Poincaré, Raymond

(b. Bar-le-duc, 20 Aug. 1860; d. 11 Oct. 1934) French; Prime Minister of France 1912 – 13, 1922 – 4, 1926 – 9, President of the Third Republic 1913 – 20 Poincaré came from a middle-class family in Eastern France. Endowed with a prodigious memory and capacity for hard work, he trained as a lawyer and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for his native Lorraine in 1887. He held a number of ministerial posts in the 1890s, but took no part in the agitated politics of the Dreyfus Affair and concentrated on his legal work until the years preceding the First World War. As a child, he had witnessed the occupation of the family home by German troops during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 – 1 and it was the growing international tensions which propelled him centre stage. By now a Senator, he was appointed Prime Minister in 1912 and threw himself into the campaign for extending French military service from two to three years. The following year he stood for the presidency, presenting himself as the champion of military preparedness and advocating a stronger role for the President than had hitherto been the case. He was elected by the National Assembly with the votes of the right, the first time this had happened since 1873.

Poincaré played an active role in the events which led to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and would subsequently be condemned by his left-wing critics as a warmonger. There is, however, no evidence that he encouraged France's Russian ally to declare war on Germany, or that he was able, once war broke out, to control policy; he himself complained of the impotence of his role. A committed supporter of France's war effort, he worked to maintain national morale and in November 1917 took the decisive step of making Clemenceau Prime Minister. Clemenceau had been a savage critic of Poincaré throughout his career and his appointment showed a degree of self-restraint by a head of state renowned for his sensitivity to slights. Although the two men clashed repeatedly over war policy and over the preparation of the Versailles Peace Treaty, Poincaré never sought to challenge his Prime Minister's right to have the last word. On leaving office, he returned to the Senate but maintained a vigilant interest in foreign affairs and argued constantly for a rigorous implementation of the Versailles Treaty. It was this which led President Millerand to invite him to be Prime Minister in 1922, after his predecessor Briand had been thought to be too susceptible to the conciliatory policy of Lloyd George. As Prime Minister, Poincaré was unswerving in his demands for German reparations and in 1924 caused a major international stir by sending in French troops to occupy the Rhineland after Germany defaulted on some repayments.

In the parliamentary elections of 1924, the right-wing majority elected in 1919 was defeated by a coalition of Radicals and Socialists. When the new majority forced Millerand to resign because of his excessively interventionist conception of the presidency, Poincaré demonstrated his belief in the parliamentary system of the Third Republic by declining to intervene on his behalf. Two years later, in the face of impending financial collapse, he again returned to office as head of a government of national union. His combination of political Republicanism and economic conservatism made him appear a safe leader. As Prime Minister, he successfully stabilized the franc (at 20 per cent of its pre-war value) and carried on the policy of prudent rapprochement with Germany inaugurated by his predecessors. He showed, however, the conservative's repugnance for the menace of Bolshevism by breaking off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. He led a successful centre-right coalition for the 1928 elections, but resigned through ill-health the following year. His last years, in which he wrote voluminous memoirs, were clouded by the resurgence of German militarism. He died in 1934.

Throughout his career, Poincaré inspired respect rather than affection. To his enemies he epitomized the vindictive narrowness of mind of the provincial middle classes from which he came. His diaries, however, reveal a much warmer personality — he was devoted to his wife and was an early supporter of animal rights. A champion of the interests of the small property owner, he was not attracted to the new forms of authoritarian politics which emerged in France and Europe in the early twentieth century, and his patriotism did not make him a militarist. Sixty years after his death, he remains the symbol of French Conservative Republicanism.

The French statesman Raymond Poincaré (1860-1934) served as president of France during World War I and four times as its premier.

French politics from 1912 to 1929 was largely dominated by the figures of Raymond Poincaré and Georges Clemenceau. As premier, and then as president before World War I, Poincaré pursued a nationalistic policy that contributed toward world tension. During World War I he entrusted the premiership to Clemenceau. Returning to active politics in 1922, Poincaré, as premier, followed an intransigent policy toward Germany, occupying the Ruhr in order to ensure German payment of reparations, an action that contributed to economic collapse in Germany. He also dealt effectively with French financial crises in 1924 and 1926.

Education and Early Career

Poincaré was born at Bar-le-Duc in Lorraine on Aug. 20, 1860. The son of a meteorologist and civil servant, he was educated at the lycées of Bar-le-Duc and Louis le Grand in Paris, and he studied law at the Sorbonne. Poincaré then practiced law in Paris, contributed to political journals, and served in the Department of Agriculture.

