“Of course I am for a republic...outside of a republic, there is nothing but chaos.”
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Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic.
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culture · President of France from 1871 to 1873 · lawyer · politician · journalist · historian · writer · also Adolphe Thiers, Louis-Adolphe Thiers, Thiers
Born 14 April 1797 · Died 3 September 1877 · Q5738
55 published statements · 0 followers
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2026· 15 entries
“I will not take away from the illustrious man of state who is before me, whom no one honors more than me, the honor and glory which belongs to him, but which he does not want to claim for himself alone. That which he cannot do, history will do.”
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“I have the popularity; the country is with me.”
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“I have an Assembly of 150 insurgents [the republicans] and four hundred poltrons (chicken-hearts). One could say that the real founder of the Republic is the Count of Chambord.”
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“In general, the country is wise, but the political parties are not. It is these, and only these, that we have to fear. It is only these which we have to guard against.”
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“The great majority of the middle class, businessmen, and country people, without saying expressly that they were for the republic, said”
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“The Republic is the form of government that divides us the least.”
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“In the presence of the enemy, who will soon be outside Paris, we have just one thing to do; to retire from here with dignity.”
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“I know the state of the military in France and that in Germany. We”
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“Security of the citizen against violence from individuals or from the arbitrary use of power; liberty, but not impunity, for the press; free elections; freedom of the people”
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“Do you really mean to say that, for a question of form, you have decided to release torrents of blood?”
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“Our country is marching with giant steps toward a catastrophe. There will be a civil war, a revision of the Charter, and perhaps a change of personnel at the highest level. If Napoleon II were alive, he would take the place of the present King.”
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“to keep a cadaver as a prisoner is not worthy of you, nor is it possible on the part of a government such as yours. The restitution of these remains is the final act of putting behind us the fifty years that have passed, and will be the seal placed on our reconciliation, and our close alliance.”
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“The legal regime is over; that of force has begun; in the situation in which we are placed, obedience has ceased to be an obligation.”
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“The King rules, but does not govern,”
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1983· 1 entry
The historian René de La Croix de Castries summarized the career of Thiers this way: "Thiers was essentially an ambitious man and an egoist
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1877· 3 entries
Died 1877-09-03.
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Career landmark: funeral.
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His funeral became a major political event; the procession was led by two of the leaders of the republican movement, Victor Hugo and Léon Gambetta, who at the time of his death were his allies against the conservative mo
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1873· 2 entries
The monarchists of the Assembly, led by the Duke de Broglie, began looking for a way to bring about his downfall
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Was to pay off the debt to Germany, to liberate the last French territory occupied by the Germans
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1871· 7 entries
Awarded Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (1871).
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Won: Grand Cross (1871).
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Described Thiers as "that monstrous gnome, [who] has charmed the French bourgeoisie for almost half a century, because he is the most consummate intellectual expression of their own class corruption
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Career landmark: President of the French Republic (1871–1873).
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Career landmark: French co-prince of Andorra (1871–1873).
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During the Paris Commune), but Marshal Bugeaud wanted to attack the barricades immediately; he told the King that it would cost twenty thousand lives; the King told Bugeaud that the price was too high, and called off the
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At the age of seventy-four, an age which considerably passed the average life expectancy of that time
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1867· 2 entries
“It was France which was defeated at Sadowa.”
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“France has no more allies in Europe. Austria is defeated, Italy is looking for adventure, England wants to avoid the Continent, Russia is occupied with its own interests, and as far as Spain is concerned, never have the Pyrenees been so high. We have to secure an alliance with England, and rally the small states. This is a modest policy but confirms with good sense. We cannot afford to commit another error.”
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1866· 1 entry
“one day or the other, to a policy of race which will generate future wars. On 3 May 1866, when war seemed likely between Prussia and Austria over the Prussian annexation of Holstein, Thiers told the assembly:”
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1863· 1 entry
The now Emperor Napoleon III began to loosen some of the restrictions on political opposition
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1849· 2 entries
A cholera epidemic struck Paris; among the victims was Thiers's father-in-law
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Thiers explained his political philosophy: "Unlimited liberty leads to a barbaric society, where the strong oppress the others, and only the strongest have unlimited liberty
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1848· 2 entries
Career landmark: head of government of France (1848–1848).
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Thought it was more judicious to support Louis-Napoleon
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1840· 1 entry
Career landmark: head of government of France (1840–1840).
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1837· 2 entries
Won: Grand Officer (1837).
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Renting the Villa di Castello and going through the archives
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1836· 2 entries
And 1840, dedicated the Arc de Triomphe, and arranged the return to France of the remains of Napoleon from Saint-Helena
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Career landmark: head of government of France (1836–1836).
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1835· 1 entry
Won: Commander (1835).
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1834· 1 entry
Was elected to the Académie Française
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1833· 4 entries
Won: Officer (1833).
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Was nominated for an open seat in the Académie française, based on his ten-volume history of the French Revolution, and other books he had written on the law and public finance, and the 1830 monarchy, and the Congress
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Declared he did not want to be the Joseph Fouché of the regime (the name of Napoleon's chief of the secret police) and became Minister of Trade and Public Works
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Career landmark: seat 38 of the Académie française (1833–1877).
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1831· 1 entry
Won: Knight (1831).
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1830· 1 entry
Chose a man he was certain would soon fail; Adolphe Thiers
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1825· 2 entries
When he was becoming famous in the Paris journalism scene, to ask him for money
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When Adolphe was becoming famous, his father wrote to him, asking for money
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1824· 1 entry
With a strong belief in the divine right of kings and the worthlessness of parliamentary government
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1822· 1 entry
Traveled as far as the Pyrenees to write about it
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1821· 1 entry
The 24-year-old Thiers moved to Paris with just 100 francs in his pocket
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1797· 1 entry
Born 1797-04-14.
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