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France promotes Jewish officer 130 years after he was wrongly convicted of treason
Reinstated in the army, Alfred Dreyfus was decorated with the Legion of Honour at the École Militaire on 21 July 1906. Here he is speaking with General Gillain and Commander Targe after the ceremony. Source: Wikimedia CommonsReinstated in the army, Alfred Dreyfus was decorated with the Legion of Honour at the École Militaire on 21 July 1906. Here he is speaking with General Gillain and Commander Targe after the ceremony. Source: Wikimedia Commons
The French National Assembly earlier this week voted to promote Jewish Captain Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of general posthumously, who fell victim to an antisemitic conspiracy over 130 years ago.
The conspiracy, known as the Dreyfus Affair, flew around as tensions between France and Germany escalated ahead of the First World War.
The bill to honour Dreyfus was proposed by former Macronist Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, currently leader of the presidential party's MPs. The lawmakers on June 2 unanimously voted to promote Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general.
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What was the conspiracy against Alfred Dreyfus?
In 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, was wrongly convicted of spying for Germany. The accusations were false, meant to protect the real culprits.
At first, the case didn't get much attention, but it became a major scandal in 1898 when writer Emile Zola published an article exposing the unfair trial.
France split into two groups: the 'Dreyfusards,' who believed Dreyfus was innocent and fought for justice, and the 'anti-Dreyfusards,' who thought he was guilty and supported the army and national pride. This division caused lasting political tensions in France, still felt today between the political Right and Left.
Dreyfus was sent to a harsh prison in Cayenne but was pardoned in 1899. He was cleared of charges in 1906, though he couldn't fully restart his army career. He left the army in 1907 but served again in World War I.
In 2006, President Jacques Chirac honoured Dreyfus, admitting that justice wasn't fully served since his career wasn't restored.
Today, almost everyone agrees Dreyfus was innocent. A law was passed to recognise this, though some questioned why it was needed so long after the events.
Some lawmakers have however expressed concerns that the Dreyfus case was being 'exploited' by some parties for political benefits.
The centrist MPs of the MoDem party said the case was being revived so that the Rassemblement National (RN) on the Right and La France Insoumise (LFI) on the Left, can 'buy themselves a licence to be respectable.'
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