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Description and Holding Information
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Clunet, Questions de droit relatives a l'incident franco-allemand de Pagny, 1887
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Questions de droit relatives a l’incident franco-allemand de Pagny (Affaire Schnaebelé); Violation de territoire, effet extra-territorial de la loi
pénale, espionage, condition faite aux fonctionnaires, publics étrangers, dans les rapports internationaux, etc., etc.: by Édouard Clunet, 57p, Paris,
Marchal & Billard, 1887. (A TOC is provided on p. 57. The somewhat silly “Schnaebelé Affair” began on 21 April 1887 at the Franco-German border near
the town of Pagny-sur-Moselle. An obscure French police inspector, Guillaume Schnaebelé had crossed to the German side of the line in response to an
invitation to a meeting. He then was arrested for trespassing on German territory by agents of the German secret police. Given the bitterly anti-German
feeling following France’s disastrous loss in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the arrest of a French official under such dubious circumstances was
clearly a provocation likely to enflame French public opinion. Historians have advanced several theories as to why the German Government would so
deliberately risk another war, which could hardly be profitable since in the wake of the 1870 conflict they had already stripped France of about as much
territory as would be tolerated by the international community. Some thought that the entire incident was deliberately staged by the German Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck as a ploy to get rid of an inconvenient and threatening French general and politician, Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger. The
latter had his base of support among the working classes of the big French cities. Riding to huge popularity on an aggressive nationalism aimed at Germany,
by 1886 Boulanger held office in the French cabinet as Minister of War. Confident of public support, he began provoking the Germans with such actions
as ordering military facilities to be built near the border, forbidding the export of horses to German markets, and even stooping to banning
performances of Lohengrin. Within that context, some thought that Bismarck staged the Schnabelé crises as a means of goading Boulanger into an overreaction
that would ultimately undermine his national standing. If that was the Iron Chancellor’s motive, it succeeded magnificently. Boulanger’s bellicose
public statements during the crisis appalled his colleagues in government. They believed that Boulanger had endangered the Republic by taking it to the
brink of a war for which they knew it was woefully unprepared. After a week of tension, and once Boulanger had sufficiently disgraced himself, Bismarck
deftly defused the crises by admitting to a technical violation of international law and ordering the unfortunate Schnaebelé returned to his homeland.
With disaster narrowly averted, the French Government promptly replaced Boulanger as War Minister and transferred him to a minor post in the
provinces. He remained a political force for four more years until his suicide in 1891 by a bullet to the head while standing on the grave of his mistress. But
his decline began with the “Affair Schnaebelé.”
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Title:
Questions de droit relatives à l'incident franco-allemand de Pagny : (affaire Schnæbelé) : violation de territoire; effet extra-territorial de la loi pénale; espionnage; condition faite aux fonctionnaires publics étrangers dans les rapports internationaux, etc., etc. / par Édouard Clunet, avocat a la Cour d'Appel de Paris, membre de l'Institut de droit international.
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OCLC Number:
858915927
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Available Volumes
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| Name | Fiche Count | Online | Paper Backup |
| Volume 1 | | Yes | No |
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