assassination of Sadi Carnot
1894 CE.
Shown on the map at 45.763°, 4.836°.
On 24 June 1894, French President Sadi Carnot was assassinated by Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio in Lyon, France. A part of the Ère des attentats anarchist terrorist campaign (1892–1894), it led to a historic crackdown on French anarchist activities. Carnot was one of the main supporters of the lois scélérates ('villainous laws'), which aimed to break up anarchist activities during the Ère des attentats, as well as the repression targeting them in early 1894. He became a central target to the movement, especially after refusing to pardon anarchist terrorists Ravachol, Auguste Vaillant, and Émile Henry: the first two having not caused any deaths during their attacks. Vaillant's death in particular sparked a desire for revenge against Carnot, as Vaillant's young daughter Sidonie became orphaned. Caserio, a refugee in France, then likely started working with a small group of anarchists to assassinate him. Caserio left Sète in late June 1894 and headed for Lyon, trying to deter police from tailing him. He arrived at the first French Colonial Exhibition, as the attack was also an anti-colonial statement, and was positioned precisely to the right of Carnot's procession.
Text from the Wikipedia article Assassination of Sadi Carnot, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.