THE CEREMONIES

The civil funeral of Anatole France was celebrated yesterday at the expense of the State, a ceremony of a grandeur that could not speak to the heart, nor even to the imagination, but where nevertheless came many of the faithful of the Master, in the literary order and in the political order.

VILLA SAÏD
In the morning, the public had been allowed to file into the hotel where Anatole France lived, Villa Saïd, near the Bois de Boulogne; the catafalque, silver lamé, disappeared under the flowers, and in the ardent room, the intimates of the deceased mounted a funeral guard beside him.

A little after 11 o'clock. 30, a funeral home comes to remove the wreaths covering the coffin to transport them to Quai Malaquais. The first one that comes into view is the one made of chrysanthemums and which bears the inscription: "The German Human Rights League to Anatole France"; another, tied in red, reveals these words: Aubervilliers to Anatole France; a third bears on a wide ribbon: The Socialist Party S.F.I.O. to Anatole France.

In front of the crowd that is maintained by an orderly service, the doors of the Villa Said open wide and let pass Messrs. Michel Corday, François Crucy, Psichari, grandson of the deceased; Mr. Adolphe Brisson; behind them, carried by employees of the funeral home, the coffin appears; a single wreath of violets surmounts it, accompanied by a spray of red chrysanthemums. The beer is immediately put into a motor van which heads towards the Quai Malaquais. In the coupe of the car are the male and female nurse who looked after France until the end. At 1 o'clock, the coffin is placed on the catafalque set up on the Quai Malaquais.

THE ARRIVAL OF MR. CAILLAUX
The public tries to put names to faces; it shows more curiosity than emotion; this curiosity will be satisfied. Indeed, the motor van had barely disappeared when a car stopped in front of the Villa Saïd. From the car gets out Mr. Joseph Caillaux; with a quick and jerky step, followed by his wife, the former convict of the High Court, who owes to the benevolence of the government for having been authorized to come to Paris for the ceremony, goes to see Mrs. Anatole France. He leaves her at the moment when Mr. Herriot, escorted by Mr. Israël, secretary general of the presidency of the council, comes to get her to take her, as a mark of personal admiration, to the Quai Malaquais where the ceremony will take place.

IN FRONT OF THE STATUE OF VOLTAIRE
At around the Institute, from half past twelve, the crowd gathers attentive and curious. And the small square where the catafalque is erected, at the foot of the statue of Voltaire, is soon too narrow. narrow
A half hour later, traffic is suspended by the care of Mr. Guichard, who personally presides over the order service. Taxis and cars are diverted from their usual route, and trams are stopped in front of the Pont du Carrousel.
The delegations, with their emblems, gather as they arrive in the reserved areas.
Red flags flutter, and hawkers offer red sweetbriar.
It cannot escape any of the attendees that the funeral of Anatole France will have above all a distinctly political and even revolutionary character.

Little by little, the official notables arrive, the platform that has been set up at the entrance to the rue de Seine fills up. It is covered with large black draperies, decorated with flags; the whole is half veiled by purple fabrics.

Between the statue of Voltaire and the official platform stands the catafalque, at the four corners of which lampposts have been placed. At their top are smoking incense burners.
From 1:30 a.m., the delegations of the constituted bodies arrive: bar, judiciary, institute, faculties, etc., then the members of the General Council, the Municipal Council, the entire diplomatic corps, the senators, the deputies soon fill the stands reserved for them.
A lively movement of curiosity occurs when Mr. and Mrs. Caillaux arrive. Mr. Caillaux, with a brief gesture, salutes the coffin. Deputies come to meet him; the former president of the council shakes the hands that are extended towards him; he meets those of generals Gouraud and Dubail! he is very surrounded and complies obligingly with the demands of the cinematographers and photographers. Then here is Mr. Malvy, who goes immediately towards Mr. Caillaux, next to whom he will remain during the entire ceremony. Both take their places in the second row of the platform.

Mr. Herriot arrives in turn. He gives his arm to Mrs. Anatole France and accompanies her to the place reserved for the family of the deceased, where Messrs. Psichari and Crucy are already there. Then he goes to shake hands with Messrs. Caillaux and Malvy. All the ministers are there. All we are waiting for is the President of the Republic.

At 2 o'clock, Mr. Doumergue appears.
The ceremony begins immediately. While music is heard, the delegations of children from the local schools begin to file past the coffin. They will then gather outside the official enclosure, where places have been set up. For more than two hours, all these young people, the soldiers who pay their respects, the general who commands them and who can be seen, at certain moments, framed by the flags of the riot, the curious themselves were, thanks to a loudspeaker, the resigned victims of the speeches of Messrs. Basch, Blum and Jouhaux…

THE SPEECHES

Once the speeches are finished, the procession sets off towards Neuilly along the following route: Quai Malaquais, Pont du Carrousel, Quai des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Place de l’Étoile, Avenue de la Grande-Armée, Avenue de Neuilly, Rue des Graviers.

At the head, march the students, carrying their own crowns; then come two chariots which disappear under flowers. a delegation of nurses, finally the funeral chariot, drawn by six horses and also covered with crowns.

The cords of the stove are held by Messrs. Léon Blum, Aulard, Georges Lecomte, Hanotaux; behind come Messrs. Herriot, François Albert, de Moro-Giafferri, Malvy, Caillaux, etc., immediately followed by six bearers of red flags, accompanied by a cosmopolitan, turbulent and undisciplined crowd, which the agents and ushers have difficulty in containing.

At the Etoile, Mr. Caillaux stealthily leaves the procession and the parade continues, between the two rows of a curious crowd, silent at the edge of the sidewalks.

AT THE CEMETERY

Upon arrival at the Neuilly cemetery, it is completely dark. With some difficulty, the delegations are kept outside, while the hearse, forced to cross the threshold in total darkness, twice hits the pillars of the gate. A push then occurs from the crowd which tries to enter. The police must resolve to close the doors and to evacuate the people already inside, by a secret exit.
And while only the few people accompanying the family are allowed to attend the burial, the crowd outside disperses, broken up by an imposing security service, assailed by cynical hawkers who offer for a few cents the last photograph of Anatole France and... a sprig of wild rose.

AN INCIDENT
At the corner of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and the Rue de Washington, at the time when Anatole France's procession was passing, shouts of: "Down with Caillaux! Get Caillaux out!" were heard. The police intervened immediately; two men were apprehended and taken to the Champs-Élysées police station. They are Messrs. Robert Gneugnier, 18 years old, and Edouard Fourguin, living on the Rue de l'Amiral-Roussin, who were released after a check of their address.