Denys Cochin

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Denys Marie Pierre Augustin Cochin (1 September 1851 – 24 March 1922) was a French writer and Catholic right‑wing politician. He was the son of Pierre-Suzanne-Augustin Cochin, who was also a politician and writer. After studying at Louis-le-Grand, he joined the army as a quartermaster in the 8th Cuirassiers and later carried the flag for General Charles Denis Bourbaki. After the Franco‑Prussian War, he served as an attache at the French embassy in London for a year. In 1872 he returned to France and studied chemistry in Louis Pasteur’s laboratory. During World War I, he worked on explosives and chemical weapons.

In 1881 he was elected councilman for the 7th arrondissement of Paris. From 1893 to 1919 he represented the Seine in the National Assembly. He was the principal spokesman for the Catholic party, defending religious education and congregations against the policies of the governments of Waldeck-Rousseau and Émile Combes.

As part of the Union sacrée, he served as Minister of State in Aristide Briand’s fourth administration from 29 October 1915 to 12 December 1916, and then as under-secretary for foreign policy, responsible for dealing with the German blockade under Alexandre Ribot from 20 March to August 1917. He resigned, predicting the breakup of the UnionSacrée.

He wrote several books and was elected to Seat 11 of the Académie française on 16 February 1911. An art collector, Cochin bought impressionist paintings with Paul Durand-Ruel, including a Monet. He was the father of historian Augustin Cochin.