born Jan. 23, 1830, Paris died July 8, 1909, Paris
![Galliffet, detail from a portrait by I. Pils, 1864; in the Musée de l’Armée, Paris[Credits : Giraudon—Art Resource/EB Inc.]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/23/11623-003-85182563.gif)
French military leader who severely suppressed revolts in the Paris Commune in 1871.
Galliffet served with distinction at the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55) during the Crimean War and in Emperor Napoleon III’s wars in Algeria, Italy, and Mexico. As a brigade general during the Franco-German War (1870–71), he was captured at the Battle of Sedan. Assigned the task of suppressing Parisian revolts in 1871, he performed efficiently but with a severity that earned him the animosity of the political left, despite his own republicanism. By 1885 Galliffet was a member of the Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre (Supreme War Council) and had become a political protégé of Léon Gambetta, the moderate republican leader. In June 1899 Premier René Waldeck-Rousseau appointed Galliffet minister of war in order to balance the Cabinet that would support the Dreyfus revision. However, Galliffet was too eccentric and too ill suited for politics, and his role in the 1871 revolt undercut his effectiveness; within a year he was forced to leave his post.
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "Gaston-Alexandre-Auguste, marquis de Galliffet, Prince de Martigues" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.