Jules Audent

Jules Audent was a Belgian politician, lawyer, and board member, part of the Party for Freedom and Progress, born on June 6, 1834, in Charleroi, and died in that city on October 6, 1910.

As a lawyer, he left a mark on the judicial life of his time in Charleroi with his strong personality. As Alderman of Public Instruction, he established schools for boys and girls. As mayor, he had to show diplomacy during the "separation of the Faubourg" issue and confront workers who threatened to loot the city during the strikes of March 1886.

He is mainly known for the major works carried out under his impetus, earning him the nickname "Haussmann of Charleroi". These urbanization works replaced the fortifications surrounding the city with boulevards, parks, housing, and public buildings.

Biography
Jules-André-Albert Audent is the son of lawyer Albert Audent and Léocadie Masquelier. He studied secondary education at the communal college of Charleroi initially, and then at the Royal Athenaeum of Brussels. He obtained a law degree from the University of Liège in 1857.

On August 17, 1869, he married Aline François, daughter of the industrialist Alexandre François. She died on March 29, 1871, at the age of 29, a few days after the birth of their daughter, Élise.

Lawyer
Upon graduation, he became a lawyer at the Charleroi Tribunal of first instance, where his skills were recognized, particularly in civil cases. He was an authority as a legal consultant and trained many interns who later became prominent magistrates and lawyers. Eight times Bar President between 1871 and 1908, Jules Audent left his mark on the judicial life of Charleroi with his strong personality.

Company Administrator
As a business lawyer, Jules Audent sat on the board of directors of numerous companies, including the General Savings and Pension Fund, the Iron Works and Forges de la Providence in Marchienne-au-Pont, the Ormont Coal Mines in Châtelet, and the Petit-Try in Lambusart. Towards the end of his life, he was a director of the Banque de Bruxelles.

Additionally, Jules Audent was among the 154 liberals who, in 1878, founded the La Nouvelle Gazette.

Politician
Jules Audent was elected municipal councilor on October 27, 1863. At that time, the city was surrounded by walls preventing its expansion, and the municipal authorities wanted their dismantling. From 1865, Jules Audent requested a competition for the development of a plan for the military lands. He served as rapporteur of the jury tasked with examining the selected projects. He also handled negotiations between the State and the municipality regarding their respective rights and obligations in the appropriation of military lands. He ensured the best defense of the city's interests. Demolition works began in 1868 and were completed in 1871.

In 1871, the municipal administration borrowed money to allow significant spending for education. Audent became Alderman of Public Instruction of Charleroi in 1873. Assisted by teacher Eugène Cobaux, he established schools for boys and girls in different neighborhoods of the city. He also organized official kindergarten education.

On March 9, 1879, Jules Audent was appointed mayor. With the help of Alfred-Hyppolite Defontaine, who became Alderman of Instruction, he continued the educational policy. The city organized technical and vocational education, and the former school for overseers and foremen became a renowned industrial school. The former communal college became a Royal Athenaeum in 1881. During the "separation of the Faubourg" issue, where the majority-working-class inhabitants wanted to establish it as an autonomous municipality, Audent had to show diplomacy and energy to maintain the territorial integrity of Charleroi.

During the strikes of March 1886, where social unrest took on the dimensions of general insurrection, and following the events in Liège, Jules Audent requested Joseph d'Ursel, governor of the province of Hainaut, to send a squadron of lancers from Tournai to protect Gilly. He posted a text strongly urging citizens to stay home, "thus avoiding being victims of reckless curiosity". General Alfred van der Smissen refused any military assistance to Charleroi, considering the Civic Guard sufficient to defend the city. He urged Alderman Defontaine to open fire, without legal warnings, by this same Civic Guard if it were in danger. Alderman Defontaine refused and denounced the illegal and unconstitutional nature of the general's orders. The workers who threatened to loot the city were repelled by the police and the Civic Guard alone without any fatalities.

On December 21, 1891, following the death of Émile Balisaux, Audent became a senator. He was regularly re-elected until 1908, when he did not run again. In the Senate, he was not very talkative and was among the doctrinaires. He mainly intervened on justice issues. He also called for the establishment of personal and compulsory military service. Not very open to social problems, he preferred an electoral system based on capacitism over general voting rights.

Following the municipal elections of November 17, 1895, the first socialist elected officials, led by Édouard Falony, entered the municipal council, and the debates became more engaged and violent than before. This sometimes made Mayor Audent uncomfortable, as he did not appreciate excessive political quarrels in council meetings.

On December 26, 1903, Jules Audent, affectionately called the "old mayor," considering himself too old to fulfill his mayoral duties with the zeal he had shown before, resigned from his post and bid farewell to the municipal council.

Distinctions

 * Commander of the Order of Leopold;
 * Officer of the Legion of Honour;
 * First Class Civic Cross;
 * Commemorative Medal of the Reign of Leopold II;
 * Special First Class Medal of Mutual Aid.

Legacy
The era of Jules Audent was a period of major works for Charleroi. From several comprehensive plans, public parks, streets, and boulevards equipped with a water and sewage distribution network and lined with elegant houses were developed. In addition to schools, other important buildings were built or completed: construction of a slaughterhouse, a large communal warehouse, a new courthouse in 1880, and a stock exchange in 1893. From 1879 to 1910, the city's population almost doubled, increasing by more than 15,000 people, and about 2,000 houses were built.

Audent is sometimes nicknamed the "Haussmann of Charleroi".

A boulevard in Charleroi, initially called the Central Boulevard, was named after him on May 31, 1889.