Georges Ernest Boulanger, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetGeorges Ernest Boulanger
French general
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Rennes, Brittany, France
About Georges Ernest Boulanger
- Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche, was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the Third Republic, he won a series of elections and was feared to be powerful enough to establish himself as dictator at the zenith of his popularity in January 1889.
- His base of support was the working districts of Paris and other cities, plus rural traditionalist Catholics and royalists.
- He promoted an aggressive nationalism, known as Revanchism, which opposed Germany and called for the defeat of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) to be avenged. The elections of September 1889 marked a decisive defeat for the Boulangists.
- Changes in the electoral laws prevented Boulanger from running in multiple constituencies and the aggressive opposition of the established government, combined with Boulanger's self-imposed exile, contributed to a rapid decline of the movement.
- The decline of Boulanger severely undermined the political strength of the conservative and royalist elements of French political life; they would not recover strength until the establishment of the Vichy regime in 1940.
- The defeat of the Boulangists ushered in a period of political dominance by the Opportunist Republicans. Academics have attributed the failure of the movement to Boulanger's own weaknesses.
- Despite his charisma, he lacked coolness, consistency, and decisiveness; he was a mediocre leader who lacked vision and courage.
- He was never able to unite the disparate elements, ranging from the far left to the far right, that formed the base of his support.
- He was able, however, to frighten Republicans and force them to reorganize and strengthen their solidarity in opposition to him.
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