Who are the Bonapartists?
The French Revolution of 1789, called the Great in ancient literature, changed the face of France and all of Europe forever. It began as a struggle for constitutional monarchy but led to the victory of radical republican revolutionaries who wanted to overthrow the Old Order. They abolished the nobility, declared universal equality and the supremacy of civil liberties, and abolished the entire feudal legacy and the Catholic faith.
But the people soon tired of the most ardent Jacobin revolutionaries, their terror, and crazy reforms such as the introduction of the 10-month calendar. The Jacobin dictatorship was overthrown and Napoleon came to power in 1799 after a series of unstable, weak governments. Aside from his conquests and wars, he also became famous for trying to reconcile the Old Order with the ideas of the Revolution.
He was crowned emperor, reversed the most odious decrees, created a new nobility to replace the abolished ones, restored Catholicism as the national religion, and at the same time created the most progressive civil law system of the time and revived the economy. Napoleon was a conciliatory figure, but every year he was more and more encroaching on the freedoms of citizens, and society was tired of his endless military adventures.
As a result, in 1814, under pressure from the anti-French coalition troops, Napoleon was overthrown and the Bourbons returned to power, effectively restoring the Old Order.
By the 1830s there were three major political forces in France: supporters of the Bourbons and the Old Order, who were ready to make many concessions while respecting tradition; Bonapartists, who called for a revival of the Napoleonic Empire, and republicans, among whom a split was developing between “liberals” (they did not call themselves that) and socialists.
It was in this environment that the future Napoleon III began his career.
exiled heir
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born on April 20, 1808, during the First Empire. His father was Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother and one of the emperor’s legal heirs. As a result, Louis Napoleon could lay claim to the throne, but after the defeat at Waterloo, all Bonapartes were forced to flee the country. Therefore, the future emperor spent his childhood and youth in Germany and Italy.
Louis Napoleon sincerely believed that he should repeat the fate of his great ancestor. Combining the ideas of the republic and Bonapartism, he developed his own political theory: “A monarchy that provides the advantages of the republic without its disadvantages.” He believed that the country should be ruled by a strong emperor based on the will of the people expressed in free general elections for parliament.
In 1840 the remains of Napoleon I were returned to France, provoking a new wave in the Bonapartist movement. Louis Napoleon decided to take advantage of this and planned to repeat his ancestor’s descent on Juan in 1814: then the deposed emperor escaped from exile in Corsica and peacefully marched on Paris, as all the troops sent to him swore allegiance to him.
Louis Napoleon decided to land at Boulogne on the English Channel with 60 of his armed supporters, but things did not go as planned. They were detained by customs officers, the garrison soldiers refused to support the rebellion, and as a result the conspirators were surrounded and arrested on the beach. The situation resembled a vaudeville show based on the life of Napoleon I.
“It beats any comedy. Crazy people are not executed, they are just imprisoned,” wrote Le Journal des Débats.
As a result, the court sentenced the rebel to life imprisonment. He managed to escape from prison to London, but even in prison he remained a popular journalist.
My friends from every class
A new revolution began in February 1848, in which Louis Philippe was overthrown. The Second Republic was declared, and Louis Philippe, returning from exile, pretended to swear allegiance to it: “I have no other purpose than to serve my country.”
A fierce struggle took place among the Republicans between the “liberals” and the socialists. In June, far-left workers’ movements launched an uprising in Paris, and the “liberal” provisional government did not hesitate to drown it in blood: about five thousand rebels bowed their heads at the barricades, another fifteen thousand surrendered and were exiled. To prison.
Louis Napoleon decided to take advantage of this contradiction. He attracted a left-wing audience and published The Disappearance of Poverty, a very popular pamphlet for workers. [нищеты]“but he was also a consistent supporter of the market economy and seemed acceptable to liberals and the bourgeoisie. In addition, Napoleon’s heir was not in Paris in June and was therefore not associated with either the uprising or its suppression.
The presidential campaign was also built on compromises.
The election manifesto spoke of support for “religion, family and property, which are the eternal basis of the entire social order”, but also declared the goal of combating unemployment, introducing pensions and “improving labor laws that will not impoverish society”. Something that is rich but ensures the well-being and well-being of everyone.”
