Revolution and Reaction - A (very) French Victoria II Interactive AAR

[Nax24]

The End of the Conde Saga
​

Philippe de la Marche, the man who inherited a fortune upon the murder of his father, the man who became elected President of the second Republic, the man who oversaw the massive death and destruction of the working class in the June Days, and the man who sold the Second Republic to his ilk and brought about the dreaded Third Restoration, has died as a consequence of all the actions he has committed in his long and infamous political career. We the writers of Le Rappel have no affiliation with the man who pulled the trigger, but why he pulled it is no surprise at all.

Philippe de la Marche was doing everything in his power to keep the workers in place on the labor commission. After trying to negotiate with him on the nature of labor and the need for France to adopt social reform, la Marche stood firm against the workers, seeing them nothing more than property as a master sees slaves, that their well-being is not profitable and thus not a problem to the industrialist.

Philippe de la Marche was just another symptom of the current capitalist sickness infecting France and Europe as a whole. The Kings of industry have an iron and tyrannical grip over this Republic and her citizens, a grip that allowed Henri V to amass unearned prestige and wealth. In this, the working man was caught in the dredges, subjugated to the most base status and reduced to statistics in a bureau."

It is thus no surprise that a citizen of France had enough of the brutal treatment, enough of the chattel workplace slavery, and decided to act. Let the heir to the Conde's fortune's death be a warning to all men of industry and greedy wealth that the workers have had enough of their treatment. They believed this Republic would do better by them, to treat them like humans created in God's image, but learned that this Republic, like every Republican and Monarchical government that ruled France for the past century, has thus far deceived them. The blood of the workers led to their chains being tightened, and its apparent that not even the tree of liberty and brotherhood is able to currently break such chains.

We at Le Rappel pray to the Almighty that this Republic sees that the workers made France and that they deserve fair treatment in this nation. They are not just a means to an end, they are people. We pray that this Republic sees the errors it has made, and that it strives to better the condition of the working men and women of this country. If not, then the death of Philippe de la Marche will not be the end of individual workers taking matters into their own hands for the betterment of their class and as a final chance to break their brutal and oppressive chains imposed on them by men who do not and will not care that they die in droves every day.

-Arthur Veil

 

[Michaelangelo]

((Private - @Sneakyflaps ))

Florestine,

Word has reached me of the passing of your dear Philippe, and it has placed a heavy weight on my heart that I have not felt since the passing of my beloved Louis. With his passing comes the end of an era, for he did so much for France and could have done so much more if given the chance. I still remember our husbands' constant meetings during the Second Republic as us women were left to chat and get to know one another. I hope you remember the times all four of us spent together as fondly as I do. At times I wish I could turn back time and relive those moments again, but instead I must be content to look back on them and cherish what we had. Know that I mourn with you, and that I understand the struggles you must now face. It is no easy thing losing your other half. If ever you need me, whether as someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on, do not hesitate to contact me and I will be there to stand beside you through this troubling time.

- Belle de Rohan

 

[Otto of england]

((secret - Armada de Liberacion des Populara d'Occitania))
((Sent encrypted on telegraphs))

DIRECTIVE ONE STOP SOCIALISM DEEMED THREAT TO OCCITANIA STOP DEEMED THREAT TO CRITICAL LEADER PRINCE POLIGNAC STOP PLAIN CLOTHED GUARD SENT TO GUARD HIM STOP DEADLY FORCED AUTHORIZED STOP GOD SAVE OCCITANIA STOP

 

[etranger01]

((Private - @Andre Massena))

From the Office of the President

Mon cher Domadeaux,

Please find enclosed the signed warrant for M. Arthur Veil, on the charge of threats issued against another's person, and for incitement of public unrest. He is to be closely detained and questioned thoroughly regarding his involvement in the late assassination.

For the Republic,
Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte

 

[Andre Massena]

((Private - @Andre Massena))

From the Office of the President

Mon cher Domadeaux,

Please find enclosed the signed warrant for M. Arthur Veil, on the charge of threats issued against another's person, and for incitement of public unrest. He is to be closely detained and questioned thoroughly regarding his involvement in the late assassination.

For the Republic,
Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte

To: Police Prefect of Paris

Please execute the enclosed arrest warrant from the Provisional President of the Republic and Provisional Ministry of Justice for M. Veil with all due haste.

For the Republic,
Jean Francois Domadeaux
Provisional Minister of the Interior

 

[Firehound15]

UN ÉLOGE FUNÈBRE POUR M. DE CONDÉ
A Eulogy for M. de Condé
______________________________________________________________________________________ ​

What are we to make of a life cut short, brought to a close through violence? What are we to do when we memorialize a man sentenced to death for no crime. Did M. de Condé deserve to be sentenced to death as he was through the actions of a radical menace seeking to strike him down for naught but his successes in life? He was a good man, with a wife and children. Much can be said about him and his deeds in life. Some of us remember him for his occasional contributions to the French press, which were always thought-provoking and resolute in their positions. But he also served as a principal drafter of the Constitution of 1850, President of the French Republic, and a legislative official during the last monarchy. Of these latter things, we are all of course aware.

