Delescluze, Louis Charles [key], 1809–71, French journalist and radical republican. In his active career he was often in prison or in exile. He supported the July Revolution of 1830 but came to oppose the regime of King Louis Philippe and took part in the February Revolution of 1848. The conservatism of the new leaders and the bloody suppression of the June Days brought him further political disenchantment. A bitter opponent of the Second Empire of Napoleon III, he engaged in increasingly radical journalistic attacks on the emperor. After the fall of the empire, Delescluze was elected (1871) to the national assembly, but he resigned to serve in the Commune of Paris. He was perhaps the ablest leader in the commune, but he could not save it. When defeat by the government troops became inevitable, Delescluze deliberately placed himself in the line of fire and was killed.
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