Joffrin, a mechanic born in the Aube, supported the Commune and spent eleven years as a refugee in England. Back with the amnesty, he entered the Paris municipal council and became its vice-president. What is carved is not a biography but an instruction, addressed to the young of the workers' party: that they fulfil their task, and that their life be a life of work and devotion.
The story
The epitaph of the mechanic Jules Joffrin does not state a life, it passes on an instruction: “En partant je souhaite, aux jeunes du parti ouvrier, de remplir aussi leurs taches, que leur vie, soit ce qu'a été la mienne, Je crois une vie de travail, de sincérité et de dévouement, à la cause populaire. J. JOFFRIN.” — as I go, I wish the young of the workers' party to do their work too, and their lives to be what mine was: a life of labour, of sincerity and of devotion to the people's cause.
Born at Vendeuvre-sur-Barse, in the Aube, on 16 March 1846, a mechanic by trade, he fought in the Franco-Prussian war and then defended the town hall of the 18th arrondissement for the Paris Commune in 1871. The Bloody Week threw him onto the roads of exile: eleven years in England as a political refugee.
Back in France under the amnesty, he joined a socialist group opposed to the official branch led by Jules Guesde, entered the Paris municipal council in 1882 and became its vice-president in 1888 and 1889. The Boulangists of L'Intransigeant attacked him violently — and it was he who beat General Boulanger in his own constituency at the elections of 1889.
He died in Paris in September 1890. The obelisk in Division 95 was raised by national subscription, on a plot granted free of charge on 12 June 1891, and carries a bronze medallion and a Phrygian cap signed by Auguste Suchetet.
The grave
An obelisk raised by national subscription on a free plot granted by prefectoral order of 12 June 1891, adorned with a bronze medallion and a Phrygian cap signed Auguste Suchetet (1854-1932). The inscription first lists his functions — “ouvrier mécanicien, membre du parti ouvrier, vice-président du Conseil Municipal de Paris, conseiller général de la Seine, député de Paris”, mechanic, member of the workers' party, vice-president of the Paris Municipal Council, councillor of the Seine, deputy for Paris — then turns into a testament: “En partant je souhaite, aux jeunes du parti ouvrier, de remplir aussi leurs taches, que leur vie, soit ce qu'a été la mienne, Je crois une vie de travail, de sincérité et de dévouement, à la cause populaire. J. JOFFRIN.” — As I leave, I wish the young of the workers' party to fulfil their tasks too, and that their life be what mine was, I believe: a life of work, sincerity and devotion to the people's cause. J. Joffrin.
On site, do not miss
An obelisk adorned with a bronze Phrygian cap signed Auguste Suchetet. The epitaph is a testament addressed “aux jeunes du parti ouvrier” — to the young of the workers' party.
Visitors' questions
Where is Jules Joffrin's grave?
In Division 95, Avenue Transversale No. 3, first row: an obelisk raised by national subscription, set with a bronze medallion and a Phrygian cap signed Auguste Suchetet in 1891. The epitaph is a last will.
André GillWhat does his epitaph say?
It is a political testament: “En partant je souhaite, aux jeunes du parti ouvrier, de remplir aussi leurs taches, que leur vie, soit ce qu'a été la mienne […] une vie de travail, de sincérité et de dévouement, à la cause populaire.” — as I go, I wish the young of the workers' party may fulfil their tasks too, and that their lives may be what mine was: a life of work, of sincerity and of devotion to the people's cause.
Eugène PottierWhy was he exiled?
For having supported the Paris Commune in 1871. After Bloody Week he fled to England, where he stayed eleven years as a political refugee, before coming home under the amnesty and entering the Paris city council in 1882.
Frédéric CournetWhat was his place in the workers' party?
A dissident one: he joined a socialist group opposed to the official wing of Jules Guesde. The Boulangists of L'Intransigeant attacked him savagely through his years on the Paris city council.
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