Charles Camille Pelletan (28 June 1846 – 4 June 1915) was a French politician, historian and journalist,

Minister of Marine One of France's Secretaries of State under the Ancien Régime was entrusted with control of the French Navy ( Secretary of State of the Navy (France).) In 1791, this title was changed to Minister of the Navy. Before January 1893, this position als ...

in Emile Combes' ''

Bloc des gauches The Lefts Bloc (french: Bloc des gauches, ) was a coalition of Republican political forces created during the French Third Republic in 1899 to contest the 1902 legislative elections. It initially supported Emile Combes's cabinet (June 1902-J ...

'' (Left-Wing Blocks) cabinet from 1902 to 1905. He was part of the left-wing of the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party, created in 1902.

Biography

Pelletan was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, the son of Eugène Pelletan (1813–1884), a writer of some distinction and a noted opponent of the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

. Camille Pelletan was educated in Paris, passed as licentiate in laws, and studied at the ''

École Nationale des Chartes The École Nationale des Chartes (, literally National School of Charters) is a French ''grande école'' and a constituent college of Université PSL, specialising in the historical sciences. It was founded in 1821, and was located initially at ...

'' where he was qualified as an "archiviste paléographe". At the age of twenty he became an active

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, and a bitter critic of the Imperial Government. After the war of 1870-71 he took a leading place among the

Radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

, as an opponent of the "

Opportunist Republicans The Moderates or Moderate Republicans (french: Républicains modérés), pejoratively labeled Opportunist Republicans (), was a French political group active in the late 19th century during the Third French Republic. The leaders of the group inc ...

" who continued the policy of

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...

.} He was parliamentary editor for '' Le Rappel'' until 1871, when he was succeeded by Alfred Gaulier. In 1880 he became editor of ''Justice'', and worked with success to bring about a revision of the sentences passed on the ''

Communards The Communards () were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. After the suppression of the Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards w ...

''. In 1881 he was elected a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

for the

10th arrondissement of Paris The 10th arrondissement of Paris (''Xe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dixième'' ("10th arrondissement of Paris" = "dixième arrondisseme ...

, and in 1885 for the

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'', being reelected in 1889,

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

and

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

; and he was repeatedly chosen as reporter to the various bureaus. During the

Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

he fought vigorously on behalf of the Republican government and when the coalition known as the ''

'' (Left-Wings Block) was formed he took his place as a Radical leader, becoming a member of the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party at its creation in 1902, and taking place at its left-wing. He was nominated as

in the ''Bloc des gauches'' cabinet of

Émile Combes Émile Justin Louis Combes (; 6 September 183525 May 1921) was a French statesman and freemason who led the Bloc des gauches's cabinet from June 1902 to January 1905. Career Émile Combes was born in Roquecourbe, Tarn. He studied for the pri ...

(June 1902 to January 1905), but his administration was severely criticized, notably by

Jean Marie Antoine de Lanessan Jean Marie Antoine Louis de Lanessan (13 July 1861– 7 November 1935) was a French statesman and naturalist. Biography De Lanessan was born in Saint-André-de-Cubzac in the Gironde department of France and entered the French Navy in 1880, ser ...

and other naval experts. During the great sailors strike at

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

in 1904 he showed pronounced sympathy with the socialistic aims and methods of the strikers, and a strong feeling was aroused that his Radical sympathies tended to a serious weakening of the navy and to destruction of discipline. A somewhat violent controversy resulted, in the course of which Pelletan's indiscreet speeches did him no good; and he became a common subject for ill-natured caricatures. File:Camille pelletan 20 mars 1904 l'étrille 06828.JPG, File:13 mars 1904 l'étrille 06836 pelletan gen André.JPG, File:Camille pelletan 13 mars 1904 l'étrille 06833.JPG Camille Pelletan 1914

On the fall of the Combes ministry he became less prominent in French politics. A deputy again for the Bouches du Rhône (until 1912), he voted on 3 July 1905 the

1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State (French: ) was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 9 December 1905. Enacted during the Third Republic, it established state secularism in France. France was then governed by the '' ...

. From 1912 to 1915 he was a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

elected in the Bouches du Rhône electoral district. Camille Pelletan's name was given to the '' Parti radical-socialiste Camille Pelletan'', a left-wing offshoot of the Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party created after the

6 February 1934 crisis 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

by Gabriel Cudenet, who opposed the participation of several Radicals to the conservative cabinet of

Gaston Doumergue Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (; 1 August 1863 in Aigues-Vives, Gard18 June 1937 in Aigues-Vives) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He served as President of France from 13 June 1924 to 13 June 1931. Biography Doumergue cam ...

, which had replaced the fallen ''

Cartel des gauches The Cartel of the Left (french: Cartel des gauches, ) was the name of the governmental alliance between the Radical-Socialist Party, the socialist French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), and other smaller left-republican parties that ...

'' (Left-Wings Cartel). The Pelletan's

family tree A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations ...

includes 11 parliamentaries, among whom are

Georges Bonnet Georges-Étienne Bonnet (22/23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician who served as foreign minister in 1938 and 1939 and was a leading figure in the Radical Party. Early life Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, the son of ...

and

Michel Debré Michel Jean-Pierre Debré (; 15 January 1912 – 2 August 1996) was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 195 ...

. US Naval officer Rear Admiral

Bradley A. Fiske Rear Admiral Bradley Allen Fiske (June 13, 1854 – April 6, 1942) was an officer in the United States Navy who was noted as a technical innovator. During his long career, Fiske invented more than a hundred and thirty electrical and mechanica ...

wrote of Pelletan in his autobiography ''From Midshipman to Rear Admiral'', edited in 1919, that:

References

Attribution: *

External links

Biography

References

Further reading

External links