Paul Lefaivre

Paul Lefaivre was born at Sélestat in 1857, the son of the diplomat and writer Albert Lefaivre. After studying law, he worked in French ministries before entering the diplomatic service in 1882. His early career took him to legations and embassies in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. He subsequently became a minister in Latin America, including Cuba and Mexico. ¹

His American experience also produced a substantial essay about Washington, published in the Revue des Deux Mondes in 1899. Lefaivre described the capital’s streets, institutions, finances, public services, and social life, and examined the unusual position of residents governed by appointed commissioners without municipal voting rights. The essay praised that administrative arrangement; it also reproduced racist judgments about Black residents and their participation in politics. ²

Cuba’s president recorded receiving Lefaivre as French minister on 7 April 1905. He moved to Mexico in 1908 and received the special rank of ambassador for the independence centennial in 1910. During the Mexican Revolution, he participated in the diplomatic discussions over compensation for foreign losses. In July 1913 he questioned whether a proposed Mexican claims commission would be effective, asked who would sit on it, and said that stronger assurances were needed before he could recommend abandoning the demand for an international commission. He died in Paris in 1932. ^{3, 1, 4}