In 1887 Poincaré was elected deputy for the Meuse. At that time Louis Madelin described him as "short, slender, rather pale, with crewcut hair, and his serious face framed by a young beard." Later observers were impressed by his unemotional and distant manner.

Poincaré became a member of the Budget Commissions of 1890-1891 and 1892, and he served during 1893 and 1894 in the Cabinets of Charles Dupuy, first as minister of education and then as minister of finance. Next he became minister of public instruction in the Ribot Cabinet. In 1895 he was chosen vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, and Poincaré retained this position until 1897. In 1899 President émile Loubet asked him to form a Cabinet, but he was unsuccessful because he would not accept a Socialist minister in his coalition.

From this time until 1912, Poincaré refused to join any government except for a brief period between March and October 1906, when he was minister of finance in the Sarrien Cabinet. He emphasized his withdrawal from an active role by accepting a seat in the Senate. During this period Poincaré devoted himself to his law practice, and he became one of the wealthiest and most successful lawyers in France. In 1909 his literary efforts won him election to the French Academy.

Political Ideas

Poincaré's political ideas remained relatively constant throughout his career. He was conservative in his basic outlook, and as the balance of power in the legislature shifted to the left, he found himself and the moderates, whom he represented, moving to the right. He was fundamentally anticlerical, believing that the Church should remain in its own sphere and play no part in education or politics. He was a dedicated republican and a patriot of the Lorraine variety whose sentiments had been molded by the German seizure of most of Lorraine in 1870.

First Premiership

In the reaction after the crisis at Agadir, Morocco, in January 1912, Poincaré formed a "national ministry." He emphasized the need for a strong, authoritative government, and his program called for electoral reform at home and maintenance of France's alliances and friendships abroad. Poincaré expressed his desire for peace, but he also stressed military preparedness.

Concerned to maintain France's security and prestige, Poincaré supported Russia's policy during the First Balkan War, and later he again assured the Russians that they could depend upon France. Poincaré also obtained a reorganization and strengthening of the French navy. His government entered into a naval agreement with Great Britain that resulted in France's concentrating its fleet in the Mediterranean. Poincaré also reestablished friendly relations with Italy after a naval incident in January 1912. By the end of 1912 Poincaré was widely acknowledged as France's strongest statesman.

Poincaré's Presidency

In December 1912 Poincaré announced his intention to run for the presidency of the republic, although open candidacies were not customary. Poincaré's campaign marked the climax of the strong presidency agitation that had been growing for some time. He openly advocated a fuller use of the president's constitutional powers, and he doubtless expected to revitalize the weak office of the presidency. On Jan. 17, 1913, he was elected the ninth president of the French Republic by the National Assembly.

His strong nationalist beliefs led Poincaré to support the bill raising the term of military service from 2 to 3 years. He was, to a large extent, responsible for its passage, and he maintained it despite opposition, which continued to grow. This active role in policy formulation made him a party president, and it produced frequent attacks upon him by the left Radical-Socialist elements.

In foreign affairs Poincaré followed the program he had inaugurated as premier, supporting Théophile Delcasséas ambassador to Russia and attempting to preserve peace by ensuring that the Entente powers pursued a strong and united policy. He made state visits to England in June 1913 and to Russia in July 1914, and he was returning to France by way of the Scandinavian capitals when Austria delivered its ultimatum to Serbia on July 23, 1914. Hastening to Paris, he urged Russia to delay mobilization, and he presided over the foreign-policy decisions of the Cabinet.

During the war Poincaré worked tirelessly to maintain morale. He urged Frenchmen to perform heroically and visited training camps, hospitals, and front lines. In November 1917 in a decision proving his statesmanship and self-sacrifice, Poincaré called upon his traditional political foe, Clemenceau, to form a Cabinet. During the peace negotiations, Poincaré found himself again in opposition to Clemenceau. Poincaré supported Marshal Ferdinand Foch in his campaign for a separate Rhineland, and he disputed Clemenceau's policy, urging a firm stand and heavy reparations. These attempts to influence policy were generally unsuccessful, and Poincaré completed his term of office in January 1920. He had been France's strongest president, but he had made no basic alteration in the office.

