The Panama scandals (also known as the Panama Canal Scandal or Panama Affair) was a corruption affair that broke out in the French Third Republic in 1892, linked to a French company's failed attempt at constructing a Panama Canal. Close to half a billion francs were lost and members of the French government had taken bribes to keep quiet about the Panama Canal Company's financial troubles in what is regarded as the largest monetary corruption scandal of the 19th century.
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Panama scandals in the context of Marie François Sadi Carnot
Marie François Sadi Carnot (French: [maʁi fʁɑ̃swa sadi kaʁno]; 11 August 1837 – 25 June 1894) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894.
His presidency was marked by a series of poorly handled crises. General Boulanger's rapid rise and failed attempt to march on the Élysée in 1889 posed the first serious threat to the Republic during Carnot's term. Then came a series of ministerial crises, financial scandals, labour turmoil, anarchist violence, and finally Carnot's own assassination in 1894. The Panama scandals, involving bribes to parliamentarians, resulted in major financial losses and deeply embarrassed those involved. The extreme right-wing newspaper La Libre Parole, run by anti-Semitic publicist Édouard Drumont, escalated intolerance towards Third Republic politics.
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