CHESNELONG, PIERRE CHARLES French politician, was born at Orthez, Basses Pyrenees. A mem ber of the chamber of deputies from 1865-76, with a short inter val in 1870-72, he was an uncompromising clericalist and, after 1870, a Legitimist. He was the soul of the reactionary opposition that led to the fall of Thiers; and in 1873 it was he who, with Lucien Brun, carried to the comte de Chambord the proposals of the chambers. Through some misunderstanding, he reported on his return that the count had accepted all the terms offered, includ ing the retention of the tricolour flag; and the count published a formal denial. Chesnelong now devoted himself to the estab lishment of Catholic universities and to the formation of Catho lic working-men's clubs. He continued his viggrous.polemic against the secularization of the educational system of France from his place in the senate, to which he was elected in Nov. 1876.
See M. de Marcey, Charles Chesnelong, etc. 3 vols. (1908) ; Mgr. Laveille, Chesnelong, sa vie, son action catholique et parlementaire (1913).