The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal in France during the late 19th century, centering on Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer falsely accused of treason. In 1894, he was convicted based on forged evidence, leading to widespread public outcry and debates about anti-Semitism and injustice in the French military and society. The affair divided France into two camps: the pro-Dreyfusards, who supported Dreyfus and sought to expose the truth, and the anti-Dreyfusards, who defended the military and upheld the conviction. The scandal ultimately highlighted issues of civil rights and the role of the press, culminating in Dreyfus's exoneration in 1906.