Cécile Carnot


Marie Pauline Cécile Carnot née White was the wife of Marie François Sadi Carnot, the President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894.
She was born in Paris, the daughter of :fr:Charles Brook Dupont-White|Charles Brook Dupont-White and Cécile Olympe Corbie. Her father was an economist. She was married to Marie François Sadi Carnot in 1863.
As first lady, Cécile Carnot devoted a lot of her time to representation in public and entertaining at the Presidential Palace. She hosted three balls annually and arranged garden parties at which she introduced tennis. She regarded representation as an important part in the political career for her spouse. In 1889 she introduced the annual Christmas dinner for poor children, which became a tradition ever since.
She played a political role when she negotiated with Georges Ernest Boulanger, preventing a coup. After her husband's assassination, she lived in seclusion. She had four children, a daughter Claire and three sons, :fr:Lazare-Hippolyte-Sadi Carnot|Sadi, :fr:Ernest Carnot|Ernest, and :fr:François Carnot|François. She died in 1898, aged 57 years.
Poet George Williamson wrote a poem, "To Mme Sadi Carnot, On the Death of her Husband, Late President of France". A variety of rose was named in her memory.