Émile Zola publishes J'Accuse…! and is imprisoned over the Dreyfus affair

Background. The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. It began in December 1894 when Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a 35-year-old Alsatian French artillery officer of Jewish descent, was wrongfully convicted of treason for communicating French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris. At the end of 1897, Lieutenant Colonel Picquart returned to Paris and made public his doubts about Dreyfus's guilt, setting the stage for Zola's intervention.

Publication of J'Accuse…!. On 13 January 1898, Zola published 'J'Accuse…!' on the front page of L'Aurore, a literary and socialist newspaper in Paris. The open letter accused the government of injustice regarding Dreyfus's conviction, marking a significant moment in the affair and demonstrating the power of intellectuals to shape public opinion.

Legal Consequences. General Billot, Minister of War, filed a complaint against Zola and Alexandre Perrenx, the manager of L'Aurore, to be heard at the Assises of the Seine from 7 to 23 February 1898. The proceedings ended with Zola found guilty of libel on 23 February 1898. To avoid imprisonment, he fled to England, returning home in June 1899.