[1] It was in response to plans to close the National Workshops, created by the Second Republic in order to provide work and a minimal source of income for the unemployed.

[1] The provisional government of the French Second Republic was declared after the abdication of the king in February, which immediately enacted democratic reforms such as universal male suffrage.

To combat unemployment, the Second Republic funded the National Workshops, which provided jobs and wages, through new taxes applied to landowners.

The invasion was quickly thwarted; however, it sparked fear in conservatives, who had gained majority seats in the constituent assembly.

[3] On 23 June, Comte de Falloux's committee issued a decree stating that the Workshops would be closed in three days, and that although young men could join the army, provincials would have to return home or they could simply be dismissed.

Soon afterwards, the firing having ceased at his request, he appeared on the barricade at the entrance to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, accompanied by M. Albert, of the national guard, who wore the dress of a workingman, and bore a green branch as a sign of peace, and by Tellier, a devoted servant.

[1] Five months following the June Uprising, the French Constitution of 1848 was adopted, handing executive powers to the president with a 4-year term of office, allowing him to appoint Ministers and other high-ranking officials.