Jacques-Antoine Manuel had enlisted at thirteen in the revolutionary army and fought at Arcole before becoming a lawyer, then the orator the Restoration feared most. In February 1823, a speech in which he opposed the Spanish expedition was deemed seditious; the Chamber voted his exclusion, he stayed seated, and it took gendarmes to get him out. His words of that day are engraved.
The story
Jacques-Antoine Manuel was born on 10 December 1775 near Barcelonnette, in the Alps, into a family of magistrates. He joined the revolutionary army at thirteen and fought at Arcole under Bonaparte, then became a barrister at Digne and at Aix.
Elected liberal deputy for the Basses-Alpes in 1815 and for the Vendée in 1818, he was one of the most feared orators of the Restoration.
On 27 February 1823 his speech against the Spanish expedition was judged seditious. The majority voted his exclusion; he refused to leave, and the gendarmes carried him bodily out of the Chamber — a scene without precedent, which Victor Hugo would recall in “Les Châtiments”.
His words that day have lasted: “Hier j'ai annoncé que je ne céderais qu'à la force ; aujourd'hui je viens tenir parole.” — yesterday I said I would yield only to force; today I have come to keep my word. They are cut on his tomb.
He died on 20 August 1827; tens of thousands walked behind his coffin. Thirty years later his friend Béranger would ask to be buried in his tomb — and was.
The grave
The grave is shared with Béranger, who asked to be buried there, and crowned by two bronze medallions by David d'Angers dated 1827. The cast-iron plaque sums up the career in one sentence, then tips it into narrative: “Manuel, born in Barcelonnette on 10 December 1775, volunteer soldier in 1793, lawyer, member of the Chamber of Representatives, deputy expelled by the majority of 1823, died on 20 August 1827” — and to finish: “Yesterday I announced that I would yield only to force, today I come to keep my word.” Few epitaphs in the cemetery quote the words of the deceased in this way.
On site, do not miss
The cast-iron plaque and its last line: “Yesterday I announced that I would yield only to force, today I come to keep my word.”
Visitors' questions
Where is Manuel's grave?
In Division 28, chemin du Dragon, fifth row, in the old part of the cemetery. It is the same grave as Béranger's, who asked thirty years later to be buried there.
Pierre-Jean de BérangerWhy was he expelled from the Chamber?
For a speech on 27 February 1823 against the Spanish expedition, judged seditious. The majority voted for his exclusion; he refused to leave, and the gendarmes removed him by force — a scene without precedent.
General FoyWhat is the sentence carved on his grave?
The one he spoke on his return to the Chamber: “Hier j'ai annoncé que je ne céderais qu'à la force ; aujourd'hui je viens tenir parole” — yesterday I declared that I would yield only to force; today I come to keep my word. Victor Hugo recalled it in “Les Châtiments”.
Alexandre Ledru-RollinWho rests with him?
Béranger, the most popular songwriter of the century, who asked to be buried in his tomb and joined him there in 1857. The plot had been bought by the banker Jacques Laffitte.
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