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24-447: On 3 August 1914, Germany declared war on France. The next day, Prime Minister Rene Viviani read an address written by President Raymond Poincaré : This political movement may have been an attempt to create solidarity during a time when the largely pacifist SFIO threatened a general strike, while many French Catholics were slighted by anti-Catholic policies, such as the separation of church and state . Elements of nationalism, that

48-557: A matter of dispute, especially concerning Egypt , Newfoundland and Morocco . Suspicion of the growing entente between France and England soon arose in Germany, and in 1905 German assertiveness was shown in a crisis which was forced on in the matter of French policy by Delcassé personally, a sore point with Germany. The situation became acute, and Germany forced Delcassé's resignation in June 1906. He retired into private life, but in 1908

72-540: A wage for women employed in home-work in the clothing industry. In May 1919 the Chamber of Deputies finally debated the bill proposed by Paul Dussaussoy in 1906 for limited women's suffrage. Viviani gave an eloquent speech in its support, and the chamber voted in its favour by 344 to 97. Changes Changes Th%C3%A9ophile Delcass%C3%A9 Théophile Delcassé ( French pronunciation: [teɔfil dɛlkase] ; 1 March 1852 – 22 February 1923)

96-403: A war basis with Alexandre Millerand replacing Adolphe Messimy as Minister of War. Along with President Poincaré and War Minister Millerand he attended a June 1915 meeting of Joffre (Commander-in-Chief) and his Army Group Commanders ( Foch , Castelnau and Dubail ), a rare attempt at political oversight at this stage of the war. By autumn 1915 Viviani's government was in trouble following

120-610: The République Française and Le Temps , and in 1888 was elected conseiller général of his native département , standing as " un disciple fidèle de Léon Gambetta ". In the following year he entered the chamber as deputy for Foix . Delcassé was appointed under-secretary for the colonies in the second Ribot cabinet (January to April 1893), and retained his post in the Dupuy cabinet till its fall in December 1893. It

144-530: The British and French fleets. This arrangement was an important factor in leading Britain to side with France against Germany when World War I started. On 25 September 1911, as the battleship Liberté was moored in Toulon harbor, an accidental explosion in one of her forward ammunition magazines for the secondary guns destroyed the ship. 210 men died and 136 were seriously injured. The captain, Louis Jaurès ,

168-770: The Council of Ministers ( Deputy Prime Minister ) and Gallieni as War Minister in Aristide Briand 's new ministry. In April 1917 Viviani led a mission to the US, which had just entered the war "associated with" the Allies. He was overshadowed by Marshal Joffre , who attracted much more attention from the American press. During Viviani's time as prime minister, a law was adopted in July 1915 providing for special boards to fix such

192-883: The Germans attacked rather than the French, anti-German propaganda , and a desire to regain the former French territory of Alsace–Lorraine may have provided further impetus for the movement. Similar movements existed in other countries, such as the Burgfriedenspolitik in Germany or the União Sagrada in Portugal. This French history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rene Viviani Jean Raphaël Adrien René Viviani ( French pronunciation: [ʁəne vivjani] ; 8 November 1863 – 7 September 1925)

216-659: The Navy. President Armand Fallières ' term in office expired in January 1913, and Delcassé decided to leave the Ministry of Marine and run for the presidency. He did not succeed. After the election, which was won by Poincaré, a new cabinet was formed by Aristide Briand . Briand offered Delcassé the post of minister of marine or minister of war in the new cabinet, but Delcassé declined. He would soon be appointed ambassador to Russia, and then minister of war. On 26 August 1914 after

240-477: The battleship Iéna . Captain Antoine Schwerer was a member of the commission of inquiry and wrote a scathing "Report on Naval Powders" (1912). Delcassé ordered that all ammunition made before 1907 be replaced. The older ammunition was removed from the ships, and the remainder was steadily replaced with a new explosive containing diphenylamine as a stabilizer. Continued efforts were made to improve

264-813: The delicate situation caused by Captain Marchand's occupation of the town of Fashoda in the Sudan (the Fashoda Incident ) for which, as he admitted in a speech in the chamber on 23 January 1899, he accepted full responsibility, since it arose directly out of the Liotard expedition; and in March 1899 he concluded an agreement with Britain by which the difficulty was finally adjusted, and France consolidated her vast colonial empire in North-West Africa. In

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288-482: The function of the French navy was to secure and develop colonial enterprise, deprecated all attempts to rival the British fleet, and advocated the construction of commerce destroyers as France's best reply to England. On the formation of the second Brisson cabinet in June 1898 he succeeded Gabriel Hanotaux as Foreign Minister , and retained that post under the subsequent premierships of Dupuy, Waldeck-Rousseau , Combes and Rouvier . In 1898 Delcassé had to deal with

