Editing July Monarchy (section)

=== The February 1831 riots ===
[[File:Guizot, François - 2.jpg|thumb|{{lang|fr|[[François Guizot]]|italic=no}}, a leader of the {{lang|fr|Parti de l'Ordre}}]]
Despite these reforms, which targeted the bourgeoisie rather than the people, Paris was once again rocked by riots on 14 and 15 February 1831, leading to {{lang|fr|Laffitte|italic=no}}'s downfall. The immediate cause of the riots was a funeral service organized by the [[Legitimist]]s at [[Saint-Germains l'Auxerrois Church|{{lang|fr|Saint-Germains l'Auxerrois|nocat=y}} Church]] in memory of the [[ultra-royalist]] [[Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry|Duke of Berry]], assassinated in 1820. The commemoration turned into a political demonstration in favor of [[Henri, Count of Chambord]], Legitimist pretender to the throne. Seeing in this celebration an intolerable provocation, the Republican rioters ransacked the church two days in a row, before turning on other churches. The revolutionary movement spread to other cities.

Confronted with renewed unrest, the government abstained from any strong repression. The prefect of the Seine {{lang|fr|[[Odilon Barrot]]|italic=no}}, the [[prefect of police]] {{lang|fr|[[Jean-Jacques Baude]]|italic=no}}, and the new commandant of the National Guard, General {{lang|fr|[[Georges Mouton]]|italic=no}}, remained passive, triggering {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}}'s indignation, as well as the Republican {{lang|fr|[[Armand Carrel]]|italic=no}}'s criticisms against the demagogy of the government.  Far from suppressing the crowds, the government had the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris|Archbishop of Paris]] {{lang|fr|[[Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen|Mgr de Quélen]]|italic=no}} arrested, as well as charging the friar of {{lang|fr|Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois}} and other priests, along with some other monarchists, with having provoked the masses.

In a gesture of appeasement, {{lang|fr|Laffitte|italic=no}}, supported by the Prince Royal {{lang|fr|Ferdinand-Philippe|italic=no}}, Duke of {{lang|fr|Orléans|italic=no}}, proposed to the king that he remove the {{lang|fr|[[fleur-de-lys]]}}, symbol of the {{lang|fr|Ancien Régime}}, from the state seal. With obvious displeasure, {{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} finally signed the 16 February 1831 ordinance substituting for the arms of the House of Orléans a shield with an open book, on which could be read "{{lang|fr|Charte de 1830}}". The {{lang|fr|fleur-de-lys|italic=no}}, was also removed from public buildings, etc. This new defeat of the king sealed {{lang|fr|Laffitte|italic=no}}'s fate.

On 19 February 1831, {{lang|fr|Guizot|italic=no}} verbally attacked {{lang|fr|Laffitte|italic=no}} in the Chamber of Deputies, daring him to dissolve the Chamber and present himself before the electors. {{lang|fr|Laffitte|italic=no}} accepted, but the king, who was the only one entitled to dissolve the Chamber, preferred to wait a few days more. In the meanwhile, the Prefect of the Seine {{lang|fr|Odilon Barrot|italic=no}} was replaced by {{lang|fr|[[Taillepied de Bondy]]|italic=no}} at {{lang|fr|Montalivet|italic=no}}'s request, and the prefect of police {{lang|fr|[[Jean-Jacques Baude]]|italic=no}} by {{lang|fr|[[Alexandre-François Vivien|Vivien de Goubert]]|italic=no}}. To make matters worse, in this insurrectionary climate, the [[economic history of France|economic situation]] was fairly bad.

{{lang|fr|Louis-Philippe|italic=no}} finally tricked {{lang|fr|Laffitte|italic=no}} into resigning by having his Minister of Foreign Affairs, {{lang|fr|[[Horace Sébastiani]]|italic=no}}, pass him a note written by the French ambassador to [[Vienna]], [[Marshal Maison]], and which had arrived in Paris on 4 March 1831, which announced an imminent [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] intervention in Italy. Learning of this note in {{lang|fr|[[Le Moniteur Universel|Le Moniteur]]}} of 8 March, {{lang|fr|Laffitte|italic=no}} requested an immediate explanations from {{lang|fr|Sébastiani|italic=no}}, who replied that he had followed royal orders. After a meeting with the king, {{lang|fr|Laffitte|italic=no}} submitted to the Council of Ministers a belligerent program, and was subsequently disavowed, forcing him to resign. Most of his ministers had already negotiated their positions in the forthcoming government.