Jean Jaures

Shot on 31 July 1914 at the Cafe du Croissant in Paris by the nationalist Raoul Villain, days before France entered World War I.

Overview

Jean Jaures was the leading figure of French socialism, founder of the newspaper L Humanite, and a celebrated orator who helped unite the socialist parties into the French Section of the Workers International in 1905. He had defended Alfred Dreyfus and campaigned for international working-class action to prevent war between the European powers. In the tense final days of July 1914 he was killed while dining with colleagues near the offices of his newspaper. Within days France and Germany were at war, and the socialists joined the national union government. Villain was acquitted in 1919, a verdict that caused outrage. In 1924 the remains of Jaures were transferred to the Pantheon.