Jules Audent was a Belgian politician, lawyer, and board member, part of the Party for Freedom and Progress, born on June 6, 1834, in Charleroi, and died in that city on October 6, 1910.

As mayor, he had to show diplomacy during the "separation of the Faubourg" issue and confront workers who threatened to loot the city during the strikes of March 1886.

Eight times Bar President between 1871 and 1908, Jules Audent left his mark on the judicial life of Charleroi with his strong personality.

[3] As a business lawyer, Jules Audent sat on the board of directors of numerous companies, including the General Savings and Pension Fund, the Iron Works and Forges de la Providence in Marchienne-au-Pont, the Ormont Coal Mines in Châtelet, and the Petit-Try in Lambusart.

[12] During the "separation of the Faubourg" issue, where the majority-working-class inhabitants wanted to establish it as an autonomous municipality, Audent had to show diplomacy and energy to maintain the territorial integrity of Charleroi.

[13][14] During the strikes of March 1886, where social unrest took on the dimensions of general insurrection, and following the events in Liège, Jules Audent requested Joseph d'Ursel, governor of the province of Hainaut, to send a squadron of lancers from Tournai to protect Gilly.

[15] He posted a text strongly urging citizens to stay home, "thus avoiding being victims of reckless curiosity".

[16] General Alfred van der Smissen refused any military assistance to Charleroi, considering the Civic Guard sufficient to defend the city.

[20] Not very open to social problems, he preferred an electoral system based on capacitism over general voting rights.

From several comprehensive plans, public parks, streets, and boulevards equipped with a water and sewage distribution network and lined with elegant houses were developed.

In addition to schools, other important buildings were built or completed: construction of a slaughterhouse, a large communal warehouse, a new courthouse in 1880, and a stock exchange in 1893.