Marcelin Albert
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marcelin Albert (29 March 1851 – 21 December 1921) was a French cafe owner and winegrower considered the leader of the 1907
revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers The Revolt of the Languedoc winegrowers was a mass movement in 1907 in Languedoc and the Pyrénées-Orientales of France that was repressed by the government of Georges Clemenceau. It was caused by a serious crisis in winemaking at the start of th ...
.


Early years

Marcelin Albert was born on 29 March 1851 in
Argeliers Argeliers (; ) is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of southern France. Geography Argeliers is part of the urban area of Narbonne located on the southern edge of the Haut-Minervois and in the north of the fertile sedim ...
, Aude. The village is a few miles north of
Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...
. He seems to have been a simple man but a powerful orator. Albert owned a café and was a small-scale winegrower. Albert was a moderate republican, as were his fellow villagers, none of whom joined the strikes of 1904. One historian described Albert as follows: "A small peasant from Argeliers, who looked like a Spanish Christ, Marcelin Albert was a jack of all trades: director of a theatrical troupe, a café owner and a winemaker. In his village he was called "lo Cigal" (the Cicada), because of his whimsical and carefree spirit. In 1900 Albert began fighting for the defense of natural wine against fake wine." In 1902, 1903 and 1905 Albert travelled around the villages of region talking to small groups of vinegrowers and workers and trying, without much success, to convince them to set aside their differences and form committees to demand help from the government. Albert avoided politics, but spoke out for the rights of honourable, hard-working people who had been exploited by defrauders, merchants and the government. During a slump in wine prices, in 1905 a demonstration of 15,000 people was staged in Béziers. Albert then launched his "petition of 1905", which collected four hundred signatures. It read, "The undersigned have decided to pursue their just claims to the end, to go on strike against the tax, to demand the resignation of all the elected bodies and commit all the communes of the south and Algeria to follow their example with shouts of 'Long live natural wine! Down with the poisoners!. On 18 February 1907 Albert sent a telegram to Prime Minister
Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...
in which he spelled out the suffering in the Midi due to the slump.


Winegrower's revolt

On 11 March 1907 the signal for the revolt was given by a group of Minervois vine growers in Argeliers. They were led by Albert and Elie Bernard, who founded the Comité de defense viticole (Committee of Viticulture Defense), known as the Comité d'Argeliers (Argeliers Committee). The Committee was composed of President Marcelin Albert, Vice-President Édouard Bourges and Secretaries Cathala, Richard and Bernard. They organized a march to Narbonne of 87 vine growers for an interview with a parliamentary commission. The parliamentary committee to review the situation arrived in Narbonne on 11 March and received a delegation led by Albert. The outcome was not satisfactory. After their testimony the winegrowers' committee made a tour of the city, for the first time singing ''La Vigneronne'', which from that day became the anthem of the revolt of the paupers. Albert considered the one and only worthwhile fight was for natural wines. He refused to engage in the debate on the divergent interests of the workers and the owners, did not question the presence of royalists who openly wanted to claim the movement, and did not appreciate that on the pretext that the
Occitan language Occitan (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...
is the mother tongue of the Midi wine growers, the regionalists want to make the fight into a separatist movement. On 24 March the first meeting organized by the Committee of Argeliers was held in front of 300 people in
Sallèles-d'Aude Sallèles-d'Aude (; ) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. The Canal de Jonction, part of the La Nouvelle branch of the Canal du Midi, runs through the middle of the town. Population See also *Communes of the Aude de ...
. Marcelin Albert stood out for his gifts as an orator and his charisma. During the revolt he was often called "the messiah" or "the redeemer". It was agreed to hold a meeting every Sunday in a different city. On 21 April the first issue of ''Le Tocsin'' was published by the Argeliers Committee. It was a weekly directed by Marcelin Albert and written by Louis Blanc. The first issue contained a request to parliament to pass a law against wine fraud. Albert remained vague about what he wanted done. In his view it was up to the government to solve the crisis. On 12 May 1907 these were 150,000 demonstrators at the
Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...
rally.
Jean Jaurès Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Léon Jaurès (3 September 185931 July 1914), commonly referred to as Jean Jaurès (; ), was a French socialist leader. Initially a Moderate Republican, he later became a social democrat and one of the first possibi ...
spoke and then Albert launched an ultimatum to the government asking it to raise the price of wine.
Ernest Ferroul Ernest Joseph Antoine Ferroul (13 December 1853 – 29 December 1921) was a French physician and politician. He held extreme left political views. He was twice a deputy for the southern department of Aude between 1888 and 1902, was first elected m ...
set this ultimatum to expire on 10 June and advocated a tax strike if the government had not acted by then. On 26 May from 220,000 to 250,000 people demonstrated in
Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...
. Marcelin Albert said, "The Albigenses were once gathered under these walls, they fell there in defense of their freedom. We will do like them! Forward for the defense of our rights! The Midi wants it, the Midi will have it!" On 9 June 1907 there was a gigantic gathering in Montpellier. The Place de la Comédie was invaded by a crowd estimated to number from 600,000 to 800,000 people. Marcelin Albert delivered such a speech that the journalist for ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' wrote, "It was mad, sublime, terrifying". On 19 June Ernest Ferroul was arrested at dawn at his home in Narbonne by troops of the 139th Infantry Regiment and imprisoned in Montpellier. News of the planned arrest of all members of the Committee of Argeliers caused an explosion. Marcelin Albert, who had not been arrested, was hidden in the belfry of Argeliers. Chased by the police, Marcelin Albert fled to Paris where he arrived on 22 June 1907. The National Assembly, in full debate over the bill against fraud, refused to receive him. Georges Clemenceau heard of his presence and agreed to grant him a hearing. The premier received him in his role of Minister of the Interior at
Place Beauvau The Place Beauvau (English: Beauvau Square) is a public square in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, at the intersection of the Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, the Avenue de Marigny, the Rue des Saussaies and the Rue de Miromesnil. It is located in ...
. During their interview he promised to repress fraud if, in return, Albert returned to Languedoc to calm the rebellion, and even agreed to be a prisoner. Clemenceau signed a safe-conduct for his return to the Aude and gave him one hundred francs to pay for his return by train. Albert was naive enough to accept it. Clemenceau took the opportunity to give his version to the political journalists and stressed the history of the payment. The national dailies took this up and Albert's status changed from redeemer to sell-out. On 24 June Albert was back in Narbonne. He met the members of the new defense committee and tried to convince them to suspend the movement. However, the interview with Clemenceau had totally discredited him in their eyes. On 26 June Albert went to Montpellier to become a prisoner.


Last years

Albert spent over a month in prison for his own safety, and was almost lynched when he was released. He spent the rest of his life in obscurity. No longer wanted in the Aude, Albert moved to Algeria. There the winemakers clubbed together to support someone who had defended their profession, but Albert died in poverty. Albert died in his home village of Argelliers on 12 December 1921. In 1948 Louis Blanc published a pamphlet on the 1907 revolt. He wrote of Albert, Today many plaques commemorate Albert and many public squares and municipal buildings are named after him.


Publications

*


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Marcelin 1851 births 1921 deaths People from Aude French viticulturists French winemakers