Jules-Albert de Dion - Dreyfus Affair

Dreyfus Affair

The roots of both the Tour de France cycle race and L'Auto (L'Équipe), daily sporting newspaper, can be traced to the Dreyfus affair and de Dion's passionate opinion and actions.

Opinions were heated and there were demonstrations by both sides in the Dreyfus affair. Historian Eugen Weber described an 1899 conflagration at the Auteuil horse-race course in Paris as "an absurd political shindig" when, among other events the President of France (Émile Loubet) was struck on the head by a walking stick wielded by de Dion. He served 15 days in jail and was fined 100 francs, and his behaviour was heavily criticised by Le Vélo, the largest daily sports newspaper in France, and its Dreyfusard editor, Pierre Giffard. The result was that de Dion withdrew of all his advertising from the paper, and in 1900 he led a group of wealthy 'anti-Dreyfusard' manufacturers, such as Adolphe Clément, to found L'Auto-Velo and compete directly with Le Velo. After a legally enforced change of name to L'Auto it in turn created the Tour de France race in 1903 to boost falling circulation.