René Millet

René Millet , by his full name René Philippe Millet, born November 14, 1849 in Paris and died November 30, 1919 in Paris 1 , is a diplomat and official of the French colonial administration . Resident General of France in Tunisia from 1894 to 1900 , he sets up the policy of land colonization which remains in effect throughout the French protectorate. Despite the hostility of the representatives of the big settlers, who blame him for his policy too favorable to Tunisians, he carries out his reforms that allow to develop the infrastructure in the country and teaching among Tunisian children.

Beginnings in the diplomatic career [ edit :: change the code ]

Son of Philippe Auguste Millet, lawyer at the Paris and Adelaide Belloc courts of appeal , René Millet was born in Paris in 1849 . He obtained a BA in 1868 and a law degree in 1870 . He volunteered during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and finished as lieutenant of the second artillery regiment of the territorial. He entered in 1871 as an employee of the Ministry of Commerce and then became Director of Foreign Trade. Secretary of the delegation headed by Jules Ozenne, head of department during a commercial agreement with Belgium in April-May 1872 , he is an editor in 1873 then attached to the French section of the 1876 World Fair in Philadelphia . During this period, he was responsible for the publication of the documents relating to the Merchant Marine Commission in 1874 , as well as the secretariat of the Commission for External Development. It was at this time that he published a number of articles in different journals.

He was appointed sub-prefect of third class in 1877 , then first class in 1878 to become secretary general of the department of Seine-et-Oise in 1879 . Leaving the Ministry of the Interior , he joined Foreign Affairs as Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Minister on September 30, 1880 , then as Deputy Director on July 15, 1881 . He passed to the political direction on October 15, 1881 and to the litigation on February 15, 1882 . It is then placed at the disposal of Political Affairs on January 13 1883 . On June 15 of the same year, he was deputy director of the America Political Service and was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Belgrade on October 12, 1885 . It was at this time that he had a correspondence with Gabriel Hanotaux that lasted until 1900 .

Three years later, on November 27, 1888 , he was appointed to Stockholm to replace Camille Barrère . He is accredited there on April 19, 1894 as Minister Plenipotentiary First Class 2 . But he is bored in the Swedish capital far removed from the capitals that count in the political world. He asks to join the Munich embassy in 1893 but the post has already been taken. At the beginning of 1894 , he began to show his interest in Africa by writing an article entitled The Colonial Question. The appointment of his friend Hanotaux to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs on May 30, 1894 gives him the political support he lacked 3 and he does not forget to thank him on September 14 : "I am very happy to go to Tunis and Whatever the decision of the government, I thank you very much for having thought of me " 2 . On November 14 of the same year, he was named resident general of France in Tunisia.

Resident General of France in Tunisia [ edit :: change the code ]

The country he discovers is in turmoil, thirteen years after the conquest and the establishment of the French protectorate . The administrative, economic and judicial problems are being resolved thanks to the reforms initiated by its predecessors. Far from challenging the work of the latter, the new resident general pursues them in the same spirit.

Tax reforms [ edit :: change the code ]

The disastrous financial situation had been one of the main causes of the introduction of the protectorate. Millet is therefore continuing the reorganization of the tax system initiated by its predecessors. Many taxes on agricultural and industrial products are lowered to encourage their production ( fruits and vegetables , dates , leather , butter , alfalfa , olive oil , soap , cereals and livestock ). The tithe on cereals ( achour ) is thus reduced by nine-tenths on cultivated land with so-called plows"French" that allow better yields. The cattle tax is decreased on meat slaughtered legally in the interests of hygiene 4 .

The former chore due by the Tunisians is replaced by a tax of benefits April 12, 1897 , which limits to four per year the number of working days that can be imposed to each inhabitant for the maintenance of the roads, tax which can also to be paid in kind or in money. This tax replaced the 10 March 1898 by a tax known as "road" for non Tunisian taxpayers 5 .

Public Works [ edit :: change the code ]

Major projects begun before Millet's arrival in Tunisia are completed during his presence. The railroad between Gafsa and Sfax entered into service in 1897 , allowing the export of phosphate ores mined in the region. The road network grew from 550 kilometers in 1890 to 2,200 kilometers in 1901 . The construction of the last lighthouses ends in 1895 , completing the lighting of almost the entire Tunisian coast.

The TGM , the only railway company not belonging to a French company, was bought on June 29, 1898 by the Tunisian government and its exploitation entrusted to the Bone-Guelma Railway Company .

Major urban works are also undertaken in Tunis :

Opening of the avenues of Paris and Carthage;

Completion of Belvedere Park ;

Construction of the French civil hospital ;

Construction of the new Sadiki College .

In tribute to the person responsible for the establishment of the protectorate, a statue of Jules Ferry is also inaugurated on April 10, 1899 in the presence of Théophile Delcassé , Minister of Foreign Affairs. Millet notes in his correspondence on this occasion: "This is the first monument erected on Tunisian soil since the fall of the Roman Empire" 6 .

