The French National Assembly has voted unanimously to promote Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general. Dreyfus was the Jewish army captain arrested in 1894 on false espionage charges — passing military secrets to the Germans — that were a reflection of virulent antisemitism in the French military. Dreyfus had been publicly stripped of his rank and sentenced to life in prison.

He was sent to Devil’s Island in 1895. Released from Devil’s Island after five years, he lived in a state of house arrest for several years before being officially exonerated in 1906.

The Senate must still vote for the bill to become law, but it is expected to pass with a large majority.