Make France Great Again

"Rastigne? Interesting!"

Jerome Bonaparte at the Elysee Palace sat with his legs crossed, curiously flipping through the newspaper in his hands.

"Sir, should we deal with this fellow..." Valerovsky asked Jerome Bonaparte, worried that the content of the newspaper might be exploited by someone with ulterior motives.

At the end of the article, Rastigne had already hinted that the President might launch a coup, which undoubtedly exposed the Bonaparte Faction, who hadn't staged a coup, to the public eye.

Jerome Bonaparte adjusted his chair to face Valerovsky, placed the newspaper on the desk, and said with a smile, "Since last year, there have been all sorts of rumors that we're planning a coup, yet here we still are. Some things, if repeated too often, become tiresome. If the wolf really comes, those people might stop calling out."

Jerome Bonaparte paused, adjusted his wrinkled collar, and continued, "However, Rastigne's article is sharp; he masterfully handles contradictions in his writing! By establishing opposing viewpoints and leaving the judgment to the readers, as long as the subject is lively, there's no worry about a lack of subscribers."

Jerome Bonaparte praised this new member of Paris society. For a 19th-century journalist, the quickest way to knock on the door of high society is to publish articles and then spread your fame, thus receiving olive branches from the upper class.

As for the sturdiness of the olive branch, it depends on who extended it to him.

Plenty of people have been kicked out of high society for choosing the wrong side.

Even taking the olive branch doesn't mean truly entering high society; one must maintain their reputation to be recognized by more people until gaining enough public acknowledgment to enter high society under the guidance of a 'patron.'

"Sir, what do you mean?" Valerovsky asked Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte smiled, joined his index and middle fingers together, and gently tapped the author's name: "I've decided to give this person a chance! Tell my sister Mathilde that she can invite him to the next literary salon!"

At the Elysee Palace, Jerome Bonaparte managed political affairs, while Mathilde was responsible for the literary figures.

One could say Mathilde was the literary "emperor" of the Elysee Palace, and Parisian writers considered it an honor to be invited by Mathilde.

Since there was no specific faction division in the literary world, Mathilde inevitably invited some writers inclined towards the Mountain Faction and the Republican Faction, which Jerome Bonaparte turned a blind eye to.

He was quite lenient with the literary world; as long as no one openly insulted him in writing, he could laugh it off.

Of course, Dr. Ma, across the Channel, was an exception. He was the only one who could enjoy criticizing Jerome Bonaparte while also receiving his stipend, a unique honor.

More critically, Dr. Ma himself didn't know he was receiving Jerome Bonaparte's stipend.

According to Marcel Yale's report, that stipend successfully alleviated Dr. Ma's predicament, allowing him to enjoy a grand house even after being conned by a heartless British landlord.

Historically, Dr. Ma had spent lavishly upon arriving in Britain and was subsequently conned by a heartless landlord, forcing him to move from a large house to a small, shabby one. His young child died during that period.

Until Engels inherited his family business and subsidized Dr. Ma, his situation didn't improve.

The topic strayed too far.

"Yes!" Valerovsky understood.

Rastigne was unaware that his fate had already been set by Jerome Bonaparte of the Elysee Palace.

Rastigne's "exposure" only briefly worried the Parisian public and the Order Party members.

With the publication of an article titled "Bonaparte and Democracy" in the Bonaparte Newspaper, the tense atmosphere dissipated once again.

Signed by Jerome Bonaparte, the article outlined his ideas of class cooperation and his commitment to supporting the Republic.

The Parisian public once again believed in this usurper of the nation.

In late July, Paris's temperature rose once more, even exceeding the previous two years' heat.

The scorching sun shone on every corner of Paris; every shaded spot, under the shade of trees or the shadows of buildings, was packed with people.

In such weather, not to mention workers, even the legislators, who earned 50 francs a day, were unwilling to go to the Bourbon Palace.

The number of Bourbon Palace legislators decreased from 680 in mid-July to 500.

Among them were 322 from the Order Faction (Bourbon, Orleans, Bonaparte, Moderate Republican Party) and 178 from the Mountain and Republican Factions.

If not for the upcoming recess of the Assembly, there would probably be even fewer going to the Bourbon Palace.

