French Republicans under the Restoration
Gradually, the Republicans established themselves as a political force; however, this was disrupted by the assassination of the king's nephew, the Duke of Berry, heir to the throne, on 14 February 1820, which prompted the government to implement repressive measures.
In 1820, confronted with the Restoration's rightward trajectory, Republicans resolved to overthrow the monarchy and planned several insurrections, all of which failed, leading to the exile of key leaders or exemplary trials resulting in capital punishment.
Republicans clandestinely organized a new insurrection and played a pivotal role in the Three Glorious Days; however, Adolphe Thiers and the liberals redirected the revolution to their advantage, resulting in the establishment of a second parliamentary monarchy rather than a republic.
[2] This body enacted legislation by this ideology, including the 1816 law on the exile of regicides, which condemned those who had voted for Louis XVI's death during the Convention to banishment.
[5] Louis XVIII hastily removed symbols inherited from the Revolution (painters and masons were officially tasked with erasing the motto "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" from all villages) and purged the administration by eliminating "men of ill spirit."
Two emblematic figures entered the chamber in 1819: Benjamin Constant, a liberal and principal drafter of the Charter, and Abbé Grégoire, a former revolutionary regicide by letter and consent.
He convened international congresses to severely suppress clandestine nationalist Republican associations and promulgated the Carlsbad Decrees, a sort of precursor to Interpol, to ensure peace and stability.
These concerns were validated by the brief deposition of Spanish King Ferdinand VII, who was deposed by the military with the backing of Italian revolutionary groups due to his reluctance to implement the constitution.
[15] The central government soon discerned the strategy and compelled the proprietors of Le Constitutionnel to disseminate Royal Ordinances against students suspected of a symbolic plot on 14 July 1820, under threat of suppression.
To that end, they established a fund with the assistance of fellow carbonari and imprisoned Freemasons, which was designed to pay fines or ensure the livelihood of the incarcerated person's family.
The most popular song of the era, Le Vieux Drapeau,[31] celebrated revolutionary symbols, including the tricolor flag, which had been abolished since the Bourbons' return to France.
[38] He identified the perpetrators and those who were orchestrating the actions of these young committed Republicans, namely leaders such as La Fayette, Dupont de l'Eure, and a few liberals who had joined the movement.
The revolutionaries' project, designated the "Grand Plan," was to mobilize the population and the army to seize the prefectures and town halls of Alsace and proclaim an "Alsatian Republic".
[42] An unforeseen occurrence undermined this plan: the government, having learned of a general conspiracy in mid-1821, resolved to implement a dragnet of Carbonari militants from the Saumur Cavalry School.
This youthful generation was augmented by three new members: Armand Marrast, an eminent man of letters who would later edit La Tribune des Départements; Étienne Garnier-Pagès, a future great orator of the republican party; and finally Robin Morhéry, who would play a very important role in the revolutions of 1830 and 1848.
The constitutionalists, supporters of Louis-Philippe's ascension to the throne in the wake of Charles X's controversial measures, increasingly felt the weight of the Republicans in public opinion and attempted to rally them to the idea of a constitutional monarchy.
In April 1830, Godefroy Cavaignac declined to propose a toast to the king at a republican banquet organized by the 221 signatories of the address against Polignac, the head of the government at the time.
[71][72] This society permitted the Orleanists to emerge from the shadows, and from its inception, François Guizot assumed a leading role within its central council, which brought together all the future liberal political personnel of the July Monarchy: Thiers, Rémusat, Barrot, Laffite, and Casimir Perier, mingled with young, then unknown students like Auguste Blanqui.
[60] Although the society was Orleanist at its founding, Cavaignac, Carnot, and Bastide pushed the central council to broaden its scope to include outspoken Republicans, of whom they were influential members.
Under the impetus of the Aide-toi society, journalists, typographers, and sympathizers formed numerous opposition networks, mostly in cities where the Republicans had planned an insurrection a few years earlier.
The society denounced the system of official candidacies and the various electoral manipulations of the government while focusing its campaign on three points: the granting of a salary to deputies, a better distribution of constituencies, and the expansion of eligibility criteria (notably in terms of minimum age to favor the republican youth).
[71] Charles X, concerned about the stability of his throne, consulted with the Duke of Orleans regarding his intentions, who responded with the message: "They seek to establish a republic in France and topple the monarchy, but I will not permit it."
[87] This appointment provoked the anger of the leftist press, notably La Tribune, a fervently republican outlet that had been abandoned by the Orleanists in favor of Thiers' National.
[91] Additionally, the Association of Patriots, created in January 1830, promoted the La Fayette conspiracy, which aimed to install the "hero of both worlds" as the president of a potential republic.
[100] Despite the government's lack of resources for its defense, the Orleanists appeared to be prepared to react only through legal channels, as evidenced by the protest text drafted by the liberal newspapers.
Firefighters, coachmen, and cart drivers were warned of the imminent insurrection by young members of the Association of Patriots, while students sabotaged the Chappe telegraph, cutting Paris off from the rest of France.
While liberal journalists initially hesitated, ultimately deciding to publish without authorization,[105] Auguste Blanqui and Armand Marrast gathered students from the Latin Quarter who proceeded to the bridges of Paris and prepared for confrontation.
They opted to attack small police stations to obtain weapons and to set up insurrectionary camps wherever possible, to persuade the population to join the movement.
Thiers and Mignet disseminated placards throughout Paris, advocating for the designation of the Duke of Orleans as sovereign and emphasizing that a republic would isolate France from the monarchist Europe of the time.
The Orleanists then proceeded to exercise their authority, proclaiming Louis-Philippe "lieutenant general of the kingdom," a purely honorary title that permitted the duke to enter Paris.
