France’s New Political System
After
the French Revolution, France returned to a Bourbon monarchy led by Louis XVIII
who was king of France from 1814 to 1824. During his reign a new political
system was enacted in France. In this essay, I will discuss the Constitutional
Charter of 1814 and King Louis XVIII’s role in the countries new government.
Before
Louis XVIII was allowed back into his position, the Congress of Vienna required
him to complete and submit a constitution for a new political system in France.
The Congress of Vienna was a meeting between several European countries and
provinces on November 1814 in Vienna, Austria. Their primary goal was to create
a peace between the nations and a sense of equality between them so that no
country would, or feel the need to, create such disarray in Europe as Napoleon
had done in the name of France.
This
new constitution was the Charter of 1814. King Louis XVIII realized that the
political, legal, and fiscal structures created by the Revolution had
succeeded…and he had no desire to restore the provincial and corporate privileges,
parliaments, and estates which has proved so aggravating to earlier French
kings.[1]
Instead, he decided to meld the two different practices creating a new French
political system. Because of the revolution, many changes were implemented in
the charter. Firstly, Freedom of Religion was granted, however Catholicism was
considered the state religion. Secondly, the government was to be a constitutional
monarchy that consisted of a bicameral parliament; the Chamber of Peers was
appointed by the king and the Chamber of Deputies was elected by the people.
Voting was restricted to the 110,000 wealthiest men.[2]
Fourthly, the principal of careers open to merit and the sale of biens nationaux were recognized.[3]
Basically this means, the careers Napoleon gave to people based on their merit
rather than their class as well as the national property he bestowed upon them
was recognized by Louis XVIII. Fifthly, the charter granted amnesty for all
opinions held or votes cast prior to the restoration.[4]
Lastly, all previously appointed Napoleonic personnel would hold on to their
positions.[5]
Some of these provisions would come back to haunt Louis XVIII, even though
ironically, they were implemented to keep the peace at the time.
As
opposed to previous regimes the king no longer had absolute power, however, he
still had many powers within the government. Firstly, he was still considered
the executive leader. Secondly, he still controlled the armies and the ability
to wage war and created peace. Thirdly, he appointed the Chamber of Peers.
Lastly, he still proposed the laws of France. Louis XVIII’s reign was cut short
for one Hundred Days when Napoleon who had escaped exile came back to France
with a vengeance. Louis XVIII underestimated Napoleon who only had a handful of
men in his army, however, because Louis XVIII left so many of Napoleon’s men in
their previous positions, they flocked to their once great leader. Napoleon’s
reign was ended at the battle of Waterloo where he was defeated. After this
setback some “ultra-royalists” (comte d’Artois, the ducs d’Angouleme, and more)
were so angry they unleashed what would be deemed the White Terror. They wanted
revenge on anyone associated with the revolution, such as buyers of beins nationauxs, and former Jacobins
and Bonapartists.[6]
During this terror bands of royalist peasants and artisans killed around 200
people while 3000 were imprisoned without a trial and thousands more were put
into flight.[7]
During this time elections were held for the Chamber of Deputies and the seats
were filled by mostly “ultra-loyalists” due to the fear incited by the White
Terror. In 1816 Louis XVIII tried to reign in his government by dissolving the
current parliament and holding elections for a new one. While animosities were
low, they were not destined to be so for long. With the election of Henri’
Gregorie in 1819 and the assassination of due de Berry “ultras” were once again
inflamed with the notions of the liberals. Towards the end of Louis XVIII’s
reign he began to become even more passive in his politics than usual allowing
the ministries of his government to take over. Once again the 1% of wealthy men
were in charge of voting with the “double vote law”.[8]
Louis XVIII died in 1824 and having no children of his own, his brother Charles
X was put into power.
France
was going through a transition between conservatism and liberalism. This
struggle went on for decades. It was the wealthy and the royal trying to keep
hold over the overwhelmingly large middle class and lower class population. The
French Revolution and its smaller subsequent revolutions and uprisings created a
lasting impression that was impossible to dismiss. King Louis XVIII started his
reign with a firm understanding of this but somewhere along the way he got
tired. He was unable to fulfill his political duties, be it to his bad health,
his compromising closed door activities, his growingly passive form of
governing, or all of the above. In the end, France was on a path towards
democracy. No amount of oppression was going to stop the road to that
destination.
Bibliography
Rapport, Michael. Nineteenth-Century
Europe. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
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