It is an honor to be able to write this eulogy on behalf of M. de Condé in the pages of this esteemed publication, which he was instrumental in acquiring many years ago. I knew him personally and we kept up a regular and informal correspondence during my years in Berlin. His assessments of affairs in France were often incisive and well-reasoned. This is a quality that, I am certain he would be disappointed to see, has failed to find its place among the radicals. Not much need be said of the vicious and false attack brought by M. Veil, the President's appointee to the Labor Commission. And yet, we would be blind to ignore the series of events that took M. de Condé from this world and invoked a new era of violence and division within France.

The management of a factory or business is in many ways the management of a family. The industrialist ensures both the health of the institution and its constituent parts. M. de Condé was an exemplar of this role. This is apparent by his calm demeanor in addressing the issue of industrial reform and the careful management of his various enterprises. That there exist some who would wish only to bring ruin upon a man for the mere offense of doing his duty on behalf of others is saddening. He had done nothing to provoke the violence set upon him, except defend the rights of industry guaranteed by our Constitution. For this he was attacked and murdered. Not for anything more.

Now we see the cruelty of the whole endeavor. Had the Labor Commission never been organized, M. de Condé would not be dead. Nor would M. Veil have such notoriety that any publication, even a disreputable one, would be willing to publish his words of violence. While M. de Condé worked tirelessly to reach a compromise, his efforts were ultimately in vain, for men such as M. Veil are the ones who wave the banner of radicalism. They do not believe it is possible to live in a country of brethren united in defense of a common cause. They are like starved wolves, hungry for the blood of the fattened lamb called democracy. Now they offer threats of further killings if they not appeased. It is clear that something must be done, or we will see other champions of industry murdered in cold blood by these cruel men.

M. de Condé's death must not be the beginning of many more. Inaction in the face of this menace is unacceptable. If they are willing to attack someone has amenable to their cause as M. de Condé, even willing to serve on a commission that served little purpose other than giving radicals the opportunity to insult him and his enterprises, one can only wonder who they will next turn their pistols toward. We cannot content ourselves only with the punishment of the perpetrator. There must be a united effort to put an end to such a violent perspective. There can be no place for discourse of the sort offered by M. Veil in France. To allow the radicals to continue advocating for the destruction of France would be an imprudent exercise of government's responsibilities. Action must be taken to ensure this will never happen again.

For now, however, we must also never forget the life of M. de Condé. As a former President of the French Republic, he ought to be allowed to lay in state and be given a proper funeral, befitting an individual of his stature. While there are doubtless some who will criticize one aspect of his life or another, it appears to me that the most simple fact of all is that he was a man with good intentions throughout it all. That he will never reach the age I am is a sad reminder of the cruelty of this world and the necessity of preventing the decay of our common values. But where it is possible for governments to prevent such calamities, is it not their solemn and sworn duty? Those are tomorrow's problems as well as yesterday's. Today is for the mourning of M. de Condé.

MONTVICQ.

 

[etranger01]

From the Office of the President

Let it be known that, in recognition of his prior attainments and his death in service to the Republic, the funeral of Philippe de la Marche, former President of the Republic, shall be a state occasion, with the full honors and dignities required of his stature. The loss of M. de la Marche is a loss to the Republic, and the Republic shall honor him accordingly.

For the Republic,
Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte

 

[DensleyBlair]

Memories of All Seasons
The Life of the Vicomte du Bessin

BOOK XXIII, CHAPTER II
The Death of the Prince du Condé—The Second Republic—Memories of Vienna​

I awoke one morning soon afterwards to the news of the assassination of the Prince du Condé, who was shot in broad daylight by a man described in the press as a 'radical socialist'. I have no doubt that their account was a true one, for the Prince had at that time been involved in the negotiations of the Commission on Labour, formed by President Bonaparte to assess the state of the labouring classes and the laws by which they were governed at the dawn of the new Republic. M. le Prince had been called up to serve on the Commission thanks to his considerable industrial interests, and it was not with a little opprobrium that he was received by the radical press, which was much exercised over the question of the Commission, and who had been gratified by the appointment of two known socialists to serve within the body.

