Make France Great Again-Chapter 65: The Finale of the June Revolution

Victor Hugo’s self-deprecation brought a silence over all the literati present.

The entire meeting, initially full of fervor, gradually descended into a dead silence.

Victor Hugo, the instigator of all this, looked at the silent literati present and realized he might have ruined this hard-organized salon. He hurried to remedy the situation, saying: "Friends, since things are irreparable, why don’t we face it with an optimistic attitude? Maybe the situation isn’t that bad!"

After saying this, Victor Hugo suddenly thought of something, and he turned to Mathilde to change the subject, "Honorable Princess, may I ask where Prince Jerome is?"

"Huh?" Mathilde, coming back to her senses, responded with confusion, "Father is still residing at the Rhine Inn!"

"I am not referring to Prince Old Jerome, but your brother Prince Jerome Bonaparte! You don’t know yet, do you? His votes in Seine Province have already surpassed mine!" Victor Hugo said to the literati present.

The literati present, upon hearing Victor Hugo’s revelation, simultaneously looked at Mathilde, with George Sand showing a hint of curiosity.

As the topic shifted to her, Mathilde could only muster her courage and say, "My brother is traveling in Rome! It will probably take some time before he returns to France!"

Victor Hugo shook his head and said, "Fortunately, His Highness the Prince is not back yet, otherwise who knows how chaotic Paris would be!"

"Indeed! Paris now..." Mathilde showed a look of melancholy on her face, though she secretly wished for more chaos in Paris. novelbuddy.cσ๓

"Speaking of which, Princess Mathilde, does your brother intend to participate in this election! According to his votes, he is fully capable of running!" Victor Hugo further inquired.

"That depends on his wishes!" Mathilde tried to deflect, saying, "If he wants to run, let him run. If he doesn’t, there’s nothing we can do!"

"The political scene in France indeed needs some fresh forces now. If it’s always controlled by certain people, France will become stagnant!" Victor Hugo openly implied that Cafenak’s governance and the actions of the National Assembly have disheartened this former Orléans Faction, now Republican Faction member. He hoped to introduce another force to French politics.

"Mathilde! If your brother wants to run, we can help you!" George Sand sympathetically said, holding Mathilde’s hand, "We still have some influence!"

"That’s right! To hell with those municipal lords!" Dumas shouted.

Having been marginalized in parliament and kicked out of the National Guard for taking the wrong side in the February Revolution, he harbors considerable resentment towards the National Assembly.

Following that, Mérimée and Saint Beuf also joined the ranks of "denunciation."

Mathilde thanked these "friends" at the salon one by one.

"I’ve read Prince Louis Napoleon’s ’Eradicating Poverty’!" Victor Hugo shifted the topic again, saying, "Honestly, that book elucidates what the current Republic should do: public and free education, distribution of industries..."

Victor Hugo passionately discussed the contents of ’Eradicating Poverty,’ and since none of those present had read it, they could only listen quietly to Victor Hugo’s solo speech.

Gradually, they were attracted by the "big cake" described in ’Eradicating Poverty,’ and even developed a feeling of "perhaps a Bonaparte administration wouldn’t be so bad."

Like a disciple of the Bonaparte Faction, Victor Hugo advocated the contents of ’Eradicating Poverty.’ After finishing, he quietly looked at Mathilde and asked, "If Prince Jerome takes office, can this be realized?"

"To be honest, my brother is also a supporter of my cousin!" Mathilde promptly said, "He once told me that the Republic must be generous! The Republic must implement the principle of redistribution, even if we disdain socialist ideas, we cannot let the poor become poorer and the rich richer! Wouldn’t such a France be just like the United Kingdom?"

"If Prince Jerome is willing to act according to his ideas, I would certainly be willing to vote for him!" Victor Hugo added lightly, "However, this will all have to wait until we meet!"

"Of course!" Mathilde replied, "After my brother returns to Paris, I will have him visit you first thing!"

Under Mathilde’s guidance, a relaxed literary salon transformed into Mathilde’s personal "brother-showcasing" performance.

After the salon ended, everyone except George Sand became curious about Jerome Bonaparte.

Mathilde took advantage to further build her brother’s reputation.

Time continued to move forward, and it was soon June 29th.

On this day, dark clouds shrouded all of Paris, lightning shuttled through the clouds, and a storm seemed imminent to ravage all of Paris.

The East and Southeast Districts of Paris.

The Parisian workers, who had endured for nearly a week, could no longer bear the hunger.

The government had issued a final ultimatum, stating that if they did not comply with government orders to leave by July 1st, force would be used.

Everyone knew what the force referred to by the government meant. Unwilling to leave Paris, they had no choice but to resist.

Spontaneously organized, the workers began advancing towards City Hall, using their residential areas as bases, and constructing barricades.

With only a small number of weapons, the reason they chose this time to revolt was also because the government army’s cannons could not be used in the rain, which narrowed the gap between them.

However, they underestimated the reactionary government’s determination. As a military dictator, Cafenak had long awaited the workers’ uprising. Twenty minutes after the uprising was declared, demanding the dissolution of the National Assembly,

Cafenak swiftly arrived at the barracks, where six generals awaited his arrival.

"Generals, take action! Wipe out these mobsters completely! The Republic will never forget your contributions!" Cafenak’s bloodthirsty words invigorated all the generals present.

Over 50,000 troops quickly entered Paris, and with the cooperation of the National Guard, began clearing Paris.

The storm also arrived, and the sudden downpour limited the regular army’s artillery, giving the workers’ armed forces an opportunity.

Many worker forces seized the opportunity to capture weapons from the National Guard.

However, none of this had any impact on the overall situation. Even without artillery support, the regular army still showed their capability to crush the uprising workers.

One barricade after another was cleared, and workers, women, even children, were shot by these beastly troops that had entered Paris.

On June 30th, cloudy, Cafenak had gradually cleared the insurgent forces along the City Hall line, as the rioters gradually retreated.

On July 1st, clear skies, Cafenak attacked the streets of the Saint-Denis and Saint Martin suburbs, flattening one barricade after another with artillery.

By July 2nd, the workers’ last strongholds, the Saint Anton and Temple suburbs, fell.

Thus, the 100,000 Parisian insurgent workers were resolved by Cafenak’s bloody massacre, and those remaining were escorted by the army to other provinces.

[For detailed information about the June Revolution, you can refer to the complete works of Marx and Engels.]