15 Facts About Jules Simon

Jules Francois Simon was a French statesman and philosopher, and one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans in the Third French Republic.

The family name was Suisse, which Simon dropped in favour of his third forename.

Jules Simon helped Cousin, without receiving any recognition, in his translations from Plato and Aristotle, and in 1839 became his deputy in the chair of philosophy at the University of Paris, with the meagre salary of 83 francs per month.

Jules Simon lectured on the history of philosophy at the Ecole Normale Superieure.

Jules Simon became a regular contributor to the Revue des deux mondes, and in 1847, with Amedee Jacques and Emile Saisset, founded the Liberte de penser, with the intention of throwing off the yoke of Cousin, but he retired when Jacques allowed the insertion of an article advocating the principles of collectivism, with which he was at no time in sympathy.

Jules Simon became minister of instruction in the Government of National Defense on 5 September 1870.

Jules Simon advocated free primary education yet sought to conciliate the clergy by all the means in his power; but no concessions removed the hostility of Dupanloup, who presided over the commission appointed to consider his draft of an elementary education bill.

Jules Simon encouraged the study of living languages, and limited the attention given to the making of Latin verse; he encouraged independent methods at the Ecole Normale, and set up a school at Rome where members of the French school of Athens should spend some time.

Jules Simon retained office until a week before the fall of in 1873.

Jules Simon was regarded by the monarchical right as one of the most dangerous obstacles in the way of a restoration, which he did as much as any man to prevent, but by the extreme left he was distrusted for his moderate views, and Gambetta never forgave his victory at Bordeaux.

In 1875, he became a member of the Academie Francaise and a life senator, and in 1876, on the resignation of Jules Simon Dufaure, was summoned to form a cabinet.

Jules Simon replaced anti-republican functionaries in the civil service by republicans, and held his own until 3 May 1877, when he adopted a motion carried by a large majority in the Chamber inviting the cabinet to use all means for the repression of clerical agitation.

Jules Simon justified his action by his fear of providing an opportunity for a coup d'etat on the part of the Marshal.

Jules Simon was in fact one of the chief of the left centre Opportunist Republicans faction, opposed in the same faction to Jules Grevy and to the Radical Gambetta.

Jules Simon was director of Le Gaulois from 1879 to 1881, and his influence in the country among moderate republicans was retained by his articles in Le Matin from 1882 onwards, in the Journal des Debats, which he joined in 1886, and in Le Temps from 1890.