The greatest infamy was attracted to M. Arthur Veil, who closely witnessed the death of M. le Prince, and who was quick to express sympathy for the assassination in the pages of a leftist periodical by the name of Le Rappel. By this time, the Labour Commission was already greatly beleaguered by the infighting which was always likely to arise by the common collection of men so ardently opposed, brought together in the hope of fashioning some settlement over issues where little cause for compromise could have been found. The speculators of the Bourse, as was their trade, reacted to each pronouncement and innuendo that emanated from the secret interior of the body of the Commission with hasty alarm, and one cannot but surmise that potassium in water is more inert than those men whose interest is the security of international finances. Of chief concern to the Bourse prior to Condé's assassination had been the possibility, then very real, of a settlement on labour in favour of the socialists, led as they were by men such as M. Veil, whose great joy amounted to the violent rebuttal of the machinations of the propertied class.

It had been many years since I had been personally acquainted with M. le Prince, though I retained some contact with him in the Peers, where he had often been in party with my friend Polignac. During the brief years of the Second Republic, that strange polity which flourished from 1850–53, M. le Prince had assumed a key role at the centre of the infamous drama whose end brought with it the Restoration of Bourbon rule to French shores. At this time, I was in exile from the intimate ranks of the Legitimist cause, following an early tantrum of the Comte de Charlus, thus my attachment to Condé had not been close. I had known him, rather, as a younger man, who had aided me during the middle of the previous decade as an attaché in my service at Court in Vienna. Condé at that point had not yet reached his thirtieth year, and while I was still younger than fifty, I came to assume for a moment what might, for want of some humility, be called a paternal role in the life of the young aristocrat. Condé was a charming figure, though not without some reserve, and he fast became well acquainted with my daughter, Marie-Joséphine, who was then very young, and whom Condé often took into Vienna in the role of chaperone.

I believe their to have been no small degree of friendship between Marie-Joséphine and the man who but six years later would be President, surpassing in so short a time the heights of even my long career. I was sat with Josette when I read the news of Condé's demise, and I inquired of her recollections of the late Prince. 'I knew that man for a short period a lifetime ago,' came the reply. 'He showed me great kindness as a young girl, eager as I then was to make my entry into the world, and believing myself to be quite ready to do so. For a time, it seemed to me as if life would be one great string of European tours, frequenting the diversions of London, Paris and Vienna in the company of young officers and noblemen's children. My acquaintance with the Prince belongs to a world which has not existed for some time, and today it gives me some share of amusement to recall it, if not a little sadness for its passing.'

 

[Carol-Niko]

Adelle Pauwels
(Minister of Foreign Affairs)​

(Private -- @99KingHigh )

From Pauwels

Tobie Beaudouin
Majordomo of the Pauwels Estate in Paris

Monsieur,

You are to immediately spend the required francs to hire armed bodyguards for myself, my family, and the estate. We need not leave everything to the whims of providence - not when there is so much still to do for France.

Yours,
Adelle Pauwels​

 

[ThaHoward]

Young Republican Fraternity

A political club and fraternal association.
​

Following the November Revolution radicalized members of the National Guard and the masses who took to the barricades formed, under the initiative of Jean-Bernadon Sémen Clar, an association who called themself the "Young Republicans Fraternity" and "Young Republicans".

Believing in the need of a new and young republican, who looked up to the men of the last republics and the restorations, but rejected them for their failures, they created the club as a forum to express their ideas. Chief among their principles was the rejection of both the conservateurs libéraux and the soc-dems, who they blamed both for the failure of the Second Republic and that they posed a threat to this new Young Republic. Moreover, they were staunch defenders and advocates of Laicism and believed only a secular republic could truly be emancipated and educate the masses, along with a masculine outlook on the revolution. The ideals of the revolution had to be exported to all of Europe, lest they face the same humiliation of the Second Republic; all French needed to be united under their true flag; the Tricolor.

In the same masculine spirit, they adulated the hyper-masculinity of the republican mass movement, and when they were rejected to form a club of their own in the Choule League, they were quick to dismiss it as a feminine sport, more suitable for the fairer sex and those who practiced sodomy. Instead, they looked to the games of Ancient Greece (in a strange twist of irony) and instead favored sports, within their clubs, such as boxing, wrestling, long-distance running, poetry writing and reading, and hoplite race.

In truth, the association was more of drinking, sports and, fraternal in nature, than political. Although the members proved to debate politics vigorously and would address each other as Citizen, and with a given name in Roman, and always end conversations and farewells with "In fraternity".

Their chosen flag was the Flag of Paris. The Young Republics rejected the white of the tricolor, believing it to represent the Bourbons. They accepted the Tricolor as the flag of France, however. Their first action was to parade, with both the Flags of Paris and France, but not the Red Flag, from the Pantheon to the Place de Concorde, in order to pay their respects to the Civic Martyrs - most of whom they had fought alongside in the National Guard or the Barricades. It was decided that every year during the 11th of November they would adulate and revere the Civic Martyrs with this parade, to honor their memory during the day that was bestowed to honor their fallen and slain fellow citizen-martyrs in their holy crusade against tyranny.

