Victor Augagneur (16 May 1855 – 23 April 1931) was a French politician. Augagneur was born in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. He studied at the seminary of

Semur-en-Brionnais Semur-en-Brionnais () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association. Sights * ...

before earning a medical degree in 1879. Due in part to his commitment to

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...

during the Dreyfus Affair, Augagneur united the left of Lyon and became the first socialist mayor of Lyon. As part of his tenure as mayor of Lyon, Augagneur replaced indirect taxes (such as the

octroi Octroi (; , to grant, authorize; Lat. ''auctor'') is a local tax collected on various articles brought into a district for consumption. Antiquity The word itself is of French origin. Octroi taxes have a respectable antiquity, being known in R ...

) with direct taxation and improving public health and welfare. His reforms focused on regulating alcohol, expanding municipal services like water supply, healthcare, and street infrastructure.Mann, Keith. “Political Identity and Worker Politics: Silk and Metalworkers in Lyon, France 1900-1914.” International Review of Social History, vol. 47, no. 3, 2002, pp. 375–405. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44582716. He was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Lyon from 1900 to 1905, and represented the Independent Socialists in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

from 1904 to 1905. He was Governor of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

from 1905 to 1910. He served once again in the Chamber of Deputies, representing the

Republican-Socialist Party The Republican-Socialist Party (, PRS) was a French socialist political party during the French Third Republic founded in 1911 and dissolved in 1934. Founded by non-Marxist socialists who refused to join the French Section of the Workers' Inter ...

from 1910 to 1919. He was Minister of Public Works, Posts and Telegraphs under Prime Minister

Joseph Caillaux Joseph-Marie-Auguste Caillaux (; 30 March 1863 – 22 November 1944) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic. He was a leader of the French Radical Party and Minister of Finance, but his progressive views in opposi ...

from 1911 to 1912, then (under Prime Minister Rene Viviani) Minister of National Education in 1914 and Naval Minister from 1914 to 1915. He was Governor of

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (, or AEF) was a federation of French colonial territories in Equatorial Africa which consisted of Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari, and Chad. It existed from 1910 to 1958 and its administration was based in Brazzav ...

from 1920 to 1923, then returned once again to the Chamber of Deputies from 1928 to 1931, representing the

Independent Radicals The Independent Radicals () were a centrist or conservative-liberal political current during the French Third Republic. They were slightly to the right of the more famous Radical-Socialist Party, and shared much of its historical radicalism. ...

. He died in

Le Vésinet Le Vésinet () is a suburban Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of western Paris, from ...

on 23 April, 1931 and is buried in Paris in the

Montparnasse cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

References

1855 births 1931 deaths Politicians from Lyon Republican-Socialist Party politicians Independent Radical politicians Ministers of public works, posts and telegraphs of France Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 14th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of Parliament for Rhône Mayors of Lyon French people of World War I World War I politicians {{France-politician-stub