Make France Great Again

Fernand Barrow and Barroso quickly placed their resignation letters on Jerome Bonaparte's desk. After Jerome Bonaparte signed his name at the bottom right of the resignation letters, he passed them to the Cabinet Prime Minister Oppel, who also signed his name.

Only then were the resignations of Fernand Barrow and Barroso officially ratified. Naturally, the cabinet changes inevitably stirred up the upper echelons of the civil service. Some senior officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who inclined towards Fernand Barrow temporarily lost their former power, awaiting the arrival of a new patron.

While the outside world speculated on who would take over the positions of Fernand Barrow and Barroso, it was unexpected that Fernand Barrow, who was generally considered to have lost power, was immediately appointed as Attorney General.

This dramatic change left the Order Party, eager for a spectacle, dumbfounded.

However, the position of Minister of Internal Affairs still hadn't been properly arranged for, and many speculated whether Jerome Bonaparte intended to leave this position vacant indefinitely.

For a moment, the entire political scene, from the leaders of the Order Party down to the grassroots civil servants and police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was lively with speculation about the next Minister of Internal Affairs.

As for the instigator of the debates in the Paris political scene, Jerome Bonaparte was sitting on a red velvet cushioned armchair in the third-floor lounge of the Elysee Palace. Beside him were seated the Minister of Public Affairs Percy, the Minister of Railways Mornay, the Minister of Justice Rue, as well as Barroso, who was about to be appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, and Police Chief Kalie.

As a husky among ministers, Police Chief Kalie's heart was somewhat anxious. He didn't understand why the President had specifically called him over.

In terms of administrative level, Kalie was one level below them; in terms of seniority, he could only compare himself to Mornay. However, Mornay was the President's "relative", and he could only count as someone who had clung to the President.

Since he was already seated there, Kalie had no choice but to brace himself and sit through it.

To be able to sit with the ministers was an honor in itself.

At this point, Kalie could only comfort himself this way.

"The reason for calling you all here today is very simple!" Jerome Bonaparte leaned slightly back, one hand resting on the chair's armrest, and said in a casual tone: "Can any of you tell me exactly what the police system in France is all about?"

The ministers present and Kalie were all stunned at once. They didn't understand what Jerome Bonaparte's intentions were.

Jerome Bonaparte still maintained a lazy demeanor. He pointed with his right hand at Kalie and said, "Mr. Kalie, could you tell me what exactly Paris's police is all about?"

Being called out by Jerome Bonaparte, Kalie could only explain to Jerome Bonaparte the formation of the French police system and its professional history.

From the time of Red Chancellor Richelieu to Fouché, the French police system was continuously refined. The police and secret police, discovered down to Fouché, formed a professional department—the Police Department, which was controlled solely by Fouché as the Minister of Police, gradually expanding police powers from dealing with rebellious forces to controlling prices in Paris, all under Fouché's control.

And this massive Police Department could only be managed by Fouché alone. Emperor Napoleon had attempted several times to dismiss Fouché and replace him, but his successors lacked Fouché's capabilities, often resulting in a chaotic mess within the department.

Due to France being in a state of war and needing to break many espionage activities while stabilizing internal prices, Emperor Napoleon had no choice but to recall Fouché. Fouché, as expected, betrayed the Emperor after the defeat at Waterloo.

During the Bourbon Restoration, France gradually stabilized, and the immense power of the Police Department directly influenced the King. Hence, after dismissing Fouché, Louis XVIII replaced him with the extreme Royalist Party, downgrading the Police Department with retained functions, distributing some powers to the Minister of Public Affairs (Public Works Minister) and Minister of Justice.

[At that time, at Louis XVIII's command, the Minister of Justice went to Southern Germany to judge the Bonaparte faction members. Transferring some police powers to the Ministry of Justice facilitated the Ministry of Justice in dealing with the Bonapartists.]

This is the reason for the current intertwining police powers. During Louis Philippe's era, the police system, while remaining largely unchanged, added positions like the "Railway Police".

This odd role only underwent a transformation after Jerome Bonaparte took office as President.

Kalie's explanation didn't differ much from Jerome Bonaparte's understanding, and Jerome Bonaparte nodded in satisfaction, indicating for Kalie to sit down.

Jerome Bonaparte then turned his gaze to the four ministers present: "What do you think?"

