Gambetta, Léon (lāôN` gäNbĕtä`), 1838–82, French republican leader. A lawyer who achieved some note as an opponent of the Second Empire of Napoleon III Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte), 1808–73, emperor of the French (1852–70), son of Louis Bonaparte (see under Bonaparte , family), king of Holland.
..... Click the link for more information. , he was elected deputy in 1869 and joined the parliamentary opposition. After the Franco-Prussian War Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, 1870–71, conflict between France and Prussia that signaled the rise of German military power and imperialism.
..... Click the link for more information. precipitated the downfall of the empire (1870), he became prominent in the provisional government. His organization of a government of national defense to drive out the Germans, his spectacular escape from Paris in a balloon, and his gallant opposition to the Prussian forces won worldwide sympathy. Gambetta bitterly fought French capitulation and briefly retired from politics, but after 1871 he devoted himself to the creation of the Third Republic. After the resignation of Adolphe Thiers Thiers, Adolphe (ädôlf` tyĕr), 1797–1877, French statesman, journalist, and historian.
..... Click the link for more information. as president, Gambetta pursued a policy of moderation and compromise and opposed both the radical republicans with whom he had been identified earlier in his career, and the monarchists and conservatives. He was influential in shaping the republican constitution of 1875, and as the real leader of the republican forces, he strove for unity against President MacMahon MacMahon, Marie Edmé Patrice de (märē` ĕdmā` pätrēs` də mäkmäōN`)
..... Click the link for more information. . Under President Grévy, Gambetta was briefly premier (1881–82), but his attempt to strengthen the executive power and to reconcile French political and social factions was unsuccessful, and his suggested electoral reform was widely denounced. He died soon after. A vigorous republican and patriot and a strong anticlerical, Gambetta was later highly revered.

Bibliography

See studies by P. Deschanel (1920), H. Stannard (1921), and J. P. T. Bury (1936, repr. 1970).

Gambetta, Léon

Gambetta, photograph by Étienne Carjat; in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.

(credit: Courtesy of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris)

(born April 2, 1838, Cahors, France—died Dec. 31, 1882, Ville-d'Avray, near Paris) French republican statesman who helped found the Third Republic. He became famous as a lawyer defending republican critics of the Second Empire and was elected to the legislative assembly in 1869. He helped direct the defense of France during the Franco-Prussian War and played a principal role in the provisional government formed after Napoleon III's capture in 1870. He used his persuasive skill to push for ratification of the Constitutional Laws of 1875, which became the basis of the new parliamentary republic. As president of the Chamber of Deputies (1879–81) and premier (1881–82), he continued his advocacy of democratic ideals and national unity.