Description of the attraction
The Clemenceau monument stands on the square named after him, between the Petit Palais and the Champs Elysees. The great Frenchman is depicted in an overcoat, helmet, soldier's windings, although he was a completely civilian man. However, it was he who led France to victory in the First World War.
In his youth, Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a rebel - so much so that he even went to prison for opposition activities. But in 1870 he was already the mayor of the Montmartre district. After the suppression of the Paris Commune, Clemenceau became one of the brightest deputies of the National Assembly, receiving the nickname "tiger". From 1906 to 1909 he headed the government, became one of the organizers of the Entente.
The First World War transformed the former left - Clemenceau fiercely advocated a war with Germany until complete victory. In his publications, he sharply attacked anti-militarists and defeatists. There were all the reasons for this: an acute crisis broke out in the country, the threat of defeat became a reality. To prevent this, the President of the country Poincaré in November 1917 reappointed Clemenceau Prime Minister. The "tiger" cabinet program was formulated as follows: "I am waging a war."
Clemenceau cleared out of the ministries all who evaded sending to the front, achieved the creation of a common military command with the allies, and brought the former leaders of the country to justice. France under his leadership withstood in 1918 the last desperate offensive of the Germans and achieved the surrender of the enemy. The people called Georges Clemenceau "the father of victory".
The foundations of the post-war peace were laid by the Versailles Peace Conference, which was chaired by the French "tiger". It was he, a staunch opponent of Bolshevism, who first uttered the words "iron curtain" in relation to Soviet Russia. But in 1920, his political career ended: he failed to achieve success in the presidential elections. In his house on the ocean shore, Clemenceau worked on his memoirs. He died in Paris in 1929.
The French honor the politician who led the country to victory in the First World War. The Clemenceau monument, created in 1932 by the sculptor François Cognier, stands in the very center of Paris - where the bronze Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill would later stand nearby. The "Father of Victory" walks on a rough stone block, stubbornly overcoming the resistance of the wind - this is how he was, this is how he remained in the people's memory.
