Grévy, Jules (zhül grāvē`), 1807–91, French statesman, president of France (1879–87). As a republican deputy after the February Revolution (1848), he sought to eliminate the danger of a single strong executive. He opposed the Second Empire of Napoleon III. Grévy, a provincial lawyer, abstained from politics from 1851 until he became a deputy in 1868. President of the national assembly (1871–73) and of the chamber of deputies (1876–77), he was chosen to succeed Marshal MacMahon as president of France. His moderate republicanism secured his reelection, but in 1887 he was forced to resign because of a scandal over his son-in-law's traffic in decorations of honor. Sadi Carnot succeeded him.

Grévy, (François-Paul-) Jules

(born Aug. 15, 1807, Mont-sous-Vaudrey, France—died Sept. 19, 1891, Mont-sous-Vaudrey) French politician who served as president (1879–87) in the Third Republic. A lawyer, he was a leader of the liberal opposition in the legislature, then became president of the National Assembly (1871–73) and of the Chamber of Deputies (1876). In 1879 he was elected to the presidency and sought to minimize presidential powers, preferring a strong legislature. He resisted nationalist demands for revenge against Germany after the Franco-Prussian War and opposed colonial expansion. He was forced to resign in 1887 by scandals affecting his son-in-law, though he himself was not implicated.