By this point, as long as someone wasn't a fool, they could see what Jerome Bonaparte's earlier setup was all about.

Ultimately, it was about redistributing some of their police powers once again.

Minister of Justice Rue delicately said, "Your Majesty, the issue of police powers is indeed a historical leftover issue. We should not leave this problem for later!"

"Indeed!" Mornay also echoed, as the Minister of Railways, he had nothing to do with the police. Since it wasn't dividing his power, why not support the President's decision.

"Percy, what do you think?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Percy kindly, showing that he didn't want to present himself as someone seizing power.

No one understands better than Jerome Bonaparte that with the development of industrialization, the division of labor in various posts becomes increasingly clear. To establish a specialized police force, it is necessary to define the boundaries of each unit clearly; otherwise, power conflicts will affect overall operations.

"I agree with you, President!" Percy also agreed with Jerome Bonaparte's opinion.

Now that the three departments involved in police authority have all agreed with Jerome Bonaparte's opinion, Jerome Bonaparte began to express his thoughts to the ministers present.

"The gendarmerie force, which belongs to the public department, will be reorganized under the military system, and their designation will change to Armed Police! Forest guards and customs officers will detach from the ranks of the judicial police and become subsidiaries of the Ministry of Public Works.

Police commissioners within the judicial police will belong under the Ministry of Justice. These police commissioners only have the authority to report and assist judicial personnel in maintaining court stability, without the power to arrest.

The administrative police will be renamed to Urban Management Enforcement Brigade, responsible for market coordination. The Police Department still needs to be equipped with criminal section police and detective section police who have arrest authority for criminals!

At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs should establish a new department with the capability to respond to sudden fires..." Jerome Bonaparte explained his ideas to the three ministers present.

In short, it means strengthening the police department's power to pursue criminals while appropriately weakening the judicial department's interference in investigation authority.

The power of the gendarmerie, as a semi-military unit, has been incorporated into the military.

Since forest and customs personnel have significant ties to public works, Jerome Bonaparte did not completely dismantle the police power of the Ministry of Public Works but reorganized it.

A team combining the functions of urban management and police of later generations will be born in Jerome Bonaparte's hands.

Upon the release of Jerome Bonaparte's plan, a faint smile appeared on the faces of Barroso and Kalie, as they understood the plan was advantageous to them.

The faces of Rue and Percy did not reveal signs of joy or sorrow.

However, Jerome Bonaparte was sure that giving away power was not a pleasant feeling.

Just like Jerome Bonaparte himself wouldn't selflessly distribute power.

"What do you think?" Already planning to implement this plan similar to later generations, Jerome Bonaparte still presented it as a democratic discussion.

"Your Majesty, would such a large-scale transfer plunge Paris itself into chaos? Those grassroots civil servants might be frightened by the government's actions!" Percy cautiously voiced his opinion.

"I will give you time!" Jerome Bonaparte, who was not lacking in time, raised a finger and said to them, "How about I give you a year! A year should be enough for you to adapt! After one year, I expect to see a refreshed team!"

For Percy and others, a year's time was enough for them to make adjustments.

If Jerome Bonaparte didn't follow up, they could completely act as if nothing happened.

"Of course!" Percy, Rue, and Barroso responded.

"Since you all agree, I'll later pass on the reorganization plan and the matters to which you should pay attention to your departments! I hope you won't let me down! I will inspect your progress from time to time." Jerome Bonaparte displayed a meaningful smile.

As the saying goes, the village deceives the town, the town deceives the county, all the way to the Legislative Court; Jerome Bonaparte did not want to become an object of lower-level bureaucratic manipulation.

Although Jerome Bonaparte would not destroy them physically if they didn't complete their work, sometimes they also need to be given some pressure.

Without pressure, these bureaucrats would consider completing half of the work a major achievement.

The President's smile extinguished the little schemes in Percy and Rue's hearts.

Even if there was a bit of reluctance in their hearts, they didn't have the courage to covertly disobey Jerome Bonaparte.

There were too many "successors" eager to replace them; a slight misstep could directly end their careers on the beach.

"I look forward to your performance!" After a word of encouragement from Jerome Bonaparte, the small meeting regarding police powers was adjourned.

On the third day, personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs arrived from Matignon Palace, and the former Attorney General Barroso was appointed as the Minister of Internal Affairs.