You may have wondered why almost every Ville in France has a Rue or Avenue Gambetta? But perhaps you haven’t! Whatever, here’s why: They’re named after a phenomenal guy who stands proud in the annals of French history.

Leon Michel Gambetta was born in Cahors in 1838. At 16 years he lost the sight of an eye. Notwithstanding this he distinguished himself studying law in Paris & by his eloquence he became a great influence amongst the students & artists of the Quartier Latin, particularly in his opposition to the Imperial government.

In 1869 he was elected to represent Marseille in the National Assembly and was at first vehement in opposing war with Prussia. When he realised war had been forced upon France he took a patriotic line in supporting the Flag & became one of the first members of the national defence.

When Paris was threatened he advised his colleagues to leave the city & conduct government from Tours. His advice was rejected so Gambetta escaped from Paris to Tours in a hot air balloon & took over as Minister of the Interior & War.

He organized the army & by energy & intelligence was able to temporarily thwart the advance of the superior Prussian forces. However, when the French were defeated at Orleans he was reluctantly compelled to accept the capitulation so he moved to Spain.

Leon Gambetta returned to France in 1871 & commenced agitating for the re-establishment of the Republic via his impassioned oratory & the foundation of his journal, La Republique Francaise, which became the most influential journal in the whole of France.

Refusing the offer of being a candidate for the Presidency of France he instead became leader of the Republican Party & was instrumental in preventing an attempted royalist restoration. His great skills as an orator remained much in evidence, not least a memorable speech in 1879 advocating an amnesty for the Communards. He was imprisoned for his stance but his popularity was so great he was released & President MacMahon, who had ordered his arrest, abdicated.

On his death in 1882 at the young age of 44 from an accidental gun-shot the whole of France acknowledged their obligation to him & his public funeral evoked the most overwhelming display of national sentiment ever witnessed before or since. One cannot conclude without mentioning his mistress Leonie (it’s France for goodness sake!) He met her when he was 31 & she remained his lover & confidante until his untimely death, just prior to which, Leonie had consented to be his wife & the marriage date fixed. Correspondence between them, subsequently made public, underpins how much they loved each other. So there you you have it. A cameo of a truly remarkable ‘Man for all Seasons’ and one I’m sure many today would loved to have shared a few glasses of claret with.

In fact, imagine if you will what an absorbing & entertaining evening it would be - Leon Gambetta, along with Rousseau, Jack London, Spike Milligan & the delightfully perspicacious Jean Seberg (allegedly murdered by the CIA in Paris in 1979 – another story!) What a blend & what tales they could tell … guess one can only dream!