DESCHANEL, PAUL EUGENE LOUIS French statesman, son of Emile Deschanel (1819-1904), Professor at the College de France and senator, was born at Brussels, where his father was living in exile (1851-59), owing to his opposition to Napoleon III. Paul Deschanel studied law, and began his ca reer as secretary to Deshayes de Marcere (1876), and to Jules Simon (1876-77). In Oct. 1885 he was elected deputy for Eure and Loire. He was one of the most notable orators of the Pro gressist Republican group. In Jan. 1896 he was elected vice-presi dent of the chamber. In June 1898 he was elected president of the chamber, and was re-elected in 1901, but rejected in 1902. In 19o4 and 19o5 he supported the law on the separation of Church and State. After presiding over the commission of foreign and colonial affairs (19o5—o9) and acting as reporter of the foreign office estimates committee, Deschanel filled many responsible po sitions. In Jan. 192o, he was elected president of the Republic, as being a "safer" candidate than Clemenceau, though the latter's popularity spoke strongly in his favour. In the autumn of the same year, however, failing health obliged him to resign office. He died in Paris on April 28, 1922, from the effects of a fall from a railway carriage. Deschanel was elected a member of the French Academy in 1899, his most notable works being Orateurs et hom mes d' etat (1888), Figures de femmes (1889), La Decentraliza tion (1895), La Question sociale (1898).