 

[ThaHoward]

​

A conversation took place among two Young Republicans.

"(...) Citizen Vipsanius, given the sheer violence inflicted upon us, by the Tyrant, He Who Must Not Be Names, would you, in retrospect, heed the rappel of the Provisional Government and the Seine General Council, take to arms and form the battalions, or would you rather prevent the carnage and seek reform through legalistic means?"

"The finest question, my fellow Citizen Marcellus. Years ago I read a report on a Seargent in Algeria who were part of a unit who had taken up positions at a brink, awaiting incoming Berber onslaught. Suddenly, he went ahead of the line of his unit and picked up his pistol and shot himself in the head".

Marcellus, who was really named Sébastian, looked puzzled and asked "what? What does this have to do with anything? Surely this sergeant suffered sunstroke and from it, insanity".

Vipsasianus, or rather Jean-Bernadon, was shocked. He did not fake it, he did exaggerate; his shock was sincere. "You do not see? You do not understand! How can you not see this! Just the day before, a Private, would admit in the following investigation, that the Sergeant had muttered "better dead than imprisoned by these savages", over and over again. This Sergeant would rather die than be captured by these savages, would rather die than face humiliation and servitude!

"And I share the same sentiments, I would rather die than to live one other day in servitude. I would rather die than live one day under the Bourbon Yoke. And so felt our martyrs. However, we do not shoot ourselves in the face and take the coward's way out. Rather, we take up our musket or rifle, to the barricades and fight for our Natural Rights as French! When His Rotundity refused us the National Aspiration, there was only one thing to do: To arms! Form the battalions! To the barricades! It was either liberty or death. And I would choose so any other day.

"(...) His Superfluous Majesty forced us to drown in blood, he would bury us and liberty in the ruins of Paris, there was no room for compromise. Yes, my dear Citizen Marcellus, I would certainly do so again. There is no nobler cause, and we are best to honor the Civic Heroes and Martyrs, and our Fathers, to remain, in perpetuity, vigilant against Tyranny and Reaction."

 

[Firehound15]

ÉTAT, ÉCONOMIE, ÉGLISE
Country, Commerce, Church
______________________________________________________________________________________ ​

We now hear at every turn of new demands, new visions for government meant to rescue France from its troubles. Some have promised nothing, others have promised all. But in all cases, they have been predisposed toward political ends far detached from the proper organization of our society and government. It is not that they have acted deceitfully. No, they have been more than sincere in their espousal of such premises. The trouble is that their plans are without firm and effective basis. Their principles lack the firm force of policy. Perhaps more to the point, they have failed to recognize the need for our society to be actively defended. All men involved in government should seek to govern in a way that ensures the good disposition of the public. Where the law can benefit government and consequently ensure domestic tranquility, a government should have no recourse but to adopt those policies. Where we can prevent the events of the past weeks from ever occurring again, we must take the initiative to do so.

It is to this end that I and others propose a threefold formula that we make our creed: "Country, Commerce, Church." Where some have sought to replace functional government with willpower and demagoguery alone, we profess admiration for a State purposeful in its operations and justly constituted. Where some have chosen to interfere with the ability of men to engage in industry and create animosities between employer and employee, we aspire that the Economy might flourish in a prosperity bounded only by the constraints of duty. Where some have sought to deny the importance of religion in daily life and to teach children nothing of their spiritual bonds, we declare our support for a Church recognized for its vital contributions to the well-being of our country.

To this end, the State as a whole must labor on behalf of the people. Where men live in fear, they must be soothed. To this end, we profess no small amount of admiration for the Constitution, for it has offered sanctuary in a time of crisis. But we must also understand fully that unless it is put into action properly, there will not be any true security. Similarly, should a vigorous and effective foreign policy not be conducted, not only will France want for its common safety, but the people will want for their individual defense as well. Let it not be forgotten that service to the ends of government is and will always be service on behalf of a moderate and even-tempered society. To ensure the good operation of the State, we propose the following:

• The demilitarization of Luxembourg by the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia has continued to fortify that territory since their annexation of it. As it stands, France cannot rest with a rifle aimed at its heart. We must ensure the territorial integrity of France and its continued brotherhood with all the countries of Europe. But we also cannot allow such a persistent threat against this country and its people. The fortification of Luxembourg must be ended and assurances made to France.
• The centralization of France and the promotion of a common civilization. To this end we must expand education and its relationship with the Church. No country can survive and suffer under the burden of internal divisions. And while there is no doubt that the right to organize communes locally can enable some to improve their moral stature, we can never forget that we belong to one civil society. There is no reason why any two Frenchmen should be alien from each other.
• The interpretation of the Constitution in accordance with its principles. As the National Assembly has been delegated under Article Forty "all powers not specifically allocated elsewhere," it has been given the ability to interpret the document and its protections. As we read it, there is no doubt whatsoever that under Article Eleven's assurance that "the Constitution guarantees to citizens the freedom of labor and of industry," no union can be admitted. We believe that the National Assembly must act in accordance with its responsibility to the Constitution. It must therefore declare in no uncertain terms that unionization is impermissible under that principle. We cannot allow the existence of radical unions intent on destroying French society when there exists such a Constitutional right.
• The eternal abolition of conscription. It has been observed that conscription's greatest victim has all too often been the common person and his family. Where conscription has been authorized under the Constitution, we insist that it cannot be allowed to persist. The military should be comprised of those men who have chosen service, rather than those who have been coerced into it. The National Assembly should amend the Constitution to repeal Article Eighty-One and abolish the practice in perpetuity.

