Emile Combes and Recrimination against the Right

Premier Waldeck-Rousseau and the Radicals benefited enormously from the Dreyfus Affair.� The Socialists under Jaures had also supported Dreyfus and basked in their newfound legitimacy.� However, Waldeck-Rousseau was not in a mood for recrimination against the Right.�

In 1901 the Associations Act was passed which said no order could teach, nor could any of its members teach, anywhere in France without government permission.� However he was in a mood to pressure those religious orders into behaving properly.� Most French towns had only Catholic schools. However, republicans viewed those schools as breeding grounds for anti-republicanism.� In 1901, the Republic dissolved the Assumptionists, a vocally anti-Republican order.

1902 Elections.� The religious associations reacted with vigor to the new laws and campaigned to defeat the coalition which had passed them.� The Republicans held power, but had a new leader:� Emile Combes.�

Combes was going to settle accounts with his clerical enemies.� As a young man he had studied to be a priest.� However, at 70, Combes wanted to protect the Republic once and for all.� He moved against the priests.

Soon after taking office he closed all the primary schools in France ran by nuns.� He then gave eight days for all remaining church schools to close their doors.� A violent reaction occurred across France which required the Army to maintain order and to stop the rioting by angry parents and church people.

Combes then refused authorization to all the religious orders in France and had their members expelled.� 20,000 priests and nuns were booted from France.� He finally passed a law which prohibited any �teaching priests� from teaching anywhere in France.

In 1903, Combes then went after the Pope himself.� The Pope refused to accept bishops appointed by the Republic and Combes threatened to break off relations with the Vatican.� In 1904, the Pope protested visit of the French President to Rome and Combes used this as an excuse to end relations with the Vatican and to declare the separation of church and state in France.

The Pope reacted by excommunicating all deputies who voted for the new law and forbade any Catholic from accepting the law.� The Republic countered by taking control of all church property in France, stopped payment of salary to all priests and nuns, and forbid any priest or nun from conducting church services.� For two years, Catholic services were forced to be conducted by laymen�essentially not a legitimate church service for Catholics.

Finally, in 1907 a Socialist, Aristide Briand became Minister of Cults and worked out a compromise: Churches would be turned over to priests to run them and Catholic officials were permitted to run the Church again.� The state would not pay for any church functions or salaries and in return the state would no longer interfere with the Church.

The Church-State battles left deep stars.� The persecutions of 1901-1907 made many Catholics feel they had no place in their own country.� They also knew the persecution could return if they made any missteps in the future.� 

For their part, Republicans would always be suspicious of the Church and employed Freemasons to spy on vocal Catholics.� The Church was beaten and being watched.�Regaining the loyalty of Catholics would be very difficult.