Make France Great Again-Chapter 179: The Legislative Assembly on the Edge of the Cliff
Chapter 179: Chapter 179: The Legislative Assembly on the Edge of the Cliff
"What do you want to do?" Jerome Bonaparte put away his mocking expression and asked solemnly.
Seeing that Jerome Bonaparte’s attitude was not completely resistant, Thiers couldn’t help but feel a little pleased.
As long as there is no clear opposition, it means there is room for negotiation.
The secret of politics lies in mutual compromise. All the politicians after the Great Revolution believed that obliterating political enemies would only repeat the tragedy of the Great Revolution. Thus, the Duke of Orleans allowed Charles X sufficient time to flee, and Louis Philippe was similarly let off intentionally or unintentionally by the Republicans after his fall.
"Mr. President, we must prevent the Reds from entering the assembly. Once they flood into the assembly, the entire Legislative Assembly and even all of France will face a severe threat." Thiers tried to emphasize the threat of the "Social Democratic Faction" to convince Jerome Bonaparte: "Religion, morality, and order will cease to exist, the rich will become the targets of slaughter, and even you will inevitably face a similar fate."
Jerome Bonaparte understood that Thiers’s "similar fate" referred to Louis XVI’s gallows, a gallows that had tasted both autocratic monarch and Republican blood, always hanging over all of France.
"How do you plan to exclude them from the assembly?" Jerome Bonaparte continued to question.
"The Reds originate from those who cannot afford to eat and lead idle lives. To exclude them from the system, the electoral threshold must be raised! We should revoke the voting rights of those without fixed residence!" Thiers tactfully requested Jerome Bonaparte to consider limiting universal suffrage.
"Oh! Mr. Thiers!" Jerome Bonaparte exaggeratedly responded to Thiers with a mocking tone: "I was elected President via universal suffrage, and now you ask me to betray universal suffrage! Isn’t that equivalent to undermining my foundation?"
"Mr. President, amending the constitution does not require a public vote, it needs parliamentary approval!" Thiers confidently revealed, facing Jerome Bonaparte: "Mr. President, no one wants to lose power in the second week of May 1852!"
"No... no... the constitution of the French Republic chose me! I respect the French constitutional law!" Jerome Bonaparte pretended to stress to Thiers.
Jerome Bonaparte’s pretense made Thiers smile; he did not believe President Napoleon would step down willingly.
"Mr. President, there’s no need to hide it! No one wants to step down from this position! The power of the President of the Republic surpasses that of the King!" Thiers remarked with emotion, shaking his head to himself: "It’s also our own fault in the first place, for concentrating the President’s power to such uncontrollable levels."
"Mr. Thiers! If you only came to express such sentiments, then please leave!" Jerome Bonaparte said, with a stern face, to Thiers.
"Mr. President, as long as we limit the votes of the Red population, it would mean the Republican Faction and the Mountain Party would be excluded from the assembly, and the entire assembly would be under our control. By then, how about we support you in succeeding as President?" Thiers promised Jerome Bonaparte with an empty gesture just like Jerome Bonaparte had done before.
"You... support me to continue as President?" Jerome Bonaparte softened somewhat but still cautiously probed: "Are the party members thinking the same?"
Thiers couldn’t help but despise Jerome Bonaparte, thinking he was just as capability-lacking and power-hungry as Cafenak was in the past.
"Although there are still a handful of dissenting voices within the Order Faction, the majority are willing to assist you!" Thiers abruptly raised his voice: "A Monarchist is always stronger than a Republican."
Jerome Bonaparte continued to stare intently at Thiers.
Long after, Jerome Bonaparte showed a meaningful smile and spoke in a peculiar tone: "Indeed, a Monarch is always stronger than a Republic."
"So, do you agree?" Thiers couldn’t help but smile, his tone becoming more cheerful.
"Mr. Thiers! If it’s just an empty promise, no one will believe it." Jerome Bonaparte spread his hands, changing his tone: "How can I trust that you are sincerely helping me amend the constitution?"
"Rest assured!" Thiers confidently replied to Jerome Bonaparte’s doubts, still maintaining a smile: "To show our sincerity, we will provide you with an absolutely generous reward after we limit the votings!"
Thiers understood that to persuade Jerome Bonaparte, he not only needed to paint a rosy picture but also give something tangible.