Government must also prioritize the economic health of this country and its prosperity. Where men are encumbered by onerous interference and insistence upon national standards not clearly applicable to their individual conditions, it must be concluded that industry will be hampered. To this end it is necessary to not only affirm the promises made to the people of France under the Constitution, but to expand commercial rights beyond them. It has been suggested by the Republican Union that they will intervene politically in order to eradicate pauperism. This is a principle seen most clearly in the President's Labor Commission, which has signaled all too clearly his willingness to contemplate acquiescence to radicalism and socialism. Such interventions are not worthwhile. The uplift of society will never come if France is to encumber commerce needlessly. The betterment of the Economy will come only from policies such as the following:

• The reduction of the Tax of the Thirty Centimes and other domestic burdens. Where taxes are made on property, it discourages the full industry of those men who might seek to pursue it wholeheartedly. We have imposed such a tax for too long and it is apparent that now more than ever we must rid ourselves of it however possible. While we must recognize the realities of what is necessary for government, we cannot allow for such a cumbersome burden to continue resting upon the backs of the French public.
• The further expansion of the rail and road network. While we have already begun to see the benefits offered to France by the expansion of transportation, we must continue to ensure that France's network stands as a spectacle to Europe. But such growth cannot only come in the countryside. It must also extend into the cities, which must be fully integrated into the whole of France. Funds must be set aside not only for their revitalization, as the Provisional Government has done, but also for their reorganization. The newest technologies should be used to transform human transport in our greatest cities.
• The creation of new housing accessible to artisans and craftsmen of more modest means. We must ensure that such housing is cheap enough that it can be afforded and that loans are available to help hardworking men in making such acquisitions. To this end, the construction of housing of this type throughout France should be subsidized and actively promoted. For engagement in industry can only be helped if those of more modest means but great ambition are able to acquire private property and be strengthened in their resolve.
• The reform of tariffs on agricultural commodities. Tariffs should be fixed at a high rate in order to protect French farmers and prevent predation by unscrupulous foreign cereal merchants. As it stands, tariffs on such goods are too low to be of value to the plight of the farmer and too prone to fluctuations. France has the capacity to ensure that its people are fed in most years. In those years where it cannot, we would be wise not to allow foreign speculators to bankrupt this country and its people.

While these ends are in appearance secular, we cannot forget that good government is fundamentally connected to a proper moral disposition. In the pursuit of all of these premises, the guiding motivation of the public's representatives must be the defense of a society that not only affords liberties useful to its unity and purpose but also guarantees order and restraint among the public. One of monarchy's successes was the pursuance of a society bounded by moral decency and the Christian family. France cannot be allowed to fall into anarchy, as the radicals in Lyon and Paris sought and the murderous now seek. To allow such a thing would be to doom the people of the Republic. But we must also recognize that we must avoid libertinism and pursue restrictions generally agreeable to the French public. There is no reason why we might ever wish to tolerate a Sade in our midst. The Church must be strengthened in these ways, at least:

• The recognition of the important position of the Catholic Church in our communities and their history. It should be afforded a special place under French law as the religion of the people, binding together all of France. This should not come at the expense of followers of other faiths, but only as a positive force. The Church must simply have a place in our society that recognizes its importance. Church holidays should once again be recognized, as they have been, and the Church must remain in some way part of the educational framework of France. Its role in ensuring spiritual maturity must not be neglected. For this reason, the Republican Union's sixth principle must be rejected.
• The increase of allowances for ministers, as authorized by the Constitution. We have not seen such an increase for many years and its absence is felt particularly in the countryside. Ministers engaged in education, in particular, must be recipient to greater stipends than they have been afforded. There is no doubt that France's education will not be able to improve when its educators are underpaid and underutilized.
• The criminalization of the obscene. Actions detrimental to society should have no place in the public sphere. Gross indecency, first made permissible in 1791, must not be allowed. Incest must be made illegal and punishable under the law. In such a time of great reform and upheaval, we must ensure that our society must not be allowed to decay. The family and the common sphere are the foundation of the country and must be governed according to healthful principles.

