Grévy, FRANÇOIS PAUL JULES

Grévy, FRANÇOIS PAUL JULES, President of the French Republic, was born at Mont-sous-Vaudrey, in the Jura, August 15, 1807. He studied law in Paris, and was admitted an advocate, acquiring distinction as the defender of republican political prisoners. After the Revolu- tion of 1848 he was commissary of the provisional government in his native department, for which also he was returned to the Constituent Assembly. While preserving an independent attitude, he usually voted with the Left, and his ability as a speaker soon brought him into prominence. He became Vice-president of the Assembly, and took a leading part in the constitutional debates. He opposed the government of Louis Napoleon, and condemned the expedition to Rome. After the coup d'état he retired from politics and confined himself to the bar, but in 1869 he was again returned as deputy for the Jura. He denounced the Second Empire during its closing days, and in February 1871 was elected President of the National Assembly, being re-elected in 1876, 1877, and 1879. The Monarchists were triumphant from 1873 to 1876, but their schemes were trenchantly attacked by Grévy, who likewise published a pamphlet entitled The Necessary Government. Upon the resignation of Marshal MacMahon in 1879 Grévy was elected President of the Republic for seven years, securing 563 votes out of a total of 713. Although his presidency was not brilliant, it was frequently marked by much tact, as on the occasion of the hostile demonstration against the king of Spain, on his visit to Paris in 1883. The republic was consolidated and strengthened at home, but the foreign policy of France was inglorious, and in March 1885 President Grévy closed the Tonkin difficulty by concluding peace with China upon his own initiative. In December 1885 Grévy was elected president for a further period of seven years, but, hampered by ministerial difficulties, resigned in December 1887. He died at Mont-sous-Vaudrey, 9th September 1891.