Jeanne Macherez (12 April 1852 – 9 December 1930) was a French heroine during the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1914, she proclaimed herself Mayor of

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

.Jouve, Franck et Michèle, "la vraie histoire des femmes de 14-18", éditions ''Chronique'', 2013, p. 29, (in French)L'union, l'Ardennais, Jeanne Macherez : la résistance d'une Soissonnaise (in French)

Biography

Jehanne Louise Virginie Wateau was born in

Guise Guise ( , ; ) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The city was the birthplace of the noble family of Guise, Dukes of Guise, who later became Princes of Joinville. Population Sights The remains of t ...

on 12 April 1852. She was the daughter of farmers, Virgile Wateau and Valentine Dorigny. She married in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, Alfred Macherez who later became general counsel, deputy and senator of

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

. The couple moved to Soissons. Alfred died on 1 July 1904. Macherez was particularly committed to humanitarian causes. She created the organization, Goutte de lait, which helped infants. She served as president for the Soissons-Braine region of the Association of French Women and was a member of the

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public utility since 1945, the Frenc ...

. When the WWI broke out, Macherez ran the Hospital Auxiliary #201, which had 10 ambulances. The Germans arrived in Soissons on 1 September 1914. An officer, looking for supplies, enters the city and demanded to speak to the mayor. He threatened that if the mayor does not give himself up, the city will be sacked, burned. Macherez spoke up: "The mayor? It's me!". For twelve days, she was the interlocutor of the Germans. She negotiated everything, managed to minimize the negative fallout of this occupation, and protected the region from German abuses and looting. On 12 September 1914, at the end of the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by oc ...

, the Germans were forced to release their hold on Soissons, and occupy only the right bank of the Aisne. Macherez resumed her duties in the hospital alongside a Parisian,

Germaine Malaterre-Sellier Germaine Renée Suzanne Malaterre-Sellier (1889–1967) was a French nurse, feminist, suffragist and pacifist. From 1920, she was Vice-President of the ''Union féminine pour la Société des Nations'' (Women's Union for the League of Nations). I ...

. The prefect of the Aisne, Robert Leullier then appointed Georges Muzart to be the mayor of Soissons. The role held by Macherez was praised by some, and minimized by others. She claimed nothing, only observing that it is the circumstances that led her to take this role. Macherez died in Soissons on 9 December 1930.

Awards and honors

* June 3, 1916, Audifred Prize of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences * October 1920, Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* December 20, 1955, a street is named after her in the Saint-Crépin district of Soissons

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macherez, Jeanne 1852 births 1930 deaths Mayors of places in Hauts-de-France French Resistance members French women in World War I Knights of the Legion of Honour People from Soissons