Editing July Monarchy (section)

==Overview==
[[File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg|250px|thumb|After the [[July Revolution]], the [[French tricolour]] replaced the [[white flag]] of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbons]] once again. This was an attempt to link the new monarchy with the heritage of the [[French Revolution]].]]
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The July Monarchy (1830–1848) is generally seen as a period during which the [[haute bourgeoisie]] was dominant, and marked the shift from the counter-revolutionary Legitimists to the [[Orléanist|Orléanists]]. The Orléanists were willing to make some compromises with the changes brought by the [[French Revolution|1789 Revolution]]. For instance, {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} was crowned "[[Popular monarchy|King of the French]]", instead of "[[King of France]]": this marked his acceptance of popular sovereignty.

{{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}}, who had flirted with [[liberalism and radicalism in France|liberalism]] in his youth, rejected much of the pomp and circumstance of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbons]] and surrounded himself with merchants and bankers. The July Monarchy, however, ruled during a time of turmoil. A large group of [[Legitimists]] on [[Right-wing politics|the right]] demanded the restoration of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbons]] to the throne. On the left, Republicanism and later Socialism remained powerful forces. Late in his reign {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} became increasingly rigid and dogmatic and refused to remove his deeply unpopular [[President of the Council (France)|President of the Council]] {{lang|fr|[[François Guizot]]|italic=no}}.  The situation gradually escalated until the [[Revolutions of 1848 in France|Revolutions of 1848]] resulted in the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of the [[Second French Republic|Second Republic]].

During the first few years of his reign, {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} took actions to develop legitimate, broad-based reform. The government found its source of legitimacy within the [[Charter of 1830]], written by reform-minded members of [[Chamber of Deputies of France|Chamber of Deputies]] and committed to a platform of religious equality among Catholics and Protestants; the empowerment of the citizenry through the reestablishment of the [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]], electoral reform, reform of the [[peers of France|peerage system]], and the lessening of royal authority. {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} and his ministers adhered to policies that seemed to promote the central tenets of the constitution. However, the majority of these policies were veiled attempts to shore up the power and influence of the government and the bourgeoisie, rather than legitimate attempts to promote equality and empowerment for a broad constituency of the French population.{{Cn|date=September 2023|reason=The sentence presents an argumentative claim as to the impact of policies. The information presented can be valuable to a reader once verified.}} Thus, though the July Monarchy seemed to move toward reform, this movement was largely illusory.

During the years of the July Monarchy, [[Suffrage|enfranchisement]] roughly doubled, from 94,000 under Charles X to more than 200,000 men by 1848.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}} But, this number still represented only roughly one percent of population and a small number of those men of eligible age. The extended franchise tended to favor the wealthy merchant bourgeoisie more than any other group as the  [[suffrage#Census suffrage|right to vote]] was related to payment of a certain level of [[Tax|taxes]]. Beyond resulting in the election of more bourgeoisie to the Chamber of Deputies, this electoral expansion meant that the bourgeoisie could politically challenge the nobility on legislative matters. Thus, while appearing to honor his pledge to increase suffrage, {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} acted primarily to empower his supporters and increase his hold over the French Parliament. The election of only the wealthiest men tended to undermine any possibility for growth of a radical faction in Parliament, and effectively served socially conservative ends.

The reformed Charter of 1830 limited the power of the king, stripping him of his ability to propose and decree legislation, as well as limiting his executive authority. However, {{lang|fr|Louis-Philipe|italic=no}} believed in a kind of monarchy in which the king was more than a figurehead for an elected Parliament, and as such, he was deeply involved in legislative affairs. One of his first acts in creating his government was to appoint the conservative {{lang|fr|[[Casimir Pierre Perier]]|italic=no}} as the premier of his cabinet. {{lang|fr|Perier|italic=no}}, a banker, was instrumental in shutting down many of the Republican secret societies and [[labor union]]s that had formed during the early years of the regime. In addition, he oversaw the dismemberment of the National Guard after it proved too supportive of radical ideologies. He conducted these actions with royal approval. He was once quoted as saying that the source of French misery was the belief that there had been a revolution. "No {{lang|fr|Monsieur}}," he said to another minister, "there has not been a revolution: there is simply a change at the head of state." {{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}

{{lang|fr|Perier|italic=no}} and {{lang|fr|[[François Guizot]]|italic=no}}, then [[Minister of the Interior]], enforced the conservatism of the July Monarchy. The regime acknowledged early on that [[radicalism (historical)|radicalism]] and republicanism threatened it, as they undermined its {{lang|fr|laissez-faire}} policies. In 1834 the Monarchy declared the term "republican" illegal. {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}} shut down republican clubs and disbanded republican publications. Republicans within the cabinet, such as the banker {{lang|fr|Dupont|italic=no}}, were all but excluded by {{lang|fr|Perier|italic=no}} and his conservative clique. Distrusting the National Guard, {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} increased the size of the [[French Army|army]] and reformed it in order to ensure its loyalty to the government.

Two factions always persisted in the cabinet, split between liberal conservatives such as Guizot ({{lang|fr|le parti de la Résistance}}, the Party of Resistance) and liberal reformers such as the journalist {{lang|fr|[[Adolphe Thiers]]|italic=no}} ({{lang|fr|le parti du Mouvement}}, the Party of Movement), the latter never gained prominence. {{lang|fr|Perier|italic=no}} was succeeded as premier by [[Louis-Mathieu Molé|Count Molé]], another conservative. Thiers, a reformer, succeeded {{lang|fr|Molé|italic=no}} but was later sacked by Louis-Philippe after attempting to pursue an aggressive foreign policy. After Thiers the conservative {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}} was selected as premier.

In particular, the {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}} administration was marked by increasingly [[authoritarian]] crackdowns on republicanism and dissent, and an increasingly pro-business policy. This policy included protective [[tariff]]s that defended the status quo and enriched French businessmen. {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}}'s government granted railway and mining contracts to the bourgeois supporters of the government, and contributed some of the start-up costs of these enterprises. As workers under these policies had no legal right to assemble, unionize, or petition the government for increased pay or decreased hours, the July Monarchy under {{lang|fr|Perier|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|Molé|italic=no}}, and {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}} generally proved detrimental to the lower classes. {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}}'s advice to those who were disenfranchised by the tax-based electoral requirements was "{{lang|fr|enrichissez-vous}}" (enrich yourselves).

{{lang|fr|Louis Phillipe|italic=no}} was pushed to the throne by an alliance between the people of Paris; the [[republicanism|republicans]], who had set up barricades in the capital; and the [[liberalism|liberal]] [[bourgeoisie]]. However, at the end of his reign, the so-called "Citizen King" was overthrown by similar citizen uprisings and use of barricades during the [[February Revolution of 1848]]. This resulted in the proclamation of the [[French Second Republic|Second Republic]].<ref>Ronald Aminzade, ''Ballots and Barricades: Class Formation and Republican Politics in France, 1830-1871'' (1993).</ref>

After {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}}'s ousting and subsequent exile to Britain, the liberal [[Orléanist]] faction (opposed by the [[counter-revolutionary]] [[Legitimist]]s) continued to support a return of the [[House of Orléans]] to the throne. But the July Monarchy proved to be the last [[House of Orléans|Bourbon-Orleans]] monarchy of [[History of France|France]] (although monarchy was re-established under [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s nephew, who reigned as [[Napoleon III]] from 1852 to 1870). The [[Legitimists]] withdrew from politics to their castles, leaving the way open for the struggle between the [[Orléanist|Orléanists]] and the [[Republicanism|Republicans]].