Make France Great Again
Chapter 217 The Struggle of the Legislative Assembly

Chapter 217: Chapter 217 The Struggle of the Legislative Assembly

March 5, 1850.

As Thiers had anticipated, the "Social Democratic Party," with nearly 200 seats in the Legislative Assembly, quickly launched an attack on the majority Order Party.

A seat dispute unfolded at the Bourbon Palace on the morning of the fifth, with Speaker Malaste responsible for organizing and maintaining order in the Bourbon Palace and declaring the legal validity of proposals. The one standing on the podium delivering the speech was the representative of the Republican Faction, Lamartine.

"The Legislative Assembly should adhere to the principles of fairness, justice, and transparency... and serve the freedom and democracy of France!" Lamartine, the Romantic School poet, addressed all the members of the Bourbon Palace with his calm tone, "I hope the Legislative Assembly can be an assembly for the entire country and its citizens, not just for a group of people or a political party. If our Legislative Assembly truly becomes the echo of a single party, then the democracy and legal system of France will be gone!"

Lamartine paused and turned his gaze towards the seats of the Order Party.

"Boo!"

"Who does he think he is!"

...

The noise in the Order Party’s camp rose and fell, some Orthodox Faction members showed disdainful expressions and shouted loudly.

One of the leaders of the Orthodox Faction, Montalambre, also looked disapprovingly at Lamartine on the podium and, with a hint of resentment in his voice, asked Thiers, "Senator Thiers, when do you plan to make your move!"

Thiers kept smiling, lowered his voice, and responded slowly, "Don’t be anxious, I said I would strike them down when they think they’ve won completely! Right now, they’re just a bunch of jumping clowns!"

"I hope you won’t make me wait too long!" Montalambre replied lightly, then closed his eyes and stopped speaking.

"Quiet!"

Seeing the Legislative Assembly was about to turn into a market, Speaker Malaste hurriedly knocked on the wooden gavel in his hand to maintain order in the Legislative Assembly.

Under Speaker Malaste’s gavel, members of the Order Faction sat quietly back in their seats.

"Representative Lamartine, what is your proposal?" Speaker Malaste turned his gaze to Lamartine, not believing that Lamartine would say such a long-winded speech for no reason.

"I hope the Legislative Assembly can re-elect the seats lost by the Mountain Party last June!" Lamartine stated his objective, hoping to add 50 seats to his faction.

"Impossible!"

"You’re disrupting the Legislative Assembly!"

...

Some members in the Order Party camp (mostly those who filled the gaps of the Mountain Party members after the June Revolution of 1849) fiercely denounced Lamartine, as they already found the annual Legislative Assembly elections exhausting enough. Now Lamartine wanted a second election for 50 members, which was practically trying to strip the Order Party of everything.

"The Order Party has no right to privately bestow these fifty seats that originally belonged to the Mountain Party!" Facing the challenges of the Order Party, Lamartine retorted without backing down, "We are willing to resort to legal means if necessary!"

"Indeed! Resort to legal means!" Republican Faction members and a few Mountain Party members began to support Lamartine, although they wouldn’t foolishly utter words like "resort to force" as Lederer Roland once did.

"That’s my only request!" Lamartine bowed to Speaker Malaste after finishing his response.

"I understand!" Speaker Malaste nodded to Lamartine to show he understood.

Following this, Lamartine stepped down like a hero, amidst cheers from the Republican Faction and the Mountain Party.

Since Lamartine’s proposal for re-elections in the Legislative Assembly did not require a vote, as long as the Order Party did not express a clear objection, it was deemed approved.

Speaker Malaste turned his gaze to the Order Party, hoping to get a response from them.

The 50 members facing a potential loss of their seats turned their gaze toward Thiers, leader of the Order Party, hoping to hear an opposing opinion from him.

Amidst the eager hopes of some Order Party members, Thiers stood up, went to the podium, and quietly glanced at both Order Party and Republican Faction members, saying, "I agree with Representative Lamartine’s opinion, we should respect the democracy of the Legislative Assembly!"

Thiers’ response not only surprised Order Party members but left Republican Faction members even more astonished at Thiers’ change of attitude.

The Order Party members occupying the Mountain Party’s seats showed dejected expressions, which meant they would have to go through the election process again.

In the solemn announcement by Speaker Malaste, the assembly approved Lamartine’s proposal.

From March 5th to April 20th, the over 50 vacant seats were re-elected.

Members of the "Social Democratic Faction" once again showcased their ability to "draw big pictures," filling the over 50 vacant seats, with the Social Democratic Party winning 45 seats and the Order Party only winning 5.

