Editing July Monarchy (section)

=== The first {{lang|fr|Thiers|italic=no}} government (February – September 1836) ===
Louis-Philippe then decided to pretend to play the parliamentary card, with the secret intention of neutralizing it. He took advantage of the ministerial crisis to get rid of the {{lang|fr|[[Doctrinaires]]}} ({{lang|fr|Broglie|italic=no}} and {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}}), invited some {{lang|fr|Tiers-Parti}} politicians to give an illusion of an opening to the Left, and finally called on {{lang|fr|[[Adolphe Thiers]]|italic=no}} on 22 February 1836, in an attempt to convince him to distance himself from the liberal Doctrinaires, and also to use up his legitimacy in government, until the time came to call on Count {{lang|fr|Molé|italic=no|nocat=y}}, whom the king had decided a long time before to make his President of the Council. {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} thus separated the center-right from the center-left, strategically attempting to dissolve the {{lang|fr|Tiers-Parti}}, a dangerous game since this could also lead to the dissolving of the parliamentary majority itself and create endless ministerial crises. Furthermore, as the {{lang|fr|duc de Broglie|italic=no}} himself warned him, when {{lang|fr|Thiers|italic=no}} was eventually pushed out, he would shift decisively to the Left and transform himself in a particularly dangerous opponent.

In the Chamber, the debate on the secret funds, marked by a notable speech by {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}} and an evasive response by the Justice Minister, {{lang|fr|Sauzet|italic=no}}, was concluded with a favorable vote for the government (251 votes to 99). On the other hand, the draft proposal on government bonds was easily postponed by the deputies on 22 March 1836, another sign that it had been only a pretext.

Thiers' motivations for accepting the position of head of the government and taking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well were to enable him to negotiate the Duke of Orléans's wedding with an Austrian archduchess. Since the {{lang|it|Fieschi|italic=no}} attempt, {{lang|fr|Ferdinand-Philippe|italic=no}}'s wedding (he had just reached 25) had become an obsession of the king, and {{lang|fr|Thiers|italic=no}} wanted to effect a spectacular reversion of alliances in Europe, as {{lang|fr|[[Étienne François, duc de Choiseul|Choiseul]]|italic=no}} had done before him. But [[Metternich]] and the archduchess [[Sophie of Bavaria]], who dominated the court in Vienna, rejected an alliance with the House of Orléans, which they deemed too unstable.

Another assassination attempt against {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}}, by {{lang|fr|Louis Alibaud|italic=no}} on 25 June 1836, justified their fears. These two setbacks upset {{lang|fr|Thiers|italic=no}}. On 29 July 1836, the inauguration of the {{lang|fr|Arc de Triomphe|italic=no}}, intended to be the scene of a ceremony of national concord, during which the July Monarchy would harness the glory of the [[French Revolution|Revolution]] and of the [[First French Empire|Empire]], finally took place, quietly and unceremoniously, at seven in the morning and without the king being present.

To re-establish his popularity and in order to take his revenge on Austria, {{lang|fr|Thiers|italic=no}} was considering a military intervention in Spain, requested by the Queen Regent {{lang|fr|[[Marie Christine de Bourbon]]|italic=no}} who was confronted by the [[First Carlist War|Carlist rebellion]]. But {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}}, advised by {{lang|fr|[[Talleyrand]]|italic=no}} and {{lang|fr|Soult|italic=no}}, strongly opposed the intervention, which led to Thiers's resignation. This new event, in which the government had fallen not because of parliament but because of a disagreement with the king on foreign policy, demonstrated that the evolution towards parliamentarianism was far from being assured.