The Méline tariff was a French protectionist measure introduced in 1892. It is noted as being the most important piece of economic legislation of the Third Republic and marked a return to earlier protectionist policies effectively ending the period of free trade associated with the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. The tariff has in part been seen to be the result of efforts by industrialists to help combat a perceived external economic threat to the domestic market. It has been suggested that politically the tariff was a reflection of an emerging confluence of interests among the industrial bourgeoisie, big landowners and peasant farmers. It is named after

Jules Méline Félix Jules Méline (; 20 May 183821 December 1925) was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France from 1896 to 1898. Biography Méline was born at Remiremont. Having taken up law as his profession, he was chosen a deputy in 1872, and in ...

, the 65th Prime Minister of France.Lebovics,Herman (1986) Protection against Labor Troubles: The Campaign of the Association de l'industrie franchise for Economic Stability and Social Peace during the Great Depression, 1880-1896", ''International Review of Social History'' 31 , 2, pp. 147-165.

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