This reversal greatly boosted the Republican Faction’s confidence, believing that in the next election, they could decisively defeat the Order Party and win a majority of the seats.

While the Republican Faction cheered, the leaders of the Order Party gathered again on Puevert Street to discuss strategies.

"What now? The power of the Republican Faction is almost on par with ours!" Count Morel anxiously asked Thiers.

Although Morel had anticipated that the Republican Faction would seize some seats, he hadn’t expected that they would be able to capture 45 seats all at once.

If no restrictions are imposed, the Republican Faction’s seats might balance with those of the Order Party.

By that time, the Order Party will face the constraints of the Republican Faction in the assembly.

"Don’t worry, their triumph won’t last long!" Thiers still maintained a look of intelligence, turning his gaze to Remiza and saying, "Is my speech ready?"

"Sir, it is ready!" Remiza responded respectfully to Thiers.

"Then let’s show them what we’ve got in the assembly!" Thiers said with determination, then shifted his tone back to cautiousness, "However, we must test the waters first!"

"Test the waters?" Molay and others looked at Thiers in confusion.

"That’s right! We shouldn’t go all out the first time; give the Republicans some time to react! The second time will be our full offensive!"

On April 21, the Legislative Assembly reconvened.

This time, Thiers didn’t make the first move, but instead, in a probing gesture, directed a member of the Order Faction to propose a decree on "restriction of universal suffrage".

As expected by Thiers, the proposal faced overwhelming criticism as soon as it was introduced.

"You are trampling on the Republic’s dignity!" Lamartine fiercely attacked the Order Party member on stage.

The member boldly countered, "Lamartine, I don’t believe those people have the right to vote!"

The entire assembly once again descended into chaos, and not even Speaker Malaste could stop it this time.

The Order Party and the Republican Faction, the two parties occupying 90% of the seats in the Legislative Assembly, accused each other of disrespecting the constitution.

If it weren’t for a small garrison stationed at the assembly responding to the commotion and moving in to protect it, the entire assembly might have turned into a physical brawl.

Seeing the situation about to devolve into chaos, Speaker Malaste hurriedly banged the gavel, yelling at both sides, "Enough! This proposal can be shelved for now!"

Malaste’s shelving of the dispute prevented the Legislative Assembly from further arguments.

However, all members knew that as long as the Order Party didn’t abandon this proposal, the argument would persist.

After the proposal to restrict universal suffrage was shelved, Minister Bifei of Agriculture and Commerce appeared.

Under the direction of Jerome Bonaparte, Minister Bifei presented a decree to the Legislative Assembly to "abolish workers’ right to strike".

The decree met with fierce opposition from the Mountain Room, yet their Republican allies remained silent.

To the Republican Faction, a bourgeoisie party, workers should not have the right to strike.

Ultimately, Bifei’s decree passed with an overwhelming majority.

It could be said to be the only "good news" in the entire Legislative Assembly.

The Legislative Assembly was adjourned under the gavel of Speaker Malaste.

The next morning, news about the "restriction of universal suffrage" appeared in the National Newspaper.

This caught the attention of Victor Hugo, who had been absent from the assembly for quite some time.

[PS: Since the state of martial law in 1849, Victor Hugo, suffering from both emotional and financial troubles, had not participated in voting at the Legislative Assembly for a long time. The constitution of the Second Republic did not explicitly state that members must attend the assembly, so voting often proceeded with incomplete attendance.]

When Juliet (Victor Hugo’s lover) handed the National Newspaper to Victor Hugo, he was painting with coffee. He wiped his hands and took the newspaper to read it carefully.

"Oh! What a disgrace!" Victor Hugo muttered with a frown.

"Why do you have that expression?" Juliet asked Victor Hugo.

Victor Hugo looked up and explained, "The Order Party wants to enact a new law to revoke the voting rights of people who haven’t registered for three years!

For the homeless workers, this is practically impossible!"

"And workers always vote for the Left Wing (meaning the Republican Faction and the Mountain Party)." Juliet replied calmly.

"Right! Think about it!" Victor Hugo said with some resentment in his voice, "For the sake of votes, they’re willing to sacrifice the right to universal suffrage!"

"So, what do you plan to do?" Juliet knew Victor Hugo was likely ready to act again.

"I must stop them!" Victor Hugo replied resolutely.

Seeing this determined guy in front of her, Juliet smiled with relief, knowing that the old Hugo had returned.

"Then you better prepare well!"