Unpublished Medallion Of Jules Viette In Profile

Jules Viette, born in Blamont (Doubs) on May 6, 1843, died in Paris on February 15, 1894, was a French journalist and politician. He left his name to a high school in Montbéliard. Son of a wine merchant, he studied in Besançon and then in Paris. Passionate about politics, he fought the imperial government of Napoleon III in the Besançon newspaper Le Doubs. On the eve of the war of 1870, he was elected mayor of Blamont and then, engaged in the fight against the Prussians, as a captain, he distinguished himself in several battles, notably that of Abbévillers. He was elected general councilor of the canton of Blamont on October 8, 1871 and re-elected in 1874. He wrote: "I want the Republic, this neutral ground, on which the reconciliation of all parties rests. The Republic, in my opinion, must assert itself gradually, wisely and without violence." Elected as a left-wing MP in Doubs between 1876 and 1894, he consistently voted with the Republican majority, and his qualities propelled him to the position of Minister of Agriculture in 1888, then of Public Works under the Third Republic. He reorganized the Water and Forestry Services. He is notably responsible for the Practical School of Commerce and Industry (Lycée des Huisselets) in Montbéliard and the creation of the National School of Dairy Industry in Mamirolle, with the support and recognition of the cattle breed "the Montbéliarde breed."