On July 28, three days before the Legislative Assembly's recess,

The Legislative Committee announced that Malaste would no longer serve as Speaker, with his duties to be taken over by Speaker Du Ban.

The Mountain Faction and the Republican Faction expressed fierce opposition to this.

Although Speaker Marast did not provide substantial assistance to the "Social Democratic Faction" in the past two years, he at least maintained an impartial stance.

Replacing Speaker Marast, a member of the Republican Faction, with a member of the Royalist Party is a blatant declaration that the sacred Legislative Assembly is about to become a Royalist Party assembly.

As both sides were deadlocked, Thiers proposed using votes to decide the dismissal.

The most ridiculous scene since the Republic's establishment played out in the sacred Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Marast forced a smile and struck the wooden gavel: "Now we vote on whether Marast continues as Speaker!"

The majority of votes from the Order Party were in favor, while the Mountain Faction and Republican Faction voted completely against.

The assembly agreed to the dismissal with a relative advantage of 278 to 222.

Speaker Marast used the votes to veto himself.

After the resolution was formed, Speaker Marast solemnly walked down from the speaker's seat he had occupied for almost two years and returned to the podium.

"I'm grateful that you gave me the opportunity to serve as Speaker for nearly two years. During my tenure, many things happened... We shared the journey, we forged ahead... May you continue to uphold the democratic spirit of France!" Former Speaker Marast said emotionally to each member present: "Long live France, long live democracy!"

The Republican Faction and Mountain Faction rose together and shouted loudly, "Long live France, long live democracy!"

Although they were few in number, their voices were enough to shake the entire Bourbon Palace.

Marast stepped down amidst the cheers of the Mountain Faction and Republican Faction; when he reached the Order Party's side, he smiled and nodded at Thiers.

Thiers returned the smile to Marast.

In the end, it was just a confrontation within power, stepping down meant reconciliation.

Compared to Thiers and Marast's "smiles of forgiveness," the Bourbon Faction within the Order Party showed disdain, considering it mere barking from a group.

Marast returned to the Republican Faction's ranks, as Duban from the Order Party rose to stand.

Under the unanimous welcome of the Order Party, Congressman Duban... no, Speaker Duban stood on the podium.

"Thank you all for trusting me and entrusting me with this position! I will not disappoint and will let morality and order revitalize in the Bourbon Palace!" Congressman Duban said excitedly, expressing politically incorrect views.

The Republican Faction and Mountain Faction watched the Order Party's side with resentment.

Thiers stood up to applause, and the members of the Order Party also stood to encourage the arrival of Speaker Duban.

Speaker Duban sat on the chairman's desk of the Order Party and lightly tapped the wooden gavel three times, signifying the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly.

On July 30th, the Bourbon Palace convened the assembly once more.

The new Speaker Duban presided over the meeting. At the beginning of the session, Speaker Duban dropped a bombshell to shake the Legislative Assembly.

"To better implement democratic policies, I propose that the assembly should be equipped with a certain military power! The assembly should establish its own subordinate force!" Duban announced, following Thiers' instruction.

The Republican Faction, Mountain Faction, and even Elysée Palace Faction members instantly changed their expressions.

Especially the members of the Elysée Palace Faction, having experienced internal power struggles within the Order Party, they understood that they were not capable of contending with the Order Party majority in the Legislative Assembly. Their leverage was the President's executive power, the core of which was the military's support.

If the assembly established its own military, then the power of the Ministry of War would be significantly weakened, resulting in divided military power, which would be unfavorable for them.

Opposition suppressed by Renio and Saint Arno might arise from the ashes.

"I disagree!" An Elysée Palace member stood up to oppose, "Our military exists to uphold democracy, and there is no need to establish a subordinate force. If the Legislative Assembly does set up a subordinate force, then who should have command over this force?"

"Naturally, all members of the assembly!" Speaker Duban immediately responded.

"What about the President?" The Elysée Palace member argued, "Doesn't the assembly trust the President chosen by all the French people?"

Having said this, the Elysée Palace Faction member scanned the Order Party colleagues around them.

These damned fellows had completely disregarded the previous "revolutionary" friendship, aiming to destroy them. The member stated loudly: "The President, as the highest military commander of this country, holds complete authority over the military! Was this proposal approved by the President?"