Napoleon built the Empire on the horrors of the Revolution and attracted the wrath of the European royal courts, threatened by revolutionary ideals. The defeat of the Emperor during the Campaign of France marked the end of the Empire in 1814 and the restoration of the Monarchy by Monsieur, brother of Louis XVI, known as Louis XVIII. This one, inheriting an explosive situation, reconciles the Old Regime with the newly acquired freedoms by adding a constitutional charter.
The absolute monarchy in France is no more. But Napoleon's comeback during the Hundred Days (the last period of Napoleon's reign) and the king's exile tarnished the image of royalty. Louis XVIII reestablished the Restoration following the defeat at Waterloo and the definitive exile of Napoleon in 1815, but was weakened by his image as a fugitive following his exile. The ultra royalists are becoming more and more powerful with the Count of Artois. On the death of Louis XVIII in 1824, the latter took power and was baptized Charles X. He was at the head of the royalist ultras and suppressed the newly acquired freedoms. These repressions engender an insurrection. Les Trois Glorieuses, which stretched over three days, July 27, 28 and 29, 1830, therefore overthrew the power in place. Charles X abdicated on August 2 and was forced into exile.
1830-1848
Characters
Charles X
Francois Guizot
Jacques Laffitte
Louis Philippe d'Orléans known as Louis Philippe 1er
Casimir Périer
Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Adolphe Thiers
Procedure
Called by the Chamber of Deputies, of which Adolphe Thiers is a member, Louis Philippe d'Orléans, cousin of Charles X, therefore ascends to the throne. This Constitutional Monarchy, known as July, opts for a moderate government. The tricolor is definitely adopted from the white of the Restoration, and Louis Philippe 1 st becomes king of the French and no longer king of France (meaning all French). The cens (tax), which is the basis of the vote, is lowered. This monarchy becomes that of the liberal bourgeoisie, which has economic power and can vote.
But the gaps widen between the different social classes, and the revolt rumbles (revolt in Lyon of the Canuts, massacre of the rue Transnonain). In 1840, the government led by Adolphe Thiers was forced to resign, replaced by the Soult ministry. The king then surrounds himself with politicians Casimir Périer, Jacques Laffitte and François Guizot, whom the people consider more conservative. Tempers are heating up as the economic situation is difficult, unemployment is rising and wages are falling. The Republicans then organized banquets from 1847 and, around these meetings, wished to modify the regime and in particular to abolish the property tax suffrage in favor of the universal. Guizot, who became President of the Council in 1847, had the banquet of February 14, 1848 banned. On the 22nd, the crowd expressed its dissatisfaction. Although the king dismissed Guizot, the revolt gained momentum and turned into a veritable revolution, known as February 1848. The king abdicated on February 24, 1848 and went into exile in England, thus signing the end of the Monarchy.
Consequences
The failure of the July Monarchy definitively confirms the power of the monarchy in France and leads to the foundation of the Second th Republic.