Camille Blanc (; March 29, 1847, 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 ...

– December 21, 1927) was a French municipal leader, with many interests in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. From 1904 to 1925, he was founding mayor of

Beausoleil Beausoleil, beau soleil or variants may refer to: * Beausoleil, Alpes-Maritimes, a town in southern France, adjoining the Principality of Monaco * Beausoleil, New Brunswick, a community in Canada * Beausoleil, a rural hamlet in the municipality of ...

, a town adjacent to

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

, which had previously formed part of

La Turbie La Turbie (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. History La Turbie was famous in Roman times for the large monument, the Trophy of Augustus, that Augustus made to celebrate his victory over the Ligur ...

and had been known as Monte-Carlo-Supérieur.

President of the Société-des-Bains-de-Mer

Blanc was also for many years president of the

Société des bains de mer de Monaco The Société des Bains de Mer (SBM; ), officially the Société Anonyme des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers à Monaco (; ), is a publicly traded company registered in the Principality of Monaco. SBM owns and manages the Monte Carlo Casi ...

, of

, and took a leading part in the administration of the

Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo ...

''Persona non grata'' in Monaco

In the later years of his administration of Monte Carlo Casino, his relations with

Louis II, Prince of Monaco Louis II (Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi; 12 July 1870 – 9 May 1949) was Prince of Monaco from 26 June 1922 to 9 May 1949. Early years Born in Baden-Baden, Louis II was the only child of Albert I, Prince of Monaco (1848–1922), and L ...

, suffered a setback, and he withdrew to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as someone who had become ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

'' in Monaco's official circles. While married to Elisabeth Lanxade, his name was also linked to Madame Chinon, whose excessive gambling habits, indulged by Blanc, were widely believed by some observers to be substantially at the origins of the accusations of mismanagement which eventually led to Prince Louis' intervention and termination of his position at Monte Carlo Casino. In the closing years of Blanc's life, up to his death in 1927, he suffered severely from paralysis, said to have been derived mainly from the reported stresses of his experience of dealing with the Monaco authorities.

Legacy

The separate existence and prosperity of the neighbouring French town of

may be Blanc's principal lasting legacy. The town hall of Beausoleil in the rue de la République has a sculpture and gardens dedicated to the memory of Camille Blanc.

External links

*
Beausoleil's municipal site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanc, Camille 1847 births 1927 deaths Place of death missing Monegasque businesspeople Monegasque politicians 19th-century Italian businesspeople 19th-century Italian politicians Mayors of places in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Blanc family