Nicolas Changarnier

Changarnier, Nicolas (nēkôlä' shäNgärnyā'), 1793-1877, French general and politician. He served in Algeria and was briefly (1848) governor-general of Algeria, succeeding Louis Cavaignac. Elected to the constituent assembly in 1848 after the February Revolution, he resigned after the rising of the June Days to head the Paris national guard. Later the regular army troops in Paris were added to his command. A monarchist and Orleanist, Changarnier came to oppose the policies of Louis Napoleon and was exiled after the coup of 1851. He returned in 1859 and took part in the defense of Metz (1870) in the Franco-Prussian War. Again elected a deputy in 1871, he opposed a republic. He was made a life senator in 1875.