90 Years After His Death, France to Posthumously Promote Alfred Dreyfus to General

In a landmark move aimed at correcting a historical wrong, France’s National Assembly Defense Committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday to posthumously promote Captain Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general.

The initiative, introduced by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, will go to a full parliamentary vote on June 2, and could pave the way for Dreyfus to be honored in the Panthéon, the nation’s most prestigious memorial site.

A Symbol of Antisemitic Injustice

Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, was wrongfully convicted of treason in 1894, following a fabricated case fueled by antisemitic motives. He was sentenced to life on Devil’s Island, enduring five years of exile and humiliation before being fully exonerated by France’s Supreme Court in 1906.

He returned to military service and later served in World War I, but the scars of the injustice remained. He died in 1935, and his name has since become a global symbol of antisemitism, false conviction, and the fight for justice.

“He Would Have Been a General”

The bill’s sponsors noted that the five-year sentence “irreversibly damaged Dreyfus’ military career,” and that had he not been falsely accused, he would likely have reached senior command.

The French Embassy in Israel issued a statement applauding the move:

Panthéon Next?

French historian Philippe Oriol, an expert on the Dreyfus Affair, called the promotion a “powerful symbolic act,” while emphasizing that “the aim is to honor a man—not merely a moment in history.”

Dreyfus’ grandson, Charles Dreyfus, said the gesture was long overdue: