Make France Great Again-Chapter 177 Paris Panic

November 9, 1849.

The temperature in Paris has become increasingly cold since November, and the petite bourgeoisie living in Paris have all begun using their fireplaces. As a result, the price of firewood in Paris has risen slightly. The increase in wood prices has attracted a swarm of speculators to Paris, causing stocks linked to wood to go up slightly. This stock surge has further fueled the enthusiasm of Parisian lumber companies, with large groups of workers seen every day in the Bois de Boulogne on the southern outskirts of Paris. They cut down trees in the forest, transport them to sawmills for debarking and cutting, and then sell them in Paris.

That day, Sable, who ran a small shop alone in Paris, had his neck hunched as he opened his shop early. His store was located on a street in Saint Lachar. In June last year, he had fought with a group of those damned "rioters" and the army on this street.

Although he was dragged out of his house in a rough manner by some damned guys (referring to regular army officers), it was his first battle in his life. The overwhelming artillery and the merciless expressions of regular army officers left him with deep memories.

Staring at the barricades shattered by cannon fire and the limbs hanging on the broken barricades, Sable’s romantic view of war was shattered by the harsh reality. It was then he realized that the mockery by the officers of the National Guard, who had been transferred from North Africa, about their ignorance of war was an absolute truth.

After that incident, Sable no longer thought of war or revolution; he just wanted to run his shop honestly.

During the incident in June this year, Sable decisively incited some people to oppose the proposal of the march by the commander of his regiment.

Sable’s choice was undoubtedly correct. The three regiments of the remaining marchers were forcibly disbanded, and the regimental commanders who agreed to the march were also dismissed.

[The National Guard is different from the regular French army. Regiment and company commanders can be nominated by soldiers and can also be appointed from above. Dumas, during the February Revolution, was refused by soldiers in his attempt to lead troops to defend the Orleans Kingdom and was dismissed by the soldiers together after the February Revolution.]

Having witnessed the cruelty of "hell," Sable longed only for peace in Paris.

Due to Sable’s early opening time, influenced by the cold wave, few people had crawled out from their beds, leading to sluggish business for Sable.

Before long, a man resembling a postman entered Sable’s shop: "Mr. Sable, thank you for your support of the newspaper!"

The postman pulled out several newspapers and placed them in front of Sable, who then tipped his hat in thanks before leaving.

Staring at the newspapers laid on the counter, Sable knew he finally had something to pass the time with.

Sable reached out and pulled out the top newspaper. On it was a striking hand-drawn image featuring a peasant holding a pitchfork and a large knife, alongside a gentleman in a tight-fitting suit, with a pattern embroidered on the suit resembling something similar to Paris.

No matter what the text content was inside, the picture first caught Sable’s attention. Sable glanced at the name of the newspaper in the upper right corner: "The Observer."

Good! The news content seemed credible!

Rising abruptly at the beginning of 49, this newspaper gained part of the habits of Parisians through its "fair" political commentary, favorable criticisms of the government, and various rumors. Of course, some Parisian citizens believed this newspaper was just an official "cleanup crew."

No one knew that "The Observer" was a subsidiary paper controlled through cross-holding by "Bonaparte Newspaper," and the mastermind behind "Bonaparte Newspaper" was Jerome Bonaparte. Those so-called fair words and internal news were also deliberately released by Jerome Bonaparte to establish the image of "The Observer" and other newspapers.

With wholehearted recognition of "The Observer," Sable continued to read on.

Below the image was a black print French title, with the content being: "Beware of Foreign Anti-French Forces Infiltrating Paris."

"What foreign forces?" Sable instantly thought of the Kingdom of Britain across the La Manche Strait.

The over six-hundred-year-long blood feud between England and France made every French person immediately think of the Kingdom of Britain, as only they had the capacity to overthrow France.

Sable continued reading. The content broadly described a few political figures with hidden motives secretly accepting gold from a certain country and sneaking into France, attempting to cause chaos in Paris. Then, they would rally a group of monarchies to invade France.

Although the content didn’t explicitly name the Britons, Sable was sure it was a conspiracy by the Britons, as only the shameless Britons would devise such conspiracies and intrigues.

After reading the content, Sable cursed: "Damn Anglo-Saxon gang!"

After cursing for a while, Sable turned his criticism towards the government and assembly, without a single kind word for the assembly coming from his mouth.

For President Jerome Bonaparte, he only felt gratitude in his heart.

In his heart, only the President could truly stabilize Paris. He was as great as his uncle.

If Jerome Bonaparte could hear Sable’s internal praise, he would certainly reflect on how his minor concessions seemed to have some effect.

After criticizing the government and assembly, Sable fell into a state of fear, worrying that if the newspaper content was true, wouldn’t they be living in constant danger?

"Maybe there was a reporting error?" Sable comforted himself with a sentence, then muttered, "Let’s see the other newspapers!"

Sable pulled out another newspaper, one indirectly controlled by Havas Newspaper.

The headline read: "Crisis! A Rebellion in Provence, Rebel Forces Likely to Attack Paris"

"Provence is rebelling again?" Sable exclaimed. He remembered rumors of a mutiny in Provence six months ago, and it was only thanks to Marshal Biron’s timely intervention that a disaster was likely averted.

[In June 1849, in response to Lederer Roland’s call, workers in Lyon orchestrated a rebellion and strike. Marshal Biron, commander of the Italian Army, massacred them and then branded them as Royalist Party agitators. At the time, the only intelligence Paris had was the news of a rebellion initiated by Paris Royalist Party factions.]

Now they’re rebelling again; is France truly going to be overthrown?

Sable became even more resentful of the Legislative Assembly’s inaction.

The content of the third newspaper was different, highlighting a small-scale mutiny by stationed troops in a central Province of France...

Three consecutive newspapers reporting bad news about France made Sable deeply skeptical of the Legislative Assembly’s competence.

When he picked up the fourth newspaper, there was no news of rebellion, only various articles praising the National Assembly.

This gave Sable an unreal feeling, suspecting it was an official newspaper, as only officially published newspapers would contain such fawning praise.

Looking at the newspaper’s name confirmed his suspicion: it was indeed an official paper.

Sable picked up another official mouthpiece paper and went through it again. As with the previous one, there was no bad news about France; most articles were praises.

This reinforced his belief that the situations described in the newspapers he saw earlier were likely true.

"Damn the Assembly! What exactly are they doing?" Sable’s resentment towards the Assembly grew.

As France’s highest authority, holding the corresponding power yet failing to uphold its obligations, leading to the entire French situation becoming dire, this is a manifestation of incompetence.

That day, it wasn’t just Sable; all of Paris was filled with a deep sense of resentment, the Parisians fearing these news reports might become reality, directing all their grievances towards the Legislative Assembly.

Under the instigation of some "interested parties," Paris even issued a call to "dissolve the Legislative Assembly and hold general elections anew."

This call from the citizens was undoubtedly good news for the Republicans and the Mountain Party in the Legislative Assembly, as only through a new general election could they reclaim lost seats,

thus the Republicans and the Mountain Party were loudly shouting the "general election" slogan in the Assembly, while the Order Party members remained silent.

Thiers, seated with the Order Party, keenly sensed this conspiracy might be aimed at them, but without wielding power and with Jerome Bonaparte not taking direct action, Thiers couldn’t discern who the mastermind was behind it all, leaving him to attribute it to yet another attack by the Republicans and the Mountain Party.

This attack marked the Order Party’s firm decision to reclaim all the votes they bestowed upon the French people, to keep the Republicans and Mountain Party silent.

Nevertheless, before doing so, the Legislative Assembly issued a proclamation stating, "Recent rumors in France are false and untrue. Every French person should keep a clear eye and cautiously discern information!"

At the same time, the Elysee Palace also "acted."

Jerome Bonaparte summoned the Police Chief to the Elysee Palace.

"It’s your turn to act, Director Kalie!" Jerome Bonaparte said to the seasoned Bonapartist before him.

The man, entrusted by Jerome Bonaparte with all police matters in Paris, humbly asked, "Your Majesty, what should I do?"

"Fine them, detain them, then make them write a letter of guarantee!" Jerome Bonaparte instructed Kalie, adding, "By the way, do not shut down the newspaper offices or beat them! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Kalie responded with a bow.

"Go!" Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand, and Director Kalie left.

A while later, Marcel Yale, head of the Intelligence Department, appeared in Jerome Bonaparte’s study.

"After Kalie acts, immediately spread the word that the police action is a means by the Assembly to cover up their incompetence, it’s coercion... in short, make the conflict as big as possible! Oh, and don’t let Kalie find out!" Jerome Bonaparte instructed Marcel Yale.

"Yes!"

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