Avenue Félix Faure

Félix Faure, born on January 30, 1841 in Paris and died on February 16, 1899 in the same city, was a French statesman. He was President of the Republic from January 17, 1895 until his death. Born into a modest family, he began his career as a tanner, before becoming a wealthy leather merchant. Gradually, he entered politics, first working at the local level in the city of Le Havre, before being elected deputy of the Seine-Inférieure four times, sitting among the moderate Republicans in the Chamber of Deputies. Appointed Minister of the Navy by Charles Dupuy in 1894, he was elected, a few months later, President of the Republic thanks to the support of the monarchists and moderates united against the candidacy of Henri Brisson, from the center-left. His presidency was immediately marked by the Dreyfus affair, which divided France into two resolutely opposed camps. The circumstances of his death, which occurred suddenly at the Élysée Palace only four years after his election and while he was in the company of his mistress Marguerite Steinheil, have passed to posterity. The President of the Republic, Felix Faure, inaugurated March 5, 1896, a series of presidential visits to Menton (monument commemorating the reunion of Menton to France Place St Roch, visit the hospice, lunch at the Hotel de Menton, meeting at the town hall - now Place Clemenceau - with H.M. Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Josef). He was followed a few years later by Armand Fallières in 1909 and Paul Deschanet in 1920. It was not until 1960 that General de Gaulle made an official visit. Meanwhile, President René Coty, made several private visits to Menton between 1956 and 1958.