Louis-Antoine Garnier-Pagès (16 February 1803 – 31 October 1878) was a French politician and active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

who fought on the barricades during the revolution of July. Garnier-Pagès was born in

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 ...

. He served as a member of the Provisional Government of 1848 under Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure as well as

Mayor of Paris The Mayor of Paris (french: Maire de Paris) is the chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to the ...

from February to March 1848, and then a member of the

Government of National Defense The Government of National Defense (french: Gouvernement de la Défense nationale) was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclam ...

(1870-1871) under Louis Jules Trochu as a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

. He was a keen promoter of reform and was a leading spirit in the affair of the reform banquet fixed for 22 February 1848. He was a member of the provisional government of 1848, and was named

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

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 ...

. On 5 March 1848, he was made minister of finance and incurred great unpopularity by the imposition of additional taxes. A surtax of 45 percent was implemented what came to be known as "the forty-five centimes". Fasel, George. 1974. “The Wrong Revolution: French Republicanism in 1848.” French Historical Studies 8 (4): 654–54. doi:10.2307/285857 1 member of the Constituent Assembly and of the Executive Commission, he was also instrumental in the creation of the nationwide network of comptoirs d'escompte. Under the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

he was conspicuous in the Republican opposition and opposed the war with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

, and after the fall of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

became a member of the Government of National Defence. Unsuccessful at the elections for the National Assembly (8 February 1871), he retired into private life. He wrote ''Histoire de la revolution de 1848'' (1860–1862); ''Histoire de la commission executive'' (1869–1872); and ''L'Opposition et l'empire'' (1872). He died in Paris, aged 75.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garnier-pages, Louis-Antoine 1803 births 1878 deaths 19th-century heads of state of France Politicians from Marseille Moderate Republicans (France) Heads of state of France French Ministers of Finance Government ministers of France Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the 3rd Corps législatif of the Second French Empire Members of the 4th Corps législatif of the Second French Empire Mayors of Paris French revolutionaries French Freemasons French people of the Revolutions of 1848