Extension of French colonization [ edit :: change the code ]

In order to find land to be offered to French colonists, the decree of January 13, 1896 places in the domain of the State "the vain and vague lands, and generally all the buildings that Moslem law understands under the designation of dead lands " 7 . Many measures have been put in place to encourage new French migrants to come to Tunisia: promotional tours are being conducted in France, textbooks for candidates are being produced and reduced-rate pass tickets are available to all. those who want to come and settle. The success is mixed because, for fear of repeating the mistakes made in Algeriathe promotion campaign emphasizes the need for significant funds, which can only attract a few people. It was then decided to create a special fund called for "colonization and federal reinvestment" established by the decree of 1 st December 1897 . Fueled by budget surpluses and sales of State-owned lots, it is used to buy properties in the private sellers to put them on sale as homesteads 8 .

Payment facilities are granted to French buyers who can occupy their land after paying half of the amount with a minimum of 1,000 francs. The surplus is divided into two equal terms: one payable three years after entry into employment and the last after the fourth year, all without interest. If the land is occupied by Tunisian tenants, a stipulation states that the buyer "is held for five years not to ask the indigenous tenants a higher price than they paid to the estate" 9 .

It is the launch of the "official colonization" that decides many French immigrants to try their luck, attracted by purchase prices lower than in the metropolis. But, unlike Algeria, there will never be a free concession. The colonization policy initiated by Millet will never be changed.

Confrontation with the French colony [ change :: change the code ]

Throughout his career in Tunisia, like his predecessors, René Millet has to face the hostility of the representatives of the French colony led by Victor de Carnières . Favorable to the annexation of Tunisia, which would allow their Parisian relations to relay effectively their requirements, they see in the resident general the main obstacle to the fulfillment of their desires.

The Bardo Treaty signed in 1881 guaranteed the privileges of all European nations that had signed agreements with the regency of Tunis . All these agreements are renegotiated by Millet to take into account the new French pre-eminence. With the importance of the Italian population in Tunisia, the government of the peninsula accepts in 1896 to negotiate a new convention, which is signed on September 8. This recognizes the Italian population a special place in the country since it continues to benefit all Italian administrations (schools, consulates, hospitals, etc.) set up without ever reporting to French administrations, unlike other nationalities. This agreement will govern the status of Italians until 10 June 1940 10 . But one of the consequences of all these treaties signed with the European countries is the increase of the taxation to compensate for the fall of the income of the taxes of importation of the foreign products.

However, the main criticism addressed to Millet is his "Arabophilia" unbearable for all those who consider that only their work deserves to be taken into consideration. He is accused of continuing the policy of his predecessors by opening Franco-Arab schools to develop education among Tunisian children. Victor de Carnières writes in his journal La Tunisie française : "The more the native is educated, the more he hates us. Our worst enemies are those young men from bourgeois families whom the direction of the Teaching has raised to the French ... If ever there is a revolt in Tunisia, it is them that we will see at the head of the insurgents " 11 .

He is also reproached for having supported the initiative of Bashir Sfar who created Khaldounia in 1896 . This society organizes courses and conferences on scientific and literary subjects while encouraging the opening of libraries. From November 12, 1898 , a diploma of practical knowledge sanctions this teaching with the possibility of being a priority for certain jobs reserved for Muslim Tunisians, such as amine , expert or trustee 12 , 13 .

Finally, in 1900 , it is with the help of his wife he tries to overcome the reluctance of Tunisian families to accept their daughters' schooling by opening Pasha Street, the first school for girls 14 .

But it is with the case of the Marquis de Morès that his opponents will eventually win.

Case of the Marquis de Morès [ edit :: change the code ]

In March 1896 , Antoine de Morès arrived in Tunis and announced his intention to organize a caravan in the direction of Sudan to oppose the English colonial penetration. Faced with the opposition of the Resident General and his Director of Muslim Military Affairs, Colonel Rebillet, he reassures them by writing to them on April 23, 1896 that he intends to join Tripolitania through Algeria. In fact, he left Gabes with a caravan of twenty camel drivers and forty camels and headed for Kebili with a Tunisian interpreter, Abdelhak el-Ouertani. He is ambushed on June 6at the well of El Ouatia and dies assassinated with his interpreter. The remains are brought back to Tunis on July 13, but the general resident is already suspected of complicity by his inaction. An investigation is opened which identifies the guilty as being members of the Ouled Slimian tribe attracted by the sums of money that the marquis had on him. The organizers, Béchaoui Ben Cheffaou and Ahmed Oueghzane, have found refuge in Tripolitania as well as the Doukhen brothers with whom we find the rifle and the revolver of the victim. The Turkish authorities, however, refuse to intervene.

A judicial investigation is opened and some people left in Tunisia are arrested. But in 1898 , the widow of De Morès filed a complaint in Paris against Millet and Rébillet she accuses of not having protected her husband. Its version is resumed March 6, 1899 by the newspaper L'Écho Tunisian . It is a former deputy, Jules Delahaye , who came incognito in Tunisia to set up his own investigation and confided the conclusions to the journalists and the widow. He took the opportunity to declare himself advisor to the latter who took Jules Auffray as a lawyer.

