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Presumably greed for money or vindictiveness had moved the servants of the Caillaux couple to pass a bundle of spicy letters on to the press.
This gave Gaston Calmette, editor-in-chief of the influential Parisian newspaper “Le Figaro”, the opportunity to spice up his campaign against the finance minister and ex-prime minister Joseph Caillaux.
But he hadn't expected Madame Caillaux's indignation.
On March 16, 1914, she stormed into Calmette's office and shot the journalist.
The case moved the French public more than the smoldering crisis that threatened to drive Europe into world war.
Caillaux was one of the leading politicians of the radical socialists, who represented the left-liberal wing of the (large) bourgeoisie.
As Prime Minister he had signed the Morocco-Congo Agreement with Germany in 1911, which nationalist circles saw as an attempt to find a compromise with the “hereditary enemy”.
Since Caillaux was also considered an opponent of a war of revenge, the "Figaro" unleashed a campaign against him.
Gaston Calmette hit four bullets
Source: picture-alliance / akg-images
The fact that the minister and his wife Henriette, who was twelve years his junior, had entered into their second marriage three years earlier was not a problem in the scandalous society of the Third Republic, but that they maintained intimate relationships when they were married to other partners.
Letter passages like "1000 kisses on your adorable little body" spoke a clear language.
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When Calmette saw Henriette Caillaux storm into his room on the evening of the 16th, it didn't help that he pretended to be ignorant.
She pulled a revolver she had recently acquired from her muff and fired six times at the editor-in-chief.
Four bullets hit.
Caricature of the process
Source: picture alliance / akg-images
No sooner had Calmette bled to death in the hospital than the affair grew into the biggest scandal since the Dreyfus affair.
Joseph Caillaux immediately resigned from all offices.
His wife was arrested, but kept the privileges of her class, for example by getting her food (rack of lamb and macaroni à l'anglaise, as the "Figaro" snappy reported) from a restaurant.
When, after the assassination attempt on the Austrian heir to the throne in Sarajevo at the end of June 1914, European politicians tried to riot each other, the French audience watched the trial, which began on July 20th.
The lawyer from Caillaux argued with the "uncontrollable emotions" of his client, caused by an "acute emotional distress", and therefore pleaded incapacity.
The jury agreed on July 28th.
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A nationwide storm of indignation was the result.
The left saw class justice at work, the nationalist bourgeoisie rebelled at the triumph of a left war opponent.
The fact that Austria had declared war on Serbia on the same day was almost a minor matter in the excitement.
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