Auguste Vaillant (; 27 December 1861 – 5 February 1894) was a French

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

known for his bomb attack on the French

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

on 9 December 1893. The

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

's reaction to this attack was the passing of the infamous repressive '' Lois scélérates'' ("villainous laws"), three French laws passed from 1893 to 1894 which restricted

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

Life

Auguste Vaillant's father was a ''gendarme'' in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

who abandoned his mother, forcing her to put Auguste into

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

. At the age of 12, he was living alone in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, apprenticed to a

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; feminine pâtissière, ) is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bistros, restaurants, bakeries, b ...

. He was arrested and jailed several times in various cities, for

begging Begging (also known in North America as panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars m ...

and for theft. In 1885, he was living on rue Ordener in Paris, and was secretary for the

Revolutionary Socialist Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolu ...

Union of the 18th arrondissement. Over time, he moved further towards anarchism. In 1890, he left for

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and participated in the newspaper ''Liberté.'' In 1893, he returned to Paris.'''' In Paris, he planned his attack on the

, and kept a diary in which he recorded his motivations, which he sent to Paul Reclus before the attack. Vaillant threw the home-made explosive device from the public gallery at about 4pm on 9 December 1893. He was himself injured in the explosion, and was treated at hospital. Questioned by police, he admitted to the attack. At his trial in Paris he was defended by Fernand Labori. Vaillant claimed that his aim was not to kill but to wound as many

deputies A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nati ...

as possible. Despite this, Vaillant was sentenced to death—the first time in 19th-century France that someone who had killed no one had been sentenced to death. A petition was begun asking for a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

for Vaillant, signed by 60 of the deputies. There was also much public sympathy for him for the sake of his young daughter, Sidonie, whom Vaillant entrusted to

Sébastien Faure Sébastien Faure (; 6 January 1858 – 14 July 1942) was a French anarchist, convicted sex offender, freethought and secularist activist and a principal proponent of synthesis anarchism. Biography Before becoming a free-thinker, Faure w ...

. The president of the Republic, however, declined to sign a pardon.'''' Vaillant was put to death by

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

on 5 February 1894. Vaillant's last words were "Death to

bourgeois society The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted with ...

and long live Anarchy!"

Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book ''Imagined Communities'', which e ...

claimed his execution was "the first instance in French memory of the death penalty being used in a case where no victim had died." His bombing and execution in turn inspired the attacks of Émile Henry and

Sante Geronimo Caserio Sante Geronimo Caserio (; 8 September 187316 August 1894) was an Italian baker, Anarchism, anarchist, and Propaganda of the deed, propagandist by the deed. He is primarily known for Assassination of Sadi Carnot, assassinating Sadi Carnot, the sit ...

(who stabbed to death Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

) and Bhagat Singh (who threw a low-intensity bomb into the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, and was later hanged).

References

External links

Auguste Valliant Page
at the Daily Bleed's Anarchist Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaillant, Auguste 1861 births 1894 deaths 19th-century French criminals People from Charleville-Mézières Anarcho-communists Executed anarchists French anarchists French communists French socialists French atheists French revolutionaries People executed by the French Third Republic by guillotine 19th-century executions by France Executed French people Executed failed assassins Bombers (people) Anarchist terrorism Improvised explosive device bombings in Paris Attacks on buildings and structures in Paris Attacks on legislatures in France