This our proposal for France. It is not the creed of a party or any personality. It is simply an observation of circumstances and one that we make only after great hesitation. If the Republican Union accedes to all these proposals and rejects the wicked impulses of socialism, they will find themselves reconciled in full to our program and the country bettered because of it. If not, then it might be observed that they seek a course of action that will culminate only in the weakening of this country and its Constitution. Country, commerce, and Church must stand together as cornerstone to our society. Without any of the three, there can be only violence, rampant licentiousness, and theft. We do not stand for the oppression of the individual by the many, but the principle that government should conduct its affairs in pursuit of the common good of the country's people. Where errors have been previously made, they shall not be made again. But we must also be cautious in reform, that we do not reform simply for its own sake, but for the sake of our common disposition. There is no alternative course.

MONTVICQ, ROHAN, VALLÉE, &C.

 

[Dadarian]

​

Gai had the papers in front of him. The ATF had some Walloon splitters. Veil arrested in connection to the Le Manche assassination. In the headquarters (officially) of OFRT, Gai called upon half a dozen runners.

"This is our moment. Go to the factories and the labour bosses. See if we can present ourselves as the most cohesive union movement in the nation. Go, NOW! Before the socialists realize what they're doing."

Gai moved another paper into the pile, some diatribe of some no-name politician. Nothing of note.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Bessin sat in his study reviewing the Parisian newspapers. He paid particular attention to a prominent article in La Presse, authored jointly by a number of men on the right – not least the Vicomte de Montvicq, formerly Ambassador to the Kingdom of Prussia. Montvicq had previously solicited Bessin's advice on the matter of how to proceed with the conservative cause following the fall of the monarchy. Bessin had been active in encouraging the younger man to continue his political life, and now it seemed this activity had come to fruition.

The programme outlined was, on the whole, reasonable, but Bessin was perturbed by the general emphasis on matters of industry and property. Chiefly, he was concerned by the given legal opinion stating that the new republican constitution forbade the formation of labour unions. Bessin was not convinced that the existence of unions tout court represented a fundamental threat to the status of French industry.

Further, he detected a troubling hint in the article's conclusion. The authors wrote of standing against 'the oppression of the individual by the many,' instead holding to 'the principle that government should conduct its affairs in pursuit of the common good of the country's people.' How did this square, Bessin wondered, with stringent attacks on the labouring classes? Bessin feared that the conservative opposition was fast becoming the party of property, and the welfare of the property-holding classes, to the exclusion of the general welfare.

 

[Firehound15]