312-564: The maintenance of the law requiring three years' service in the army and provision for a loan of 1,800,000,000 francs ($ 360,000,000) for military preparations. Viviani supported both of these measures. During the July Crisis , he was largely dominated by President Poincaré. He retained the premiership for the first year of the First World War, but his tenure was undistinguished. On 26 August 1914 Viviani reorganized his cabinet on

336-448: The ministry of Gaston Doumergue . Viviani was an antisemite, arguing that "antisemitism is the best form of social struggle". In the spring of 1914 an exceptionally radical chamber was elected , and for a while it seemed that they would be unable to agree upon any one for Premier, but finally, he was appointed prime minister on 13 June 1914, by President Poincaré . He received a vote of confidence of 370 to 137. The chief issues were

360-477: The powders, and there were no more major disasters. It was not until 1914 that the "powder crisis" was fully resolved. Delcassé retained his position in the cabinet of Joseph Caillaux until its fall on 14 January 1912. Raymond Poincaré then urged Delcassé to become prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, but Delcassé declined; however, he would later agree to remain in Poincaré's cabinet as Minister of

384-478: The resignation of Delcassé as Foreign Minister, the unsuccessful western front offensive and the entry of Bulgaria into the war . Although he survived a no confidence vote by 372–9, there were many abstentions. General Gallieni agreed to replace Millerand as Minister of War, but other French politicians refused to join Viviani's government, so he resigned on 27 October 1915. Viviani served as Vice-President of

408-670: The same time, he adhered firmly to the alliance with Russia, and in August 1899 made a visit to Saint Petersburg, which he repeated in April 1901. In June 1900 he made an arrangement with Spain , fixing the long-disputed boundaries of the French and Spanish possessions in West Africa. Finally, in his greatest achievement, he concluded the Entente Cordiale with Great Britain, covering colonial and other questions which had long been

432-693: The same year he acted as mediator (the main mediator being Jules Cambon , French ambassador in Washington) between the United States of America and Spain, and brought the peace negotiations to a successful conclusion. Delcassé was originally a moderate willing to find a compromise with Germany, but Berlin ignored his overtures. He then became very anti-German, to the point that Kaiser Wilhelm called him "The most dangerous man for Germany in France." Delcassé improved relations between France and Italy: at

456-803: Was a French politician of the Third Republic , who served as Prime Minister for the first year of World War I. He was born in Sidi Bel Abbès , in French Algeria . In France he sought to protect the rights of socialists and trade union workers. René Viviani was born in Algeria in a family of Italian immigrants. His parliamentary career began in 1893, when he was elected deputy of the fifth ward in Paris. He retained this office until 1902, when he failed to be reelected, but four years later he

480-529: Was a French politician who served as foreign minister from 1898 to 1905. He is best known for his hatred of Germany and efforts to secure alliances with Russia and Great Britain that became the Entente Cordiale . He belonged to the Radical Party and was a protege of Léon Gambetta . Delcassé was born on 1 March 1852, at Pamiers , in the Ariège département . He wrote articles on foreign affairs for

504-682: Was elected deputy of the Department of Creuse . In the same year he entered the cabinet of Georges Clemenceau . At an early age he associated himself with the Socialist party, soon becoming one of its most brilliant orators and prominent leaders. When the party was reorganized in 1904 into the Unified Socialist party, Viviani, like fellow Socialist Aristide Briand , stayed outside, and thenceforth called himself an Independent Socialist. He served as Minister of Public Instruction in

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528-584: Was largely owing to his efforts that the French colonial office was made a separate department with a minister at its head, and to this office he was appointed in the second Dupuy cabinet (May 1894 to January 1895). He gave a great impetus to French colonial enterprise, especially in West Africa, where he organized the newly acquired colony of Dahomey , and despatched the Liotard mission to the upper Ubangi . While in opposition, Delcassé devoted special attention to naval affairs, and in noted speeches he declared that

552-420: Was on leave at the time. After the explosion there was a debate in the Chamber of Deputies in which the honour of Jaurès and the responsibility for the use of unstable powder by the navy was questioned. Jaurès had to face a court martial, but was acquitted unanimously on 21 December 1911. Paul Painlevé , president of the navy committee, appointed a commission of inquiry after the explosion, which followed that of

576-439: Was warmly welcomed on a visit to England. In 1909 Delcassé was appointed chairman of a commission appointed to investigate the French navy. The report was drawn up on 24 May 1909 and concluded that the French navy was unprepared and the naval administration and organization were in disarray. Delcassé was appointed Minister of Marine on 2 March 1911 in the cabinet of Ernest Monis . Delcassé promulgated closer cooperation between

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