The unveiling today marks France’s national day of commemoration for Dreyfus, established by President Emmanuel Macron.
The president said last year: “From now on, every July 12, a commemorative ceremony will be held for Dreyfus, celebrating the victory of justice and truth over hatred and antisemitism.
“Thus, Alfred Dreyfus and those who fought through him for liberty, equality and fraternity will continue to serve as the example that must inspire our conduct.”
The 3.5-meter (12ft) bronze statue made in 1985 by French artist Louis Mitelberg, depicting Captain Alfred Dreyfus, outside the Court of Cassation, France's highest civil court, July 12, 2026 (Credit: Thomas SAMSON / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)POOL/AFP via Getty Images
For decades, campaigners argued that the location of the statue itself reflected the reluctance of successive French governments to fully confront the legacy of the Dreyfus Affair.
Originally commissioned under President François Mitterrand, the sculpture was intended for the courtyard of the École Militaire, where Dreyfus was publicly stripped of his rank. The French army twice blocked the proposal. Several other suggested sites were refused also.
Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris Centre and a descendant of the Dreyfus family, has campaigned for the monument to receive a more prominent location for years after claiming it was effectively hidden from public view.
“It’s been wandering around Paris for years,” Weil said. “The general idea seemed to be: we’ll put it in a corner of Paris where it won’t embarrass anyone and won’t be seen, and we can forget about it. It was in a place nobody wanted, not historians, not the Dreyfus family, not the artist.”
Weil said the new location is “an incredibly powerful spot in the very centre of Paris… this puts right a final injustice.”
The Dreyfus affair remains one of the most consequential and notorious events in French history and almost brought down the Third Republic.
In 1894, Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery captain, was convicted by a secret military court after being falsely accused of passing military secrets to Germany. He was then cashiered and publicly humiliated in a ceremony during which his sword was broken and the rank insignia buttons and braid ripped from his uniform.
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He was deported to life in solitary confinement on Devil’s Island, a penal colony in French Guiana.
Although military investigators three years later discovered that another officer, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, was responsible, they kept the discovery a secret.
The affair, which divided France for years, reached a turning point when novelist Zola published his open letter accusing the authorities of a miscarriage of justice.
Dreyfus was eventually exonerated and readmitted to the army and made a member of the Légion d’honneur. He went on to serve in the first world war, before retiring and leading a quiet life. He died in Paris in 1935, aged 75.
The sculpture of Dreyfus bears an inscription taken from one of his letters to his wife, Lucie: “If you want me to live, help me regain my honour.”
