions which
failed and he was forced to flee France. He was imprisoned and then released
upon his return, then joined the communist movement and was elected to public
office. He was a leader of the Communard revolt in 1871 and was killed in the
fighting.
Jules
Favre
Favre was a French statesman who declared himself a republican during the revolution of 1830 and was open about his opinions. In 1848 he was elected to office. When Louis-Napoleon was elected president Favre became the opposition and attempted to organize resistance to the new government. He withdrew from politics when it failed, but continued to give addresses to the people and became a member of the French Academy. He supported Adolphe Thiers instead of Napoleon III and when General Trochu became president he was elected vice president. Following TheirsÕ return from German he was given the position of negotiating the peace, but he was unskilled as a diplomat and antagonized Bismarck, who was in the superior military position. Eventually his blunders caused him to withdraw from politics, though he continued to support a republican government in France till his death. [2]