Marie François Oscar Bardy de Fourtou
Encyclopedia
Marie François Oscar Bardy de Fourtou (1836–1897), French
politician
, was born at Riberac
(Dordogne
) on 3 January 1836, and represented his native départment in the National Assembly after the Franco-German War.
There he proved a useful adherent to Thiers
, who made him minister of public works in December 1872. He was minister of religion in the cabinet of May 18–24, 1873, being the only member of the Right included by Thiers in that short-lived ministry. As minister of education, religion and the fine arts in the reconstructed cabinet of the duc de Broglie he had used his administrative powers to further clerical ends, and as minister of the interior in de Broglie's cabinet in 1877 he resumed the administrative methods of the Second French Empire
. With a well-known Bonapartist
, Baron R. C. F. Reille, as his secretary, he replaced republican functionaries by Bonapartist partisans, reserving a few places for the Legitimists. In the general elections of that year he used the whole weight of officialdom to secure a majority for the Right, to support a clerical and reactionary programme.
He accompanied Marshal MacMahon
in his tour through southern France, and the presidential manifesto of September, stating that the president would rely solely on the Senate should the elections prove unfavourable, was generally attributed to Fourtou. In spite of these efforts the cabinet fell, and a commission was appointed to inquire into their unconstitutional abuse of power. Fourtou was unseated in consequence of the revelations made in the report of the commission. In the Chamber of Deputies Gambetta
gave the lie direct to Fourtou's allegation that the republican party opposed every republican principle that was not antiquated.
A duel was fought in consequence, but neither party was injured. He was re-elected to the chamber in 1879 and entered the Senate the next year. Failing to secure re-election to the Senate in 1885 he again entered the popular chamber as Legitimist candidate in 1889, but he took no further active part in politics. He died in Paris in 1897 of tuberculosis.
His works include Histoire de Louis XVI
(1840); Histoire de Saint Pie V
(1845); Mme Swetchine, sa vie et ses œuvres (2 vols., 1859); La Question italienne (1860); De la centre-revolution (1876); and Mémoires d'un royaliste (2 vols., 1888).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, was born at Riberac
Ribérac
Ribérac is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. The commune is situated by the Dronne River.-History:In 1793, the commune of Faye joined with Ribérac. In 1851, a part of the commune was dismembered for the creation of the new commune of Saint-Martin-de-Ribérac...
(Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
) on 3 January 1836, and represented his native départment in the National Assembly after the Franco-German War.
There he proved a useful adherent to Thiers
Thiers
Thiers is a French surname. Notable persons with the surname include:*Adolphe Thiers , French statesman and historian*Louisa Thiers , American supercentenarian*Harry D...
, who made him minister of public works in December 1872. He was minister of religion in the cabinet of May 18–24, 1873, being the only member of the Right included by Thiers in that short-lived ministry. As minister of education, religion and the fine arts in the reconstructed cabinet of the duc de Broglie he had used his administrative powers to further clerical ends, and as minister of the interior in de Broglie's cabinet in 1877 he resumed the administrative methods of the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
. With a well-known Bonapartist
Bonapartist
In French political history, Bonapartism has two meanings. In a strict sense, this term refers to people who aimed to restore the French Empire under the House of Bonaparte, the Corsican family of Napoleon Bonaparte and his nephew Louis...
, Baron R. C. F. Reille, as his secretary, he replaced republican functionaries by Bonapartist partisans, reserving a few places for the Legitimists. In the general elections of that year he used the whole weight of officialdom to secure a majority for the Right, to support a clerical and reactionary programme.
He accompanied Marshal MacMahon
Patrice MacMahon, duc de Magenta
Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de Mac-Mahon, 1st Duke of Magenta was a French general and politician with the distinction Marshal of France. He served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1875 and as the first president of the Third Republic, from 1875 to 1879.-Early life:Born in Sully , in the...
in his tour through southern France, and the presidential manifesto of September, stating that the president would rely solely on the Senate should the elections prove unfavourable, was generally attributed to Fourtou. In spite of these efforts the cabinet fell, and a commission was appointed to inquire into their unconstitutional abuse of power. Fourtou was unseated in consequence of the revelations made in the report of the commission. In the Chamber of Deputies Gambetta
Gambetta
Gambetta may refer to:People*Léon Gambetta , French statesman.*Schubert Gambetta , Uruguayan footballer*Diego Gambetta, Italian sociologistOther uses*Gambetta...
gave the lie direct to Fourtou's allegation that the republican party opposed every republican principle that was not antiquated.
A duel was fought in consequence, but neither party was injured. He was re-elected to the chamber in 1879 and entered the Senate the next year. Failing to secure re-election to the Senate in 1885 he again entered the popular chamber as Legitimist candidate in 1889, but he took no further active part in politics. He died in Paris in 1897 of tuberculosis.
His works include Histoire de Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
(1840); Histoire de Saint Pie V
Pope Pius V
Pope Saint Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church...
(1845); Mme Swetchine, sa vie et ses œuvres (2 vols., 1859); La Question italienne (1860); De la centre-revolution (1876); and Mémoires d'un royaliste (2 vols., 1888).