Make France Great Again

For the sake of all his colleagues' interests in the Ministry of Railways, Mornay had to firmly reject Thiers' request to review the Ministry's accounts.

No one in the Legislative Assembly present was a fool. Just looking at the Ministry's real estate, clubs, and leisure facilities acquired over the years could give a rough understanding of the internal accounts of the Ministry of Railways.

But the members of the Legislative Assembly simply didn't want to stir up a hornet's nest.

The Ministry of Railways was indeed not clean, but were they clean themselves?

If the big stick of a corruption investigation were to come down, eight or nine out of ten legislators would be killed by it themselves.

During the period of the Third Republic, there was one persistent young hothead who kept pushing for investigating corruption while in opposition, causing several consecutive cabinets to be brought down by him on charges of corruption, thus earning the nickname of a cabinet-toppling expert.

Because of this, he made many enemies, and when the "Panama Canal" scandal broke out, the then cabinet collapsed once again. However, this time he was incriminated by allegations of friendship with one of the scandal's culprits.

Caught by the opposition, he quickly suffered a downfall.

The Parisians, once led by him, were now rallied against him by the opposition.

When a dragon slayer becomes an evil dragon, the people of Paris care not what the dragon slayer once did.

This young hothead failed in the next cabinet election due to the corruption scandal.

Dejected, he stepped down, and when he returned once more like lightning, his sharpness had been worn down, and his way of dealing with people had become more smooth and tactful.

Under his leadership, France defeated Germany to become the victor of World War I.

This person was Georges Clemenceau.

People within a system would never disrupt it unless absolutely necessary; discussing certain issues in the Legislative Assembly and trying to solve problems within the framework was the norm in the 19th century.

Under elite politics, commoners only had the power to make forced choices.

Even a party like the Republican Faction would only promise real freedom during elections.

When the masses truly wanted freedom, especially the freedom to strike,

the Republican Faction would tear away the mask of hypocrisy and brutally suppress the workers.

If Britain's riot control means are special police, then France's traditional riot control means are the use of the army.

Georges Clemenceau (yes, him again), who once supported the Paris Commune as a left-winger, during his tenure as Minister of Internal Affairs, happened upon a workers' strike. To quickly restore order, he decisively deployed the army to suppress the workers.

The so-called universal suffrage system before World War I was, after all, just a toy to fool people.

Once the elite class reached a consensus, they could suppress the grassroots proletariat with no burden.

Mornay's firmness forced Thiers to retreat; some of the elite class's consensus could not be dismantled in his hands.

However, Thiers' words also made Mornay take a slight step back, and he assured the legislators present: "These bonds will be paid off in a few years! According to the calculations of the finance department, once the railway is fully operational, it will achieve an annual profit growth rate of 10%!"

Mornay's words slightly reassured the legislators present, even if halved, it would still be about 5% annually.

France's national debt annual interest rate was only around 4%, and railway bonds were naturally supposed to surpass public debt, probably, should be repayable.

No legislator present knew that the only profitable part of the railways was the main lines connecting major cities; most of the branch lines were money-losing ventures.

Yet their President, Jerome Bonaparte, was ambitiously seeking to build a comprehensive railway network, a guaranteed money-losing venture for which all the people of France would have to foot the bill.

By the way, Mornay had issued nearly five billion francs worth of railway bonds within two years, the total amount of which accounted for one-third of the entire French finances.

If not for the Ministry of Railways' bonds being part of an opaque institution, Mornay would have every reason to believe that such a massive number of bonds would be enough to scare off any member of parliament.

The debt is opaque, the financial statements are misleading, and bonds are issued to the public from time to time, leading Jerome Bonaparte to sometimes wonder if the finances of France and the "Eastern Roman" Empire come from the same master.

After resolving the issue of the Ministry of Railways' bonds in an almost deceptive manner, Mornay gave his final report: "In the next five years, the Ministry of Railways will build primary railways connecting France's major cities, as well as some secondary railways… Striving to exceed a total railway length of 9,000 kilometers by 1856!"

Mornay's words caused a change in expression among the "Social Democratic Faction" members, as they understood Mornay's implications.

Before the members could question, Mornay bowed to the Legislative Assembly members and left.

