On 21 April 1887 the French
Havas news agency published a dispatch to the effect that Schnaebelé, a mid-level and obscure French police inspector, had been arrested by two agents of the German secret police on the Franco-German frontier near
Pagny-sur-Moselle as he was on his way to Ars an der Mosel (now
Ars-sur-Moselle) for a meeting with the German police inspector there, at the latter's request. A dispute followed as to whether the arrest had taken place on French or German territory (see "Account of incident" below); but regardless, the French claimed that under the circumstances Schnaebelé was entitled to immunity even if on German territory since he had been invited to a conference by German officials. The reason given by the German authorities for the arrest was that in a previous inquiry into charges of treasonable practices against a number of
Alsatians, evidence had been produced that Schnaebelé had been involved in transmitting to Paris information as to German fortresses, furnished by Alsatians in the pay of the French Government, and that an order had been issued to arrest him if ever he should be found on German soil. In other words, the Germans believed Schnaebelé to be a spy. Thus ended the Schnaebelé incident. The week-long incident, between 21 and 28 April, generated such threatening and provocative language from both sides as to cause serious concern of war. A large section of the German press demanded that Germany make no concession. In France, the Cabinet voted 6 to 5 against an ultimatum demanding the release of Schnaebelé with an apology, which would almost certainly have meant war, as had happened with the
Ems Dispatch in 1870. The proposed ultimatum had been put forward by French war hawk and Minister of War
Georges Ernest Boulanger, who also brought in a bill to mobilise an army corps. After Schnaebelé's release and Bismarck's letter, many in the French public thought Bismarck backed down because he was afraid of Boulanger, For this and other reasons, on 7 July 1887 Boulanger was released as Minister of War and dispatched by the government to a provincial post to be hopefully forgotten, but not before admiring throngs tried to stop his train from leaving Paris: loyal to his military orders, he was smuggled out in a
switch engine. that Bismarck brought about the incident intentionally (for reasons explained below); that
Czar Alexander III, made apprehensive for the peace of Europe, wrote an autographic letter to William I in regard to the matter, and that the Kaiser, going over the head of his chancellor Bismarck, ordered the release of Schnaebelé. Several French politicians at the time suspected the incident of being a calculated experiment by Bismarck to gauge the depth of the anti-German feeling in
France, a means of testing, by an incident, which could be closed at any time by a mere apology, without any shock to German national dignity, whether Boulanger had a sufficient following in public opinion to make Boulangism a real danger to peace. and it has occasionally been speculated that it was necessary to inflame the menace of war to justify these new taxes. However, the Army Bill was passed on 11 March, three weeks before Schnaebelé crossed the border. Bismarck might have been trying to agitate conflict with France before Germany's treaty of neutrality with Russia expired that year (signed in 1881 and renewed in 1884) – Germany knew from experience that it could not afford a war with France without a neutral or allied
Russia. Modern (1989) research suggests a simpler explanation. Schnaebelé was, in fact, engaged in espionage, working under the express request of Boulanger.
Account According to one account, the incident occurred as follows: It was a cool day and Schnaebelé was wearing a coat and top hat. He walked briskly on the road leading from
Nancy (France) to
Metz (then in
Lothringen, German Empire). The road is deserted. To his left are two French brothers working in a vineyard. To his right are a number of German railroad workers out of sight, but within earshot. Gautsch, his German colleague of
Ars an der Mosel who he is supposed to meet, is not in sight. Schnaebelé wonders if Gautsch has reneged on the meeting. Schnaebelé is waiting impatiently, a few steps from the German side. Suddenly, a man in a gray blouse appears from the German side, hails Schnaebelé, then rushes at him, trying to lead him into Germany. Schnaebelé successfully resists but then a second man in a gray blouse appears. Returning a few steps into French territory, Schnaebelé exclaims (in German): "What do you want from me? I'm Guillaume Schnaebele Commissioner Special Pagny. I am here at home! This is the border." His two attackers do not listen and continue to grapple him across the border. The two French farmers do not intervene, but the six German rail workers on hearing the cries for help come into view. But what they see deters action: the two assailants remove their blouses and are shown to be wearing uniforms of the German police. Everything is then perfectly clear. They handcuff Schnaebelé by the wrist and lead him on foot to the village of Novéant and then by train to Metz. There he is thrown into prison and held incommunicado. ==Legacy==