Zevaès, Alexandre

(pseudonym of Gustave Alexandre Bourson). Born May 24, 1873; died Feb. 21, 1953. French political leader, lawyer, and historian. Parliamentary deputy (1898–1910).

In 1892, Zevaès joined the Workers’ Party as a follower of J. Guesde. In 1905 he broke with the workers’ movement and, together with A. Briand, A. Millerand, and R. Viviani, he organized the so-called Republican Socialist Party. During World War I (1914–18), Zevaès was a chauvinist. He served as the defense attorney for Villain, the assassin of J. Jaures (the trial was held in 1919). Subsequently Zevaès moved to the left, defending the Communist deputies before the Paris Military Tribunal (Mar. 20-Apr. 3, 1940). His historical works written after World War II (1939–45) underscore the decisive role of the USSR in the defeat of fascism. Zevaès wrote extensively on the history of the Third Republic and the socialist movement in France. Many of his works are superficial (there is no analysis of socioeconomic development or the disposition of class forces) and derivative. Nevertheless, they contain interesting factual material and provide vivid portraits of bourgeois political figures and socialist leaders.