Raoul Villain facts for kids
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Raoul Villain (born September 19, 1885 – died September 17, 1936) was a French man who strongly believed in his country's power and pride. He is mainly known for killing a French leader named Jean Jaurès on July 31, 1914, in Paris. Jaurès was a socialist, meaning he believed in fairness for all people and wanted peace. Villain was found not guilty in 1919. He later moved to the island of Ibiza in Spain, where he died during the start of the Spanish Civil War.
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Early Life and Beliefs
Villain was born in Reims, France, on September 19, 1885. When he was 29, he was studying old history at a school called the École du Louvre. He was part of a student group that wanted to get back two French areas, Alsace-Lorraine, from Germany.
After France lost the Franco-Prussian War, Germany took over Alsace and Lorraine. Many French people were angry about this. They felt France needed a new war to get these lands back and restore French pride. Because of this, many people, including Villain, did not agree with Jean Jaurès. Jaurès wanted peace and did not want another war. Villain lived in England for a while. A woman he stayed with described him as "a gentle and very kind man."
The Attack on Jean Jaurès
Villain started to focus on Jean Jaurès. He bought a gun and began to follow him. He wrote down notes about Jaurès's daily habits. On Friday, July 31, 1914, around 9:40 PM, Villain shot Jaurès twice in the head. Jaurès was having dinner with his friends at a place called Café du Croissant in Paris.
The very next day, signs went up all over France. They announced that the country was getting ready for war. Just three days after Jaurès died, World War I officially began.
Villain was kept in prison during the war. His trial happened in 1919. On March 29, 1919, a group of ordinary people decided that he was not guilty. A famous writer, Anatole France, wrote that this decision was "monstrous." He meant it was a terrible and unfair ruling. Jaurès's wife, who had brought the case, was even told to pay the court fees.
Life After Being Found Not Guilty
After his trial, Villain was briefly arrested again in 1920 for trying to use fake money. He then left France and went to Cala de Sant Vicent on the island of Ibiza in Spain. He had received some money from an inheritance. Villain thought that by hiding in this quiet part of Ibiza, he could live without anyone knowing who he was. In 1933, Cala de San Vicent was a very peaceful place with no buildings or even a road. Villain decided to build his home there. He used local workers and help from Paul René Gauguin, who was the grandson of the famous painter Paul Gauguin. By August 1936, his house was almost finished.
On September 13, a small group of soldiers arrived at the beach of Cala de San Vicent. They were part of a larger group that had come to take control of the island again. This was because some people who supported the Nationalists had tried to take over the island. Villain was visiting a French woman when the soldiers arrived. He quickly went home when he heard about them. He was worried they might steal valuable things he had hidden in his unfinished house. His neighbors told him not to go back, but he still did.
How Raoul Villain Died
The soldiers who arrived at the beach were very suspicious of Villain. He also made the officer in charge angry by explaining why he had put a cross on the hill behind his house. The officer also wondered where Villain had been that day. He decided to keep Villain confined to his house. The soldiers thought Villain was a supporter of fascism and a spy. They saw him as a danger to their plans to take back the island.
On the afternoon of September 17, 1936, three planes from the Italian Air Force flew over Cala de Sant Vicent. They bombed the town of Ibiza. The sound could be heard even far away. It is believed that the soldiers, hearing the attack, decided to go back to the main town. They tried to take Villain and his valuables with them. Villain fought back. As a result, he was shot in the back. The bullet went through his throat. Villain was only wounded, but the officer told the villagers who came to see what happened not to help him. Villain lay alone on the sand for two days until he died. The local people then put his body in a simple coffin. They covered it with a French flag they found in his house. He was buried in the cemetery at nearby Sant Vicent de sa Cala.
Images for kids
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Raoul Villain
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The still existing Café du Croissant which was located next to Jaurès's newspaper L'Humanité (photo by Rémi Jouan)
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The House of Raoul Villain in Bay of Cala de San Vicent as it stands in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Raoul Villain para niños