Second Premiership

Reelected as senator from the Meuse, Poincaré accepted the premiership in January 1922, and he retained this post, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, until June 1, 1924. The chief problem at this time was reparations. Poincaré insisted that Germany fulfill its obligations. Unable to reach agreement on policy with the British in Interallied conferences held in London and Paris, Poincaré's government decided to act alone. When Germany defaulted on fuel deliveries in January 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr. The Germans adopted a policy of passive resistance for some months, and the German mark collapsed completely. The cost of occupation was undermining the French economy as well, and Poincaré agreed to an Anglo-American proposal to review the reparations issue. The result was the Dawes Plan, accepted in April 1924, which stabilized the mark, provided foreign loans for Germany, and reduced reparations payments.

The international exchange situation produced a financial crisis in France during the first quarter of 1924. Poincaré's adroit moves on the money market, and a 20 percent increase in indirect taxes in order to pay for the Ruhr occupation, saved the situation, but the taxes were unpopular. Attacks by the Radicals and Socialists won a substantial victory for the Cartel of the Left in the general elections of May 11, 1924, and when the new Chamber assembled, Poincaré resigned. During the next 2 years, though he retained his Senate seat, Poincaré was relatively inactive in politics.

Third Premiership

The economic policies of the Cartel proved unsatisfactory, and in the midst of a serious financial crisis, President Gaston Doumergue recalled Poincaré to head a National Union government. Public confidence was restored, and the franc immediately rose from 50 to 40 per American dollar. The legislature granted Poincaré decree powers to meet crises. He introduced new taxes, mostly indirect; he reduced government expenses; he created, through constitutional amendment, an inviolate fund to meet bond payments; and he increased interest rates. The result was a budgetary surplus and an exchange rate of 25 francs per dollar. The elections of April 1928 brought victory for the National Union, which had supported Poincaré, and, shortly after, he officially devalued the franc, establishing it at one-fifth its prewar value.

Fourth Premiership

The Radical-Socialists withdrew their support and obliged Poincaré to resign on Nov. 7, 1928, but he formed a new ministry on November 12 and retained his post until July 1929, when ill health forced him to retire. He refused a fifth offer of the premiership in 1930. Meanwhile, he had published his memoirs in 10 volumes, entitled Au service de la France (In the Service of France), describing the events of 1911-1920 and his role in them. Poincaré died in Paris on Oct. 15, 1934.

Further Reading

Poincaré's memoirs have been translated as The Memoirs of Raymond Poincaré (4 vols., 1926-1930). The chief biographical work in English is Sisley Huddleston, Poincaré: A Biographical Portrait (1924), a postwar study that is necessarily incomplete. Poincaré's role as president is well analyzed by Gordon Wright, Raymond Poincaré and the French Presidency (1942).

Additional Sources

Poincaré, Raymond, The memoirs of Raymond Poincaré, New York: AMS Press, 1975.

For more information on Raymond Poincaré, visit Britannica.com.

Poincaré, Raymond (rāmôN' pwăNkärā') , 1860–1934, French statesman, president of France (1913–20); cousin of Jules Henri Poincaré. A member of the chamber of deputies from 1887, he held numerous cabinet posts from 1893 to 1906. In 1912 he became premier and foreign minister, and in 1913 he was elected to succeed Armand Fallières as president. A conservative and a nationalist, he proceeded to strengthen France to face possible hostilities. A bill increasing military service to three years was passed, and French alliances with Great Britain and Russia were tightened. During World War I, Poincaré called on (1917) Georges Clemenceau to form a new cabinet, despite his personal hatred of the man. After the war Poincaré called for harsh punishment of Germany and for adequate guarantees of French security. He regarded the Treaty of Versailles as too lenient. On completing his presidential term, Poincaré returned to the senate, which he had entered first in 1903, and became a leader of the bloc national, a coalition of conservative parties. This brought him again to the premiership and the ministry of foreign affairs in 1922. In the face of Germany's failure to pay the heavy reparations assigned by the peace treaty, Poincaré sent French troops to occupy the Ruhr in 1923. He failed, however, to coerce Germany into paying its reparations, and in May, 1924, he was forced to resign following the conservatives' defeat in the general elections. Financial crisis returned him to office in 1926. He retained Aristide Briand, who supported cooperation with Germany, as his foreign minister. To deal with the financial situation, Poincaré pursued an extreme deflationary policy, balancing the budget and securing (1928) the stabilization of the franc at one fifth of its former value. He retired from office in 1929 but continued to preach the need for security and to proclaim his opposition to treaty revision. Among Poincaré's writings are How France Is Governed (tr. 1919) and his memoirs (tr. 1926).

Bibliography

See S. Huddleston, Poincaré (1924); G. Wright, Poincaré and the French Presidency (1942, repr. 1967).