Briand, Aristide (d. 1932)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1932 Mar 16 p. 1

Birth date:

text of obituary:

Last Rites Held for "Friend of Peace."

Paris. — Artistide Briand, statesman of France know as "the friend of Peace" who passed away last week, received the tribute of tens of thousands as he was carried to his final resting place. He was prominently known for his constant efforts in behalf of conciliation and peace.

Premier Andre Tardieu called him "the Prince of Orators, and the "Friend of Peace, in the funeral oration to which the representatives of fifty-seven nations listened. But it was even more impressive to see the thousands of men and women who had poured into Paris from all parts of the country to pay their final respects.

The flower of the french army passed in review before his coffin at the foreign office, but this was a civilian funeral. The customary gun carriage was replaced by a horse-drawn coach.

Representatives of the church and the state joined in the offer of supreme homage. Cardinal Verdler of Paris gave the benediction of the Catholic church in the clock room of the foreign office at the Qual d'Orsay. Premier Tardieu spoke outside the gates of the ministry to a crowd of thousands.

From early morning util11 a. m., a continuous file of people passed before the bier int eh flower-bedecked room.