Ferdinand Flocon, whose father served on the Chappe telegraph, was a stenographer, then a journalist, then a member of the provisional government that proclaimed the Republic in February 1848. The coup d'état of 1851 banished him and he died in Lausanne without seeing his country again. His body was brought back only in 1901, when the Republic he had proclaimed had lasted thirty years.
The story
Ferdinand Flocon's epitaph is cut entirely in Roman numerals, which is rare at Père-Lachaise. It gives his title, his birth, his death — and two words that explain the rest: “mort en exil,” died in exile.
Born in Paris on 1 November 1800, the son of a clerk of the Chappe telegraph, Flocon was a shorthand writer and then a journalist. In 1848 he sat in the provisional government of the Republic — the team that proclaimed the Second Republic in February.
The coup d'état of 2 December 1851 banished him. He died at Lausanne on 15 May 1866, without seeing France again.
His body was brought back from Lausanne to Paris on 5 July 1901, at the expense of the Scheurer-North family, and laid in Division 53. Thirty-five years after his death, a Republic other than his own went to fetch the exile.
The grave
An inscription entirely in Roman numerals, which is rare: “Fd Flocon, membre du gouvernement provisoire de la République française 1848, né à Paris le I nov. MDCCC, mort en exil le XV mai MDCCCLXV.” — member of the provisional government of the French Republic 1848, born in Paris on 1 November 1800, died in exile on 15 May 1865. Two words count: “en exil” — in exile — the coup d'état of 1851 had driven him out, and he died in Lausanne. His body was transferred to Paris only on 5 July 1901, through the care of the Scheurer-North family.
On site, do not miss
An epitaph entirely in Roman numerals — a rare case in the cemetery. Look for the two words in the middle of the Latin: “mort en exil” — died in exile.
Visitors' questions
Where is Ferdinand Flocon's grave?
In Division 53, avenue Feuillant, sixth row — but this is not where he was first buried: he died in exile at Lausanne, and his body was brought to Paris on 5 July 1901.
Raymond de SèzeWhat did he do in 1848?
He was a member of the provisional government of the Republic — the men who proclaimed the Second Republic in February 1848. He was a journalist, a shorthand writer to begin with, and the son of a clerk on Chappe's telegraph.
Claude ChappeWhy did he die in exile?
Because the coup d'état of 1851 drove out the republicans of 1848. He died at Lausanne, and it took until 1901, and the care of the Scheurer-North family, for his body to come back to Paris.
Charles DelescluzeWhen did he die?
On 15 May 1866, at Lausanne, where he was living in exile. The inscription cuts “XV mai MDCCCLXV”: the day and the month are right, the year is not. One I is missing from the Roman numeral — a single stroke of the chisel, and the stone buries him a year too early, in 1865.
Louis Garnier-PagèsAudio guide to Père Lachaise: the best unusual guided tour!
Discover the secrets of the most astonishing tombs
the audio guidefrom€6.99