These assertions are not enough to revive the investigation, the letter written by De Mores the 23 April 1896 justifying the conduct of Millet and Rebillet, but the news is relayed to the Chamber of Deputies by the opponents of the Resident General 15 . The deputy André Berthelot challenges the government on "permanent disagreement between the French population and the resident general" adding that "the slogan of the French settlers is to claim for them the situation of the most favored Arab" 16 .

Faced with such attacks, Rene Millet is urgently recalled to Paris on 15 November 1900 and replaced hastily by the Deputy Director of protectorates, Georges Benoit , waiting for his replacement Stephen Pichon could break free and get to Tunis 17 .

After Tunisia [ edit :: change the code ]

Upon his arrival in France, he was laid off with the rank of ambassador. In March 1901 , he tried in vain to be elected a deputy under the banner of the Democratic Republican Alliance .

On December 18, 1902 , he appeared before a Disciplinary Committee, the Foreign Service Committee. He is accused of an anonymous article he published in the Revue Politique et Parlement , in which he accused the government of not having respected the terms of the Franco- Siamese treaty . The sentence is severe: René Millet is dismissed and retired at age 53. He died in Paris on 5 December 1919 17 .

Distinctions [ edit :: change the code ]

René Millet was promoted Knight of the Legion of Honor on July 11, 1883 , raised to the rank of officer on December 29, 1891 before finally becoming commander on December 14, 1900 1 .

Privacy [ edit :: change the code ]

He married Louise Urbain, niece of Academician Gaston Paris , on February 19, 1879 . They have four boys. The eldest, Philippe (1880-1923), a former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure , an associate of philosophy and a man of letters, is the father of René Millet (1910-1978), a naval officer and diplomat, a companion of the Liberation 18 ; it was first married in 1942 in London , Isabel de Braganza (1910-1946), King's granddaughter-back Michael I st of Portugal and granddaughter of Miguel de Bragança , pretender to the throne of Portugal.

The wife of René Millet gave his name to the first school for Muslim girls opened in Tunis in 1900 in tribute to the struggle she led for the opening 19 . Despite leaving Tunisia, she continues to monitor the country's political evolution. So inJune 1920Despite the death of her husband a few months earlier, she organized a reception at her home to welcome delegates from the nationalist Destour party who came to present their demands to the French government. These may well make valuable contacts with parliamentarians and journalists invited that day 20 .

Publications [ edit :: change the code ]

René Millet, " Economic Ideas of the Radical Party in England ", Revue des deux Mondes ,February 15, 1872

René Millet, " Analysis of the Belgian electoral code ", Directory of the society of comparative legislation ,1873

René Millet, " Life and Ideas of Stuart Mill ", Political and Literary Review ,January 1874

René Millet, " Maritime Mortgage in different countries ", Bulletin of the society of comparative legislation ,February 1874

René Millet, " Merchant Marine and Surtax Pavilion ", Review of the two worlds ,April 15, 1874

René Millet, " Municipal Charter of the City of New York ", Directory of the society of comparative legislation ,1874

René Millet, " Progress of Administrative Centralization in England, " Bulletin of the Comparative Legislation Society ,June 1875

René Millet, " The Case of Siam ", Political and Parliamentary Review ,December 1902 ( read online [ archive ] )

References [ edit :: change the code ]

? a and b File of the Legion of Honor on the basis of Léonore [ archive ]

? a and b François Arnoulet, Residents General of France in Tunisia ... these unloved , ed. Narration editions, Marseille, 1995, p. 45 ( ISBN 2909825086 )

? François Arnoulet, op. cit. , p. 65

? François Arnoulet, op. cit. , p. 46

? [PDF] Paul Zeys, Annotated Code of Tunisia , ed. Imprimerie Berger-Levrault et Cie, Nancy, 1901, p. 878 [ archive ]

? François Arnoulet, op. cit. , p. 48-50

? [PDF] Paul Zeys, op. cit. , p. 225 [ archive ]

? Bashir Yazidi, Colonial policy and the domain of the State in Tunisia , ed. Sahar, Tunis, 2005, p. 85 ( ISBN 9973281527 )

Bezir Yazidi, op. cit. , p. 102

? François Arnoulet, op. cit. , p. 56

? [PDF] Charles-André Julien, "Young Tunisians and French settlers (1882-1912)", French Revue history Overseas , Vol. 54, No. 194-197, 1967, p. 114 [ archive ]

? Directorate General of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, School The work of France in Tunisia (1883-1930) , ed. Imprimerie Victor Berthod, Bourg, 1931, p. 167-169

? Charles-André Julien, op. cit. , p. 120

? François Arnoulet, op. cit. , p. 57

? François Arnoulet, op. cit. , p. 61-62

? [PDF] Justice , No. 7630, February 9, 1901, p. 1 [ archive ]

? a and b François Arnoulet, op. cit. , p. 63

? Notice on the site of the order of the Liberation [ archive ]

? Souad Bakalti, Tunisian women at the time of colonization , ed. L'Harmattan, Paris, 1996, p. 134

? Khalifa Chater, Tahar Ben Ammar (1889-1985) , ed. Nirvana, Tunis, 2010, p. 41 ( ISBN 9789973855206 )

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/René_Millet I.S. 12/29/2017