Raoul Villain (19 September 1885 – 17 September 1936) was a French

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

. He is primarily remembered for his

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of the French

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

leader

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 ...

on 31 July 1914, 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 ...

. Villain was acquitted by a jury of peers in 1919 and later fled to the

Balearic island The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

, where he was killed during the first stages of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Early life and background

Villain was born in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

, France on 19 September 1885. As a 29-year-old student in archeology at the ''

École du Louvre The École du Louvre () is a selective institution of higher education and prestigious ''grande école'' located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology ...

'', he was a member of the ''Ligue des jeunes amis de l'Alsace-Lorraine'' ("League of Young Friends of Alsace-Lorraine"), a nationalist student group. After France's defeat in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine were annexed by Germany. This was a source of anger and resentment in France, causing many to feel that a new war with Germany was in order to recover both territories and French pride. Therefore, many like Villain were opposed to the

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

policies of Jean Jaurès. Villain lived for some time in England, at

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

, where he stayed with Mrs Annie Francis, who described him, according to ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' on 6 June 1915, as "a gentle and very kind man".

Attack on Jaurès and result

Villain focused on Jaurès, bought a

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

and began stalking him, scribbling incoherent notes about the socialist leader's habits into his pocket-book. At about 21:40 on Friday, 31 July 1914, Villain fired two bullets through a window embrasure into Jaurès' head while his victim was having supper with his contributors in Le Croissant at the corner of

Rue Montmartre The Boulevard Montmartre () is one of the four grands boulevards of Paris. It was constructed in 1763. Contrary to what its name may suggest, the road is not situated on the hills of Montmartre. It is the easternmost of the grand boulevards. His ...

and Rue du Croissant. The next day, posters went up all over France announcing the

general mobilization Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

, and war was declared three days after Jaurès's death. What would be

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 ...

began. Incarcerated for the duration of the war, Villain was brought to trial in 1919. He was acquitted by a jury of peers on 29 March 1919, and

Anatole France (; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.L'Humanité (; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist." History ...

'': "Workers! ... A monstrous verdict proclaims that the assassination of Jaurès is not a crime...".Vovelle, Michel
"1914: Jaurès est assassiné"
''L'Humanité'' (archived at waybackmachine.org), 24 April 2004. Jaurès's wife, as plaintiff, was ordered to pay the court costs.

After being acquitted

After having briefly been arrested in 1920 in Paris after trying to pass some false currency, Villain fled to Cala de Sant Vicent,The White Island, The Colourful History of the Original Fantasy Island, Ibiza. Author: Stephen Armstrong. Published:Corgi.

in the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

off Spain. Receiving some money through an inheritance, he fled France and arrived in Ibiza.Title: The Road to San Vicente. Author: Leif Borthen. Published: Barbury Press. Villain thought that, by hiding out in the remote northeastern corner of Ibiza, he could live anonymously and be forgotten. In 1933, the Bay of Cala de San Vicent was a very quiet backwater with no development; there was not even a road into the valley. Villain decided to make his home there. Using local labour and help from Paul René Gauguin, the grandson of

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

, he built a house from concrete and had almost finished the building by August 1936. On 13 September, a small detachment of soldiers arrived on the beach of ''Cala de San Vicent'' by rowboat. Eyewitnesses reported that they thought that they may have been anarchists of the FAI. These soldiers were part of a larger detachment. The force had arrived on the island to re-secure it following the mini- coup which had been orchestrated by the Nationalists under the command of Infantry Commander Juli Mestre. Villain had been away visiting a French woman in

Santa Eulària des Riu Santa Eulària des Riu (, ) is a coastal town on the south eastern coast of the Spanish island of Ibiza. The town is located on the designated road EI-200. Santa Eulària is the third largest town on the island and also has the only river on th ...

when the soldiers arrived, but quickly returned home when he heard of their arrival. Feeling vulnerable, he feared that the soldiers would steal his valuables, which he had stashed in the unfinished house. Despite being repeatedly warned by his neighbours not to go back down to the cove, he still went home.

Death

The officer and troops who arrived on the beach that day seemed very suspicious of this Frenchman, who also antagonised the officer with his explanation of why he had set a crucifix on the hill behind his house. Apart from this outward show of religious zeal, the officer was also suspicious of where Villain had been that day, and decided to confine him to his house. He was considered to be a fascist and a spy and, as such, a threat to their plans to reoccupy the island. On the afternoon of 17 September 1936, three bombers from the

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

had flown along the coast over Cala de Sant Vicent and bombed the town of

, which could be heard even that far up the coast. It is thought that the troops, on hearing the sounds of the attack, decided to return to the capital and tried to take Villain and his valuables with them. He reacted violently to this, and as a consequence was shot in the back, with the bullet exiting via his throat. Villain had only been wounded, but the officer in charge warned the villagers that had come down to see what had happened, not to assist or disturb him. Villain lay alone on the sand for two days until he died. The locals then placed his body in a makeshift coffin, draped it in a

French Tricolour The national flag of France () is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. The design was adopted after the French Revolution, whose revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped re ...

they found in his house, and buried him in the cemetery at nearby Sant Vicent de sa Cala.

Notes

Sources

* Combes, A.
Casimir Combes (la guerre de 1914)

External links

*

Student-created webpages about Jaurès that include a portrait photograph and sketch of Villain, which may not yet be in the public domain {{DEFAULTSORT:Villain, Raoul 1885 births 1936 deaths People from Reims Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni École du Louvre alumni Assassinated French people Assassinated dissidents French anti-communists French nationalist assassins French people murdered abroad French prisoners and detainees People murdered in Spain People acquitted of murder Military history of Ibiza Deaths by firearm in Spain Jean Jaurès People killed in the Spanish Civil War French expatriates in Spain People assassinated in the 20th century Prisoners and detainees of France