Jean Jaures (3 September 1859-31 July 1914) was a French socialist politician who was one of the historic leaders of the SFIO party. Jaures was a committed pacifist, and he was assassinated for his opposition to France's entry into World War I.
Biography[]
Jean Jaures was born in Castres, Second French Empire on 3 September 1859, and he was elected to Parliament for the Tarn department in 1885 as a member of the Opportunists. He later supported Jules Ferry and Leon Gambetta, and he unsuccessfully ran for parliament in 1889 as a socialist, having abandoned his opposition to radicalism and socialism. In 1893, after assisting a successful miners' strike, he was elected to the National Assembly, and he would staunchly defend Alfred Dreyfus during the Dreyfus Affair of 1894-1906. Jaures became one of the leaders of the SFIO party, partnering with the Radical Party of France in a coalition government. In the days leading up to World War I, he increased his pacifist rhetoric, asking the rhetorical question of if France and its ally Russia were going to start a world war against Germany. The fanatic nationalist Raoul Villain, infuriated by Jaures' pacifism, shot him dead at a Montmartre restaurant on 31 July 1914. The next day, posters for the mobilization went up, and war was declared three days later.
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