Next, Bi Fei, the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, expressed his report. Having served as a minister for two years, Bi Fei had already developed an adept ability to adapt. He first reported to the Legislative Assembly on the construction of water conservancy and land reclamation, then presented a request to establish agricultural schools and proposed new types of cooperatives.

For a France with a long-standing agricultural tradition, the development of agriculture is undoubtedly the most crucial aspect.

Even the Legislative Assembly members who criticize the government's fiscal misuse would not criticize Bi Fei in this regard.

However, many members still had criticisms regarding the issue of agricultural cooperatives.

Some members of the Republican Faction and the Order Faction believed that the agricultural cooperatives Bi Fei mentioned would lead France into the "hell of utopian socialism."

Bi Fei had to exhaust himself explaining that the function of new agricultural cooperatives was to give farmers more capital and facilitate exchanges with urban areas.

"Our nation has the largest rural workforce in Europe (excluding Russia here). According to statistics, there are approximately 2.8 to 3 million small land operations between 1 to 10 hectares, accounting for three-quarters of total operation units, yet they only hold one-quarter of the land. Operations between 10 to 40 hectares account for 20% of units with 30% of the land, and there are about 162,000 large landowners with over 40 hectares, making up 4% of operation units, but covering 45% of the land!

France should realistically ensure the profitability of the agricultural population. Our focus should not only be on those large landowners, but we should also pay a lot of attention to small landowners who toil endlessly. We are establishing agricultural schools, creating agricultural lectures, guiding dispersed small landowners to set up new cooperative institutions. I propose that Paris should establish an agricultural mutual credit bank to genuinely seek welfare for the agricultural population…"

Bi Fei passionately presented his views to the Legislative Assembly members.

Despite many of these views being plagiarized from Physiocratic experts, and some even being utopian socialist ideas, he still received applause from the Legislative Assembly members.

No one would oppose something so politically correct.

"We must understand that poverty does not belong to the Republic, nor does equality! France should forge its own path. Our agricultural environment differs from Britain's; we should establish a set of agricultural policies that fit our national conditions! Moreover, we need to develop a modern industrial route that aligns with our national reality, creating a strong European power with modern agriculture and industry running parallel."

Bi Fei made his final conclusion with impassioned words, receiving rounds of applause as he stepped down.

After Bi Fei's report, the following ministers each made brief reports to the Legislative Assembly.

The "Social Democratic Faction" members did not treat these ministers with the same hostility as Mornay, nor did they receive rounds of applause like Bi Fei.

After smoothly dealing with a few ministers, Prime Minister Oppel of the French Republic made the final summary speech.

From November 1849 to November 1850, the French Republic generated 1.643 billion francs in tax revenue, with expenditures of 1.68 billion francs, roughly a 100 million franc increase in fiscal growth compared to 1849. The financial statements show that the French finances are gradually moving toward prosperity—the economic downturn following the 1848 Great Revolution is fading. However, the expenditure in 1850 was nearly 100 million francs.

The largest expenditure was administrative expenses, with nearly 500,000 civil servants across France, plus members of parliament, accounting for nearly 600 million francs in administrative costs.

[According to the government's estimates, France still needs to add about 200,000 civil servants to maintain the top-down operation of the system. However, these civil servants are also a considerable expense.]

Next is defense spending, with the combined expenditures of the Ministry of the Navy and the Ministry of War amounting to about 500 million francs.

[The army accounts for 270 million francs, and the navy 230 million francs. The navy plans to continue major constructions between 1851 and 1855, with an expected annual increase of 100 million francs. Concerning the army, due to the planning of the Ministry of War and the Secretariat, and Jerome Bonaparte taking some power from the army, the French Army has been reduced by almost 100 million francs.

The Minister of War, Renio, was surprised to find that even with financial reductions, the army's regular operations were not hindered. However, this did impede some military personnel benefits. Those affected were either forced to retire or sent to North Africa.]

After defense spending, the next is agricultural expenditures, with government-led agricultural cooperatives and agricultural schools spreading throughout the country, costing about 300 million francs.

Finally, there is the issue of compulsory education funding and Paris's construction issues. The implementation of the Falu Law significantly reduced education spending in France. Although the rise of some church schools effectively alleviated France's financial difficulties, it still cost 200 million francs.

The remaining 80 million francs were entirely used for Paris City reconstruction; for Paris, 80 million francs was indeed just a drop in the bucket.