This statue of Georges Clemenceau, is one of my favorite Paris statues, not least because it embodies none of the heroic classicism that tends to make the person being honored seem a concept rather than a person. Here, no matter what the weather, Clemenceau pushes forward against the wind, with his hat brim turned down and his coat blowing.

In many ways, that describes Clemenceau’s life. A doctor, a radical politician, a journalist, most often on the outs with the establishment, he nonetheless became an influential figure throughout the last third of the 19th century, including playing a major role in attacking anti-semitism and the Dreyfus case.

By the third year of World War I, after several years of attacking the government for both its incompetence and its squabbling, he became Prime Minister, and the symbol of a determination to win, despite a very grim situation. From that period comes his sobriquet “the Tiger,”

He played a leading role at the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Versailles. In the picture above, he stands with (l to r) David Lloyd George, Vittorio Orlando, and Woodrow Wilson.

The statue is by FranÇois CognÉ, and was erected in 1932. During World War II, he was named “official sculptor” of the Vichy government, and made busts of Pierre Laval, Mussolini, Marshal Petain and others. However, unlike some others he refused to take part in “artistic exchanges” with Germany.