AN EXCERPT FROM THE JOURNAL OF HECTOR DE MONTVICQ
~~~
May 7, 1867
_______________________________________________________________________​

It is unfortunate that it seems some have misinterpreted the platform put forward by myself and others in La Presse. There are at least a few acquaintances who I have had to reassure of our position on the matter. As a matter of principle, we do not stand for the unchecked accumulation of wealth in the propertied classes. But I also believe that in these days we have no choice but to reject the radicals' proposition that the laboring classes must be elevated at the expense of the propertied. We should never seek to endorse such theft and it is this point that I have endeavored to make clear at all times. The betterment of all of France's people will come not from highway robbery, but from a prosperous and tranquil condition suitable for the mutual amelioration of society.

I have for my entire career been an advocate for private organizations dedicated to such ends. With M. Auberjonois I supported mutual aid among workers and all the benefits associated with it. I endeavored in the press to fight for an end to restrictions on such organizations. But with the rise of these unions, I do not see the good and helpful institutions of the past. Organized by socialists who seek to tear down everything that France and her people have worked for, they are incapable of resolving matters appropriately. This is a fact evidenced by their increasing violence. As a matter of practice, the benefits given to the laboring public will be negligible compared to more effective and well-reasoned approaches.

To this I should add the clarity of the Constitution, which has guaranteed rights of "labor" and "industry" to the people of France. That these things forbid unionization is to me self-evident, regardless of whether the underlying rights associated with them exist or not. If one must join a union in order to work for a given employer, then it is a restriction on that person's right of labor. If a business cannot manage its own affairs and must instead accede to the demands of a national majority, then it is a restriction on the proprietor of that business's right of industry. This does not preclude the involvement of government in alleviating the plight of the masses, but it does necessitate an end to organizations whose sole purpose is the violation of these two legally guaranteed precepts.

The issue with most industrial policy is that it looks to Britain rather than to Prussia. In the former case, industry is blatantly dehumanizing. In that country there are only laborers and employers, labor and wages. In the latter, a healthy relationship between employer and employee has been developed. Like the old nobility, they hold not only a legal responsibility for their employees, but a moral one. That is the system we ought to emulate. Regulations should not seek to limit the actions of individuals and their employers, but only to ensure the proper exercise of their duties. An employer must be held to a standard not because certain actions are wrong, but because certain others are right.

As I have written and published previously, the President's error was not in seeking to address disputes surrounding labor. It was in the method, whereby he turned what is a local occurrence into a national one and cost a man his life because of it. This is a point I have made and will continue to make to those who have expressed skepticism toward our project. It has simply happened that our present affairs have required a strong repudiation of socialism and its methods, a fact that I am not pleased by, for it has created a dark and hazy cloud that will in all likelihood continue to loom over our political society for many years to come. I can only hope that we can all see the forest for the trees and recognize that a policy amenable to those without property will first require an affirmation of the principle of private ownership which provides the only mechanism by which their circumstances can be overcome.

 

[ThaHoward]

Letter to the editor:​

Knowing Jérôme Lécuyer as anti-clerical and a fallen Civic Martyr I am sure he is rolling in his grave.

Citizen Vipsanius.

 

[Firehound15]

Letter to the editor:​

Knowing Jérôme Lécuyer as anti-clerical and a fallen Civic Martyr I am sure he is rolling in his grave.

Citizen Vipsanius.

While this particular letter is not published in the newspaper due to constraints on the number of letters to the editor that can be published in any given issue, Monsieur Vipsanius is sent a personalized response:

((Private - @ThaHoward))

Monsieur Vipsanius,

While we regret to inform you that there is not enough space available in the publication to publish your particular letter, although we encourage you to expand upon your reasoning and send another letter at another time.

We might add, however, that we do not believe M. de Montvicq and his colleagues would agree with your particular estimation of M. Lecuyer and his legacy. We must not forget that he did not live to see what has become of the Republic. All throughout France, violence and disorder reign supreme. Are we to believe that he, a champion for democracy and the betterment of all men, would be opposed to the reforms offered therein? Having achieved his life's work, the extension of suffrage to the people of France, are we to believe he would then advocate for the complete demolition of the system he worked so hard to create? We do not believe it to be so.

On the matter of the Church, we have spoken to M. de Montvicq and asked him to clarify for you. He insists that your evaluation of M. Lecuyer fails to consider the actual principles advocated for in the pages of this paper. At no point did M. Lecuyer ever advocate in the pages of La Presse for the abolition of the Church in its entirety, which is what the radicals now propose. He had his concerns about the proper role of the Church in relation to French society, that much is true, but to portray him as you do as an iconoclast bent on eradicating religion in France is a disservice to his memory. We have no doubt that were he alive today, he would be amenable to the notion that there is a place in French society for the Church. Let us not forget that this Republic is no longer the Restoration, and what one man thought was good for the latter might not be what he would think was good for the former.

THE EDITORS.

 

[Andre Massena]

((Private- Office of the Provisional President of the Republic @etranger01 and Minister of Justice))

Paris Prefecture of Police

Joachim Pietri was born in Corsica and was the younger brother Pierre Marie Petri, a politically prominent lawyer in the June Monarchy and eventual opponent of the regime. He was appointed as justice of the peace in the Corsican canton of Rogliano thanks to his brother's political connections. Joachim and Pierre avidly supported the 1850 Revolution and were both awarded with prominent political positions in the Second Republic, as Pierre was appointed prefect of Corsica and then elected to the Assembly while Joachim was appointed as sub-prefect of Argentan. Both brothers soon became prominent supports of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte and joined the Parti du Rhin.