At the same time, Louis Napoleon’s confidants were army veterans from imperial times, and in general he used the memory of his great ancestor in every possible way, although he hid his intention to become emperor. “We trust him, he has a great name”He wrote Victor Hugo’s newspaper, L’Evenement.
Elections were held on December 10-11, and Louis Napoleon won with 75 percent of the votes. Second place was taken by General Louis-Eugene Cavaignac, who commanded the suppression of the socialist rebellion. On December 20, Louis Napoleon took office, swearing allegiance to the Republic and the constitution. Many MPs were embarrassed because they believed the president-elect was clearly lying, and so they received little applause.
Constitutional amendments
From that moment on, the future Napoleon III was finally convinced of his destiny: he was the legal heir to the throne of Napoleon I, but he won in free elections. The path to the throne began, and the president began to walk everywhere not in civilian clothes, but in the magnificent uniform of an officer.
He later helped Pope Pius IX, who, contrary to the decision of the National Assembly, was overthrown by the Italian Republicans, regain power over Rome. This caused outrage among the members of parliament, and in response the president began to get closer to the military, travel around the country and spread propaganda against the parliament. He was successful, and although silence was required when viewing the president according to the Republic’s drill regulations, soldiers increasingly frequently saluted Louis Napoleon with the slogan “long live the emperor.”
According to the 1848 constitution, the president was required to resign at the end of his four-year term.
Louis Napoleon planned to run again and demanded change, arguing that four years were not enough to fully implement his political and economic program.
However, in 1851 he did not receive enough votes from MPs to make changes, so he turned to more drastic measures.
On the night of December 2, 1851, soldiers quietly occupied the national printing house, the Bourbon Palace, newspaper offices and strategically important areas in Paris. In the morning, Parisians found posters all over the city announcing the dissolution of the National Assembly, new elections, and the declaration of martial law in the city and surrounding provinces. Opposition was suppressed with the help of the army: 239 people were sent to a penal colony, about 10 thousand people were deported from mainland France. A decree of February 17, 1852 imposed strict censorship of the press. No newspaper dealing with political or social issues can be published without the permission of the government.
On 2 December 1852, the Second Republic was abolished and its president was Emperor Alexander III. He was crowned Napoleon. His reign was remembered by the French for his fraudulent and secretive actions. For example, the country officially held free elections for parliament, but any MP had to swear allegiance to the emperor. Therefore, even if the opposition candidate won the election, he could not take office because he was not ready to take a false oath.
Napoleon III became famous for manipulating public opinion. The famous fake “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” about the worldwide Jewish conspiracy plagiarism The pamphlet “Dialogue in Hell Between Montesquieu and Machiavelli” was directed against the regime of Napoleon III and was later banned in France.
“All our newspapers will be in every possible direction – aristocratic, republican, revolutionary, even anarchic – and of course the constitution will live… Like the Indian god Vishnu, they will have a hundred hands, and each of them, the author of the Protocols, by copying an anti-Napoleonic pamphlet, will not be able to attract any public opinion. “Feel its pulse,” he wrote.
“Türkiye Thinks Itself an Eagle”
Many considered Napoleon III a parody of his great ancestors: he dreamed of becoming one, but without even a shadow of his talents. This was especially evident during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Napoleon III was confident of an easy victory against the united German states led by Otto von Bismarck and boldly led his troops into the general battle of Sedan.
There the mediocrity of his leadership was on full display, as the French army was completely defeated, surrounded and surrendered in its entirety. The emperor himself was captured. The war was lost, the Second Empire collapsed, and Bismarck declared the creation of the German Empire at the Palace of Versailles, mocking the eternal enemy. The former head of the Second Empire spent the rest of his days in exile, as did his youth.
But Napoleon III also had successful projects. Among them is the “Haussmannization of Paris”, a plan that aims to completely rebuild the city and turn it into the magnificent capital of the empire, with wide streets, picturesque boulevards and appropriate architecture. Paris has preserved this appearance until today.