Ernest Caron

Ernest Adolphe Caron (1840–1919) was a French lawyer and politician. He was President of the Municipal Council of Paris, based at the Hotel de Ville, from November 1909, and served as a councillor of the 2nd arrondissement (Vivienne) district of Paris on the Municipal Council of Paris in the Third Republic, for 25 years from 1890.

In an article edited by Henry de Pène in Le Gaulois newspaper of November 1909, the month he was elected president of the Paris council, Ernest Caron was described as wise, prudent and moderate, and a welcome change following recent turbulent public discourse and the notorious Affaire Ferrer. "M. Caron, le nouveau président de la municipalité parisienne, est un homme sage et prudent. Très certainement il ne compromettra pas lès intérêts de la Ville en liant partie avec ceux qui representent en France les idées révolutionnaires et surtout antipatriotiques".

Attorney

Caron was also president of the association of licensed attorneys at the Tribunal de commerce de Paris, from 1878 to 1919, which at the time was known as ‘’La Compagnie des Avocats Agrées au Tribunal de Commerce de la Seine’’ (Licenced Attorneys to the Commercial Court of Paris).

Ernest Caron held administrative posts on several insurance companies; of Soleil-Sécurité in 1895, of l’Aigle-Vie life insurance in 1901, of both l’Aigle and Soleil-Vie in 1909, and of Soleil in 1911.

Caron was closely involved with the building of the Rue Réaumur (2e), which became a symbol of the new Art Nouveau architecture of the day, and for many years he was one of the 5-strong jury of the Concours de façades de la ville de Paris, which evolved from the rue Réaumur architectural revolution. The contest was held annually between the first on 16 December 1897 and the late 1930s, with an interruption during World War I. It recognized several buildings completed during the year, championing the use of new materials such as concrete, glass and steel, and encouraging innovative design.

Concours de façades de la ville de Paris

In instituting the contest, the city of Paris took inspiration from Concours d'architecture de la Ville de Bruxelles (1872–1876) and the Prix Godecharle in Brussels. The Parisian contest was originally set up after the creation of the Rue Réaumur in 1897 in order to promote the construction of original and attractive buildings on that street following the relaxation of Baron Haussmann's strict rules of architecture. Initially restricted to the Rue Réaumur, the competition was soon extended to the whole of Paris. Most years saw roughly 57 buildings entering the competition, designed by 55 or so architects, usually resulting in six winners.

Every year until the first world war, the jury was made up of the same five members of the Conseil Municipal de Paris : Quentin-Bauchart, Ernest Caron, Froment-Meurice, Chérioux, Ballières, plus the director of Architectural Services, Joseph Antoine Bouvard, and the architectural overseer for the city of Paris, Nicolas Sauger (1838–1918). Lastly two jury members were elected by the contestants annually - and in 1904 they were; Jean-Louis Pascal and Joseph Auguste Émile Vaudremer.

The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1913) is one of the architectural landmarks of the period, one of the few Paris buildings in the Art Deco style. Designed by Auguste Perret, it was also built of reinforced concrete and decorated by some of the leading artists of the era: bas-reliefs on the façade by Antoine Bourdelle, a dome by Maurice Denis, and paintings in the interior by Édouard Vuillard. It was the setting in 1913 for one of the major musical events of the Belle Époque : the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. From 1945 to 1959 the building was home to the Ballets des Champs-Élysées, under the direction of Roland Petit. In 1946, Caron's great-granddaughter Leslie Caron made her debut there in La Rencontre (Oedipus and the Sphinx).

Commission du Vieux Paris

From 1916 to his death, Ernest Caron was an elected member of the CVP, or fr:Commission du Vieux Paris, the body of 55 men founded in 1897 to catalogue, oversee and conserve the built heritage and archaeology of Paris, working alongside the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques. The commission was originally suggested by municipal councillor Alfred Lamouroux, and held a consultative role. It has become part of the state department named Direction des Affaires Culturelles.

Great Flood of Paris in 1910

Caron was noted for his rousing speeches to the Paris Assembly during the devastating 1910 Great Flood of Paris known as La Crue de la Seine in late January 1910, when he was President of the Conseil Municipal.

Honours

Caron was made Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour in 1889, and Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1897.

Ernest Adolphe Caron in 1895

A bronze plaque of Ernest Caron celebrating his 25th anniversary of public service, was commissioned by the city of Paris from the international engraver and sculptor, Charles Pillet and is held in the collection at the Musee d'Orsay. The inscription reads A Ernest Caron. La ville de Paris en souvenir du 25ieme anniversaire de son mandat de Conseiller Municipal 1890-1915 (back). Signed and dated 1915 on the bottom left.

Mountaineer

From 1898 to 1901, Caron was President of the regional Briançon section of the Club Alpin Français or CAF. From 1898 to 1901 and again from 1904 to 1907 he was president of the national CAF, now known as the Fédération Française des clubs alpins et de montagne or FFCAM.

An important alpine shelter, the Refuge Caron in the Massif des Ecrins was named after him, probably because he paid for it to be built, as was the case with naming most of the early mountain shelters. The Refuge Caron, or Refuge Ernest Caron, now known as the Refuge des Écrins, was built in 1903, between the Emile Pic and Roche Faurio. Likewise, the Cime de Caron, Col de Caron and Lac de la Cime Caron, in the Three Valleys of the Vanoise Massif range, are also named after Ernest Caron. Both he and his son, Marcel Georges Caron (1869-1950), were enlisted members of the Chasseurs Alpins, the specialist French mountain infantry division.

During his time as treasurer and president of the Club Alpin Français, Caron was particularly intent on increasing the number of women members. He is quoted in the French scientific reference library, Cairn.info, in 1898 saying; Many people imagine that to enter our association, one must take high-level or dangerous courses and tests. You know it's nothing of the kind. Membership is open to all those men and women who love the mountains, even from a distance. (translated from Caron, E. (1889). Chronique du club. Annuaire du CAF. 465–471). The first 'Guardien' of the Refuge Caron was a local guide named Milou Cortial. The materials to build it were carried up by seven guides and six porters, earning 30 francs for every 100 kilos carried from L’Argentière-la-Bessée, to the construction place at an altitude of 3170 meters. A painting of the Refuge Caron by Charles-Henri Contencin (1898–1955) titled The Refuge Caron (or Ecrins) above the Glacier Blanc, Dauphiné Alps, France, shows the wooden hut perched in a spectacular setting, precariously situated above the Glacier Blanc at over 3,000 metres.

Contencin was an active member of the Paris-based Society of Mountain Painters which was founded in 1898, and eventually its president. His paintings were often displayed in regional and national exhibitions and more recently by licensed online image dealers.