Floquet
CHARLES THOMAS (flō-tained by means of seven bridges. Florkā'), a French statesman; born in St. Jean de Luz in 1828; began life as a lawyer in Paris. His cry, "Vive la Pologne, Monsieur!" ("Hurrah for Poland, Sir!") addressed to the Czar Alexander II., in the Palace of Justice. in 1867, made him a political celebrity. On the fall of the empire he was appointed one of the deputy mayors of Paris, but was forced to resign on account of his complaisance toward the Red Republicans. Later he was elected to the Paris municipal council, and in 1876 became one of the Deputies for Paris. He sat in the Chamber till 1882, when he was appointed Prefect of the Seine; re-entered the Chamber in 1882 and was elected its president in 1885, but resigned in April, 1888, to become prime minister. In 1889 he was again elected president of the Chamber. He was the Radical candidate for the Presidency of the Republic in 1887; but his career was cut short by the Panama Canal scandal. He died in Paris, Jan. 18, 1896.