Jacques Léonard CLÉMENT-THOMAS
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General, commander of the National Guard.
Clément-Thomas was a republican general in an army that had just served the Empire, and commanded that Parisian National Guard which was to become the armed wing of the Commune. Insurgents claiming the same Republic as he did shot him on 18 March 1871, the same day as General Lecomte. A monument voted by the Assembly unites them, and it opens with the words “République Française”.
The story
A republican general in an army that had served the Empire, Jacques Léonard Clément-Thomas commanded the National Guard of Paris — the citizen force that would become the armed wing of the Commune. On 18 March 1871 insurgents invoking the same Republic as his own shot him.
Born at Libourne in 1809 and a volunteer at twenty, he conspired against the July Monarchy, was arrested in 1834 and went into exile in England. Brought home by the amnesty of 1837, he wrote for Le National, was elected deputy for the Gironde in 1848, then took the road of exile again — Belgium, Luxembourg — after the coup of 1851.
On 18 March 1871 he was in civilian clothes in Montmartre, mapping the line of the barricades, when the crowd recognised him. Arrested with General Lecomte, he was shot the same day.
The two generals lie beneath a single national monument in Division 4, raised after the decree by which the National Assembly commemorated their murder. The inscription opens with the words “République Française” — carved on the grave of a republican killed in the name of the Republic.
The grave
A national monument shared with General Lecomte, both shot on 18 March 1871. The inscription opens with “République Française” and recalls that “l'Assemblée Nationale a adopté” — the National Assembly adopted — a decree commemorating their assassination. The formula takes on a particular meaning here: Clément-Thomas was a republican general, commander of the National Guard, killed by insurgents who claimed the same Republic.
On site, do not miss
Two generals under one monument, shot on the same day. The inscription begins with “République Française” — on the tomb of a republican killed in the name of the Republic.
Visitors' questions
Where is General Clément-Thomas's grave?
In Division 4, avenue Principale, first row, under a national monument he shares with General Lecomte, shot on the same day. The inscription opens with “République Française”.
General LecomteHow did he die?
Shot by the Communard insurgents on 18 March 1871, the first day of the Paris Commune, at the same time as General Lecomte. He was then commander of the National Guard of Paris. He was sixty-one.
The Communards' WallWas he really a republican?
He was, and that is the paradox of his death: a republican general in an army that had served the Empire, he was killed by insurgents invoking the Republic. He commanded the National Guard, the future armed force of the Commune.
Louis BlancWhy a national monument?
Because the National Assembly passed a decree commemorating the murder of the two generals. It is one of the few monuments at Père-Lachaise raised by a vote of parliament.
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