After the Third Restoration, Pierre remained in France and lived a quiet life until his death in 1864, while Joachim followed Bonaparte into exile in London. Joachim joined the Louisana expedition after the initial landing of "the Seven" and distinguished himself with his ferocity. To those closer to the Bonaparte "inner circle", he became known for his brutal tactics and treatment of captured slavers.

Upon the ascension of Bonaparte, Joachim was appointed as Sub-Prefect of the Police of Paris by Domadeaux with the understanding he would be tasked to carry out the more "unsavory" elements of policing. Domadeaux has now tasked Pietri with the interrogation of Felixe Cresseance, the socialist who was detained after fleeing from the scene of the La Marche murder, to confirm whether Cresseance actually fired the gun and, if so, whether he had any accomplices.


CLASSIFIED: MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AND PARIS POLICE PREFECTURE

INTERROGATION OF FELIX CRESSEANCE

JP: MY NAME IS JOACHIM PIETRI. I AM THE SUB-PREFECT OF POLICE.

JP: STILL SILENT?

JP: THIS WILL GO EASIER IF YOU TALK.

JP: ALRIGHT, WE CAN DO THIS THE EASY WAY OR THE HARD WAY. WHERE DID YOU GET THE GUN? WERE YOU WORKING WITH ANYONE?

JP: YOU KNOW I WAS IN LOUISIANA? I'M SURE YOU READ A BIT ABOUT IT. BUT THEY DID NOT SAY WHAT WE WOULD DO TO THE SLAVERS WE CAUGHT.

TRANSCRIPT ENDED

 

[etranger01]

((@naxhi24))

Findings of the Criminal Court

On the charge of incitement of public unrest, Arthur Veil is found guilty. The punishment is death by hanging, to be carried out immediately.

---

From the Office of the President

In light of the political nature of his offense, and in acknowledgement of his invaluable assistance to the authorities in related matters, I hereby commute M. Arthur Veil's sentence to transportation to Algeria, to be carried out immediately.

For the Republic,
Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte

 

[TJDS]

Les Délibérations de la Commission du Travail

By Achille Bonhomme,
Fmr. Chief Representative of Labour

Published in Paris, 1867

Dedicated to His Excellency,
The President of the French Republic

Foreword​

No more than eight minutes before the fatal shots were fired, M. La Marche, M. Germain and myself had discussed the reforms necessary for labour in France. The murder of M. La Marche in front of the Tullieres shocked France. The thoughts of the Members of the Labour Commission are with the surviving Mdm. La Marche, their children and family. In the meantime, we shall continue to carry the torch for reform. The same torch M. La Marche carried with him in our deliberations.

Before the legacy of the Labour Commission, the legacy to which M. La Marche contributed, is further besmirched by those vulturine, homeless speculators of international capital, I take up the pen. This publication shall provide the history and theoretical underlying of and deliberation by the Labour Commission - edited for the sake of legibility to an audience unpossessive of the time to actively study the volumes of testimonies, research, deliberations and propositions that passed through the Commission chamber. This volume is produced not only for the sake of prosperity but to advance the debate on the position of labour in French society as a whole.

Chapter One
The Labour Question​

Labour in France is nothing short of the engine of progress. Labour in France creates the welfare of our people protects and institutions of our Republic. However, the rapid advance of industrial labour has created social, moral and economic conditions which imposed upon the Labour Commission an undeniably pressing question. “What change in social conditions will result in a more satisfying relationship between those whose capital is in their dexterity and their muscles and those whose capital is solely financial?” For it can no longer be denied that the relationship between these two components of society is thoroughly disturbed. A testament to this fact is the death and injury of workers in recent months as punishment for their protests for conditions which by law they had already been guaranteed. To restore to France a mutually beneficial social, moral and economic relationship between physical and monied capital was and still is the principal aim of all members of the Labour Commission. To quest for our answer to the Labour Question, indubitably the central question of this age, shall be described in the coming chapters.

The reason Frenchmen died protesting for the application of the law as written was of great consternation to the members of the Labour Commission. As evidenced by the testimonials of workers and civil servants, succeeding monarchist Ministries hollowed out and circumvented the Law on Safety of Mills and Factory, 1857 and the Law on Mines, 1810 out of fear of the vulturine speculators on the Bourse of the Anglo-Saxon and otherwise immoral disposition. Conditions, especially in “sweated” industries, such as chain-making, ready-made tailoring, paper-box making, machine-made lace and finishing trading, deteriorated to conditions unseen in civilized Europe. These vulturine speculators and reactionaries, encouraged in their intransigence by the reluctance of Ministers to carry out the laws on the land, turned to the whip and sabre to maintain their grip over their workforce. The testimonials the Commission heard would not have been out of place in Pharaonic Egypt of the Old Testament. Although industrialists in England lead by the social industrialist Richard Owen demonstrated such treatment of workers to be detrimental to productivity and morality and there is growing following of French Owenite industrialists, no member of the Labour Commission would deny the harmful and still widespread presence of these vulturine speculators and reactionaries in our most deplorable and unprofitable industries.

Not only did the Labour Commission object on economic and moral basis to this indefensible behaviour, it observed the damaging effect on state credibility among the productive classes. As the Law on Safety of Mills and Factory, 1857 and the Law on Mines, 1810 were turned into paper dragons out of fear for homeless speculators, the credibility of peaceful reform was significantly hampered. This lack of credibility of reform, combined with Pharaonic treatment created conditions where militant agitation against both the incredible State and these unlawful industrial practices would be the norm. It on these basis of these findings that the Labour Commission established two facts: (1) Enforcement of Legislation must be central to any recommendations of the Labour Commission, lest the state and the free exercise of industry fall victim to the incredibility and unlawfulness that caused the Revolution of 1867; (2) Legislation must be introduced on the basis of proven industrial practices, such as demonstrated by social industrialists, so as to protect French People, French State, and French capital, in physical and financial form, from the Pharaonic practices that so hampered the free exercise of industry and the advancement of welfare of the French people.

Chapter Two
Direct Reform

Actual Enforcement​

Nothing is more destructive to the State than a law of the land ignored by design. It is thus that the members of the Commission argued for the creation of an Inspection du Travail. Every commune with at least seven-thousand-