Since Jerome Bonaparte often held various banquets at the Elysee Palace, the meager presidential salary (600,000 francs, 24,000 British Pounds) could no longer cover the Elysee Palace’s expenses. By meeting the President’s demands in this area, he certainly wouldn’t reject their proposal.
[According to the constitution of the Second French Republic, while the President of the Republic did not have the authority to obstruct the implementation of the constitution, he could delay its effectuation. Moreover, the limitation of the universal suffrage itself conflicted with the original constitution of the Republic, so the Legislative Assembly would become the target if the President acted discontentedly. Therefore, the President must be "appeased" before limiting universal suffrage.]
Jerome Bonaparte raised three fingers, pretending to be greedy: "The assembly needs to raise the President’s annual salary to 1.2 million francs, and additionally pay me 3 million francs in one go."
"Cough... cough... cough..." Jerome Bonaparte’s conditions shocked Thiers. These conditions far exceeded Thiers’ psychological limit.
An annual salary of 1.2 million francs plus compensation of 3 million francs amounted to outright plunder of all France. Not only would he not agree, but even if he did, the Order Faction would not agree either.
"Mr. President, I think your asking price is too high!" Thiers resolutely said to Jerome Bonaparte, "At most, an annual salary of 900,000 francs, plus 2 million francs in compensation."
"If that’s the case, I can only choose to let the people be the judge of everything!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and said somewhat regrettably.
Once Jerome Bonaparte leaked the news to those outside of Parliament, the citizens of Paris outside Parliament would surely rise up against it.
At that time, they would face great trouble, so rather than that, it might be better to satisfy his greed and keep him silent.
"A 1 million franc annual salary, plus a one-time compensation of 2.16 million francs!" Thiers gritted his teeth and broke his bottom line, and this time he refused to back down, "Mr. President, 2.16 million francs can repay some of your debts! This is already our greatest sincerity!"
Although this amount still had some gap compared to the same period in history, where the cousin had increased the presidential salary to 3 million francs a year (actually disbursed 2.16 million francs) through limiting universal suffrage, considering that the presidential budget for 1849 hadn’t been released yet, the amount he could get wasn’t much different from the historical counterpart.
After pondering for a moment, Jerome Bonaparte nodded and agreed to Thiers’ conditions, saying, "I agree to your terms! After all, the entry of the Red Faction into Parliament does us no good."
"Thank you for your understanding!" Thiers, who considered Jerome Bonaparte settled, breathed a sigh of relief internally.
As long as the president does not choose to interfere, they can limit the obstructive universal suffrage law.
By then, they could push Jerome Bonaparte aside just like they did with Cafenak before.
However, to prevent Jerome Bonaparte from retaliating, Thiers decided to let him finish one term as president before stepping down.
Self-proclaimed as the future president, Thiers felt the need to maintain the stability of the presidential position, even though Thiers did not like Jerome Bonaparte as the president.
If the first president faced impeachment by Parliament, then the subsequent terms wouldn’t be stable either.
"Mr. President, let us join hands to form a barrier to block the Red Faction outside Parliament!" Thiers sternly extended his hand to Jerome Bonaparte, saying.
Jerome Bonaparte also extended his hand to shake with Thiers, "Pleasure working with you!"
After the two cunning foxes had finished their deal, one fox stood up to leave, while the other pretendingly saw the departing fox out of the den.
As he watched Thiers leave, Jerome Bonaparte gathered up his smile and instead revealed a face so serious it was frightening.
Following beside Jerome Bonaparte, and accustomed to Jerome Bonaparte’s change of expression, Percy instantly realized that his "task" was coming again.
Sure enough, Jerome Bonaparte, with his back to Percy, gave him an order in a cold tone, "Percy, please invite Minister of Justice Rue to my study!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Percy responded, then rode off with two Dragoons.
Jerome Bonaparte walked back to the study alone, looking at the two cups of coffee emitting steam on the round table, he gently shook the bell at the edge of the table.
The bell made a crisp and pleasing sound. Upon hearing the bell, the two servants in the corridor quickly entered, respectfully inquiring, "Mr. President!"
"Pour out these two cups of coffee!" Jerome Bonaparte pointed at the two cups of coffee and instructed the servants, then specifically told them to scrub Thiers’ used coffee cup several times.
The servants found Jerome Bonaparte’s request strange, but they chose to obey the President’s order.
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