François Malausséna

Overview

François Malausséna, lawyer (avocat) of Nice, educated at the Jesuit college of Nice and the University of Turin (doctorate in law). Last syndic of Nice under the Kingdom of Sardinia; at first opposed to the annexation of Nice to France (1860), he rallied to it and was mayor of Nice from January 1861 to September 1870 (fr.wikipedia, "François Malausséna"; "Liste des maires de Nice"). Local heritage pages on the Malausséna birthplace at Levens give him as born in Levens in 1814 and dead in 1882. Kernberger (2013, glossary): "Malaussena: Marie's family's attorney in Nice".

He is the father of the lawyer and later deputy #Arthur_Malaussena (fr.wikipedia, "Arthur Malausséna"), who is the lawyer of the 1873 Tolstoy lawsuit.

Relevance to Marie

On 27 January 1877, after Robert Milton's article in Le Sport, Marie and her mother rush to his office: «M. Malaussena, notre avocat, le premier avocat de Nice, homme intelligent et ayant joué un grand rôle dans l'annexion de Nice, très connu du reste» (068.0847; footnote there: first mayor after the annexation). He advises silence or a quiet word with M. de Villemessant, and consoles them: «On m'a bien accusé d'avoir volé vingt-cinq millions à la ville de Nice ?» (068.0849). Kernberger (2013) also records an earlier consultation with him about the family's 'Tolstoy business', but in the 1873 diary entries the lawyer is, per the Mon Journal indexes, Arthur (see the separate entry).

References in Diary

• 1877-01-27 (068.0847, 068.0849, 068.0855): the consultation after the Milton article. Mon Journal t.9 index: «Malaussena (M.), avocat».
• 1875-11-22 (050.0149): «nous attendons la réponse de Malaussena, il faut en finir avec le fichu-Duval.» The diary does not say which Malausséna; Mon Journal t.6 index has only «Malausséna (M.)». Left on this entry for now, possibly Arthur.