The Assassination of Jean Jaurès: France's Lost Peace

On July 31, 1914, as Europe teetered on the edge of war, a single gunshot in a Paris café silenced France's most powerful voice for peace. Socialist leader Jean Jaurès had spent years building an international workers' movement to prevent conflict, rallying millions against nationalism and militarism. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Jaurès's remarkable life — from his humble origins in Castres to his electrifying speeches in the Chamber of Deputies, his founding of the newspaper L'Humanité, and his doomed campaign for a general strike to stop mobilization. They examine the tangled web of suspicion, nationalism, and xenophobia that led a 29-year-old nationalist, Raoul Villain, to pull the trigger. They also discuss how Jaurès's death cleared the path for France's entry into World War I, and how his vision of a united Europe echoes in institutions like the European Union. A story of idealism, tragedy, and a road not taken. #JeanJaurès #LHumanité #FrenchSocialism #Assassination #RaoulVillain #ThirdRepublic #July1914 #WorldWarI #Pacifism #GeneralStrike #CaféduCroissant #Castres #ChamberofDeputies #UnionSacrée #EuropeanUnion #France #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo