Challenges of an emerging republic on the morning of
4 September 1870, painting by
Jacques Guiaud and
Jules Didier. On 4 September 1870, in the ruins of the
Second French Empire defeated by Prussia, the
Republic was declared. To contain the uprising and prevent a revolutionary government,
Republican deputies agreed to form the
Government of National Defense. A series of military disasters and the people's suffering during the
Siege of Paris eventually brought down the cabinet despite
Léon Gambetta's determination. in 1871. After the monarchists' sweeping victory in the
1871 legislative elections on 8 February 1871,
Adolphe Thiers was named "Head of the Executive Power of the French Republic," pending the
peace agreement and the restoration of order. A former
Orleanist, Thiers viewed the Republic as the only regime capable of maintaining the established order, given the discredit of competing royalist factions. Conversely, the monarchist majority in the
National Assembly aimed solely at
restoration, with their relationship with the head of state resting on the
Bordeaux Pact, a declaration in which Thiers affirmed the institutional status quo and promised to consult the deputies before taking any initiative: "Monarchists, Republicans, neither of you will be deceived". Under the leadership of the head of state, who officially received the title of
President of the French Republic following the
Rivet law on 31 August 1871, the regime gradually moved towards conservative republicanism. In fact, monarchists, awaiting a claimant to the throne, avoided drafting a definitive constitution, and the provisional institutions evolved slowly, while Republicans gained ground in each by-election.
Break between Thiers and monarchists depicted as an
oenologist preparing the "1872 wine," symbolizing his attempt at political consolidation. Caricature by
André Gill in ''
L'Éclipse'', 22 September 1872. Parliamentary confidence in the head of state waned as Thiers distanced himself from any prospect of monarchist restoration. On 13 November 1872, his speech to the Assembly provoked royalist indignation and hostility: "The Republic exists, it is the legal government; desiring otherwise would be a revolution. […] It will be conservative, or it will not be". The balance broke on 27 April 1873, when
Charles de Rémusat, Thiers' foreign minister, lost a by-election in Paris to
Désiré Barodet, a radical mayor of
Lyon supported by
Léon Gambetta. Monarchists blamed this radical surge on the head of state. The Assembly, led by Duke
Albert de Broglie, united royalist factions and harshly criticized Thiers, who, unable to respond due to procedural rules, resigned on 24 May 1873. == History ==