Philippe Sanlaville (14 December 1851 – 25 June 1910) was a French anarchist shoemaker and watchmaker. A notable figure in the socialist and then anarchist movement, he organized the group Le Glaive ('The Sword') in Villefranche-sur-Saône and is best known for being targeted and convicted as part of the Black International during the Trial of the 66. Born into a poor family and fatherless by the age of six, he became a prominent figure in the birth of the socialist movement in France, participating in the country's first two workers' congresses as a delegate for the workers of Lyon. He was one of the primary actors in the founding of the Lyon workers' party, which he sought to steer toward anarchism. Following the London Congress (1881), he moved to Villefranche-sur-Saône and established the group Le Glaive. He also led several initiatives in support of the rebels of the Montceau-les-Mines troubles. Following the raids after the Assommoir bombing, he was arrested, his home was raided, and he was accused of having been part of this International during the Trial of the 66. He responded by stating he had never been part of a single anarchist group and did not belong to such an organization. Convicted in the first instance, his sentence was reduced on appeal. Following his release, the police executed a political maneuver to have him arrested again on dubious charges. Sanlaville distanced himself from the anarchist movement for a time before returning to it in the early 1890s, when he took over the management of the Lyon anarchist newspaper L'Insurgé, was targeted by the repression of early 1894, and became involved in multiple initiatives. He died in 1910.
Biography
Youth Philippe Sanlaville was born on 14 December 1851 in Beaujeu, in the department of Rhône. He was the son of Marguerite Jacquet, who had no profession, and Claude Sanlaville, a day laborer. His father died when he was only six years old, leaving his mother to care for him alone. He was described as having blue eyes and chestnut hair. In 1871, he was exempted from military service as the only son of a widow.
Figure of the socialist movement becoming an actor in the split between anarchists and socialists In 1876, while residing on Rue Tronchet in Lyon, Sanlaville was elected and mandated as a delegate of the Lyon workers to the first workers' congress in French history, the Paris Congress. He was mandated again two years later during the second workers' congress in French history, the Lyon Congress. During this second congress, he was one of the primary supporters and founders of the workers' party affiliated with the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (FTSF). In this context, he presided over the local congress held at Croix-Rousse in February 1880, which marked the birth of the Lyon Socialist Workers' Party, affiliated with the FTSF. In July of the same year, he was mandated by the watchmakers of Besançon to bring their demands to the founding congress of the Revolutionary Federation of the East. He then held notable positions within this organization and its propaganda commission. However, relations within the FTSF, and particularly within the Lyon Workers' Party, became strained between the proponents of anarchism, such as Sanlaville or Toussaint Bordat, and those of reformist socialism. On 9 February 1881, Sanlaville and Bernard created an abstentionist faction of the Workers' Party and decided to liquidate the old organization. The split between the two groups was finalized. In June, Sanlaville and Bordat attempted to win over the Saint-Étienne congress but were unsuccessful. Faced with a complex situation, they decided to contact Peter Kropotkin and ask him to represent their organization, the Lyon Revolutionary Federation, at the London Congress, which he ultimately did.
Settlement in Villefranche Following the London Congress, Sanlaville moved and settled in Villefranche-sur-Saône, where he participated in the founding of the group Le Glaive ('The Sword'). In 1882, he contributed to a subscription organized during the first period of the Lyon anarchist press to offer a revolver of honor to the anarchist Pierre Fournier, who had just shot his boss. He intervened in L'Étendard révolutionnaire in August of the same year to protest the conviction of companions Bonthoux and Crestin, managers of Le Droit social. In parallel with these biographical events, the Montceau-les-Mines troubles began, affecting the Saône-et-Loire coal basin and the overall region. On 22 October 1882, he presided over a meeting organized in the presence of Hugonnard and other anarchists from Lyon, where approximately 800 attendees expressed solidarity and support for the Montceau-les-Mines rebels. Following the Assommoir bombing (October 1882) in Lyon, he participated in a private meeting of Federation figures held at Bordat's home, alongside Genet, Ricard, Pautet, Sourrisseau, Chatard, Boriasse, Bayet, Courtois, and Berlioz Arthaud. During this meeting, the participants decided to create a support fund to relaunch L'Étendard révolutionnaire, which had been affected by repression.
Trial of the 66 He was arrested in the anarchist raids following the bombing and accused of belonging to the International refounded at the London Congress, which had adopted a program of propaganda by the deed; also known as the Black International. During the raid at his home, police found a copy of Le Révolté and Kropotkin's pamphlets To the Young and The Spirit of Revolt.
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