Bordeaux Pact

The Bordeaux Pact refers to a proclamation made by Adolphe Thiers on 10 March 1871, establishing an institutional status quo between monarchists and republicans during the early days of the French Third Republic.

Adolphe Thiers sought to avoid deciding the regime's nature until peace with Prussia was secured and postponed the debate to navigate this opposition.

Despite the pact, the regime quickly adopted a parliamentary character, and Thiers clashed with the Assembly as the government moved toward a conservative Republic.

The Rivet decree, passed almost unanimously, named Adolphe Thiers "Head of the Executive Power" of the French Third Republic.

[1] The Rivet law (31 August 1871), the first constitutional act, officially designated Thiers as President of the Republic while stripping him of all executive power.

Le Libérateur du territoire , Jules Garnier , 1878, Musée du Château de Versailles. During the session of 16 June 1877, opposition deputies, contesting the legitimacy of the Cabinet, challenged the Government. In response, the Minister of the Interior, Fourtou, stated, "The men in the Government are drawn from the Assembly elected in 1871, which can be said to have been the pacifier and liberator of the territory." In response, several members of the Assembly stood and pointed to Mr. Thiers: "Here is the liberator of the territory!"