Jules Vallès
Jules Vallès was a notable French writer and political activist, born on June 11, 1832, in Puy-en-Velay, France. He experienced a challenging upbringing, with a father who was a school teacher, and he faced psychological issues throughout his life, causing instability in his employment. Vallès emerged as a vocal critic of the authoritarian regime of Emperor Napoleon III, particularly after the latter's declaration of absolute rule in 1851. His political activism led to the founding of a newspaper, La Rue, and eventual imprisonment for defaming the Emperor’s government due to his outspoken articles.
Following the Franco-Prussian War and the short-lived Paris Commune in 1871, Vallès was elected to the municipal council of Paris. However, after the brutal suppression of the Commune, he fled into exile, spending nearly a decade in England and Belgium, where he continued to write socially critical novels and contributed to leftist publications. Upon his return to France in 1880, he and his partner, Caroline Séverine, established Le Cri du Peuple, calling for wealth redistribution from the middle class to workers. Vallès passed away in Paris on February 14, 1885, leaving behind a legacy of social critique and political engagement.
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Jules Vallès
Journalist
- Born: June 11, 1832
- Birthplace: Puy-en-Velay, France
- Died: February 14, 1885
- Place of death: Paris, France
Biography
Jules Vallès was born on June 11, 1832, in Puy-en- Velay, France. His father was an elementary school teacher. When Vallès was thirteen years old, his parents moved to Nantes, where his father became a high-school teacher of French and rhetoric.
In 1851, Vallès was treated in a psychiatric clinic in Nantes, but one year later he was released after two doctors confirmed that he no longer suffered from paranoia. Throughout his life, Vallès nevertheless suffered from psychological problems that made it difficult for him to keep a job. He became very involved in politics and protested frequently against the dictatorial rule of Emperor Napoleon III, who had abolished democracy in France in 1851 and then had himself declared the absolute ruler in France.
In 1864, Vallès moved to Lyon and began writing articles highly critical of Napoleon III. Three years later, he launched a newspaper, La Rue. Napoleon III was so enraged by this criticism of his authoritarian rule that he had Vallès sentenced to two months in prison for defamation of the Emperor’s government.
After the defeat of the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Vallès moved to Paris where he was elected to the municipal council of Paris in March, 1871, during the popular uprising called the Commune. When the French army put an end to this rebellion by shooting twenty thousand protesters, Vallès denounced this violence so vehemently that he felt obliged to go into exile in England and Belgium, where he stayed for nine years. He continued to write novels of severe social satire and numerous articles for underground left-wing newspapers in France.
After a general amnesty in 1880, he returned to Paris with his lover Caroline Séverine. Together they launched a newspaper called Le Cri du Peuple (the cry of the people), in which they argued that the middle class should share its wealth with workers. Vallès died in Paris on February 14, 1885.