Auguste Vaillant
Encyclopedia
Auguste Vaillant was a French
anarchist
, most famous for his bomb attack on the French Chamber of Deputies
on 9 December 1893. The government's reaction to this attack was the passing of the infamous repressive Lois scélérates
.
He threw the home-made device from the public gallery and was immediately arrested. The weakness of the device meant that the explosion only caused slight injuries to twenty deputies. At his trial in Paris he was defended by Fernand Labori. Valliant claimed that his aim was not to kill but to wound as many deputies as possible in revenge for the execution of Ravachol
. Despite this, Vaillant was sentenced to death and execution followed on 3 February 1894. His bombing and execution in turn inspired the attacks of Émile Henry and Sante Geronimo Caserio (who stabbed to death Marie François Sadi Carnot
, President of the French Third Republic) and Bhagat Singh (who threw a low-intensity bomb into the Central Legislative Assembly
in British India, and was hanged to death later). Vaillant's last words were "Death to the Bourgeoisie! Long live Anarchy!"
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, most famous for his bomb attack on the French Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
on 9 December 1893. The government's reaction to this attack was the passing of the infamous repressive Lois scélérates
Lois scélérates
The lois scélérates — a pejorative name — are a set of French laws restricting the 1881 freedom of the press laws passed under the Third Republic , after several bombings and assassination attempts carried out by anarchist proponents of "propaganda of the deed".The first law was passed on December...
.
He threw the home-made device from the public gallery and was immediately arrested. The weakness of the device meant that the explosion only caused slight injuries to twenty deputies. At his trial in Paris he was defended by Fernand Labori. Valliant claimed that his aim was not to kill but to wound as many deputies as possible in revenge for the execution of Ravachol
Ravachol
François Claudius Koenigstein, known as Ravachol, , was a French anarchist. He was born 14 October 1859 at Saint-Chamond and died guillotined 11 July 1892 at Montbrison.-Biography:...
. Despite this, Vaillant was sentenced to death and execution followed on 3 February 1894. His bombing and execution in turn inspired the attacks of Émile Henry and Sante Geronimo Caserio (who stabbed to death Marie François Sadi Carnot
Marie François Sadi Carnot
Marie François Sadi Carnot was a French statesman and the fourth president of the Third French Republic. He served as the President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894.-Early life:...
, President of the French Third Republic) and Bhagat Singh (who threw a low-intensity bomb into the Central Legislative Assembly
Central Legislative Assembly
The Central Legislative Assembly was a legislature for India created by the Government of India Act 1919 from the former Imperial Legislative Council, implementing the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms...
in British India, and was hanged to death later). Vaillant's last words were "Death to the Bourgeoisie! Long live Anarchy!"
External links
- Auguste Valliant Page at the Daily Bleed's Anarchist Encyclopedia