Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 The private man
- 2 Poincaré the politician
- 3 Poincaré the Opportunist
- 4 Poincaré en réserve de la République
- 5 Poincaré the diplomat
- 6 Poincaré President of the Republic
- 7 Poincaré-la-guerre
- 8 Poincaré-la-paix
- 9 Poincaré-la-Ruhr
- 10 Poincaré-le-franc
- Conclusion: Poincaré remembered
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
6 - Poincaré President of the Republic
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 The private man
- 2 Poincaré the politician
- 3 Poincaré the Opportunist
- 4 Poincaré en réserve de la République
- 5 Poincaré the diplomat
- 6 Poincaré President of the Republic
- 7 Poincaré-la-guerre
- 8 Poincaré-la-paix
- 9 Poincaré-la-Ruhr
- 10 Poincaré-le-franc
- Conclusion: Poincaré remembered
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
Summary
Poincaré's grand design for France was unity; that unity was seen as the key to the greatness which he, and others before and after him, believed to be France's destiny. Unity had seemed within reach when he had formed his broadly based government in 1912. He believed he was furthering it when in July he had ensured the vote of the law on electoral reform in the Chamber of Deputies in the belief that it would usher in a new political morality and strengthen the executive, something he considered a sine qua non of domestic unity. In the military field, reforms had been undertaken to arrest the decline of public esteem for the army since Dreyfus, and to enhance the army's own strength and unity by tightened military discipline and a higher public profile. Public military tattoos, banished since the Dreyfus affair, had been resurrected and had restored some public pride in the army, countering the anti-militarism and pacifism of the revolutionary syndicalists and extreme Left. Poincaré certainly believed that his concentration on foreign affairs had strengthened France's international position and united a majority of the political class and the country, as he made clear on his return from Russia in the autumn of 1912:
The Republic has upheld France's position in the world by a policy of wisdom, sang-froid and dignity. Only our material and moral strength can give value to our friendship and maintain our position above persistent circumstances. […]
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Raymond Poincaré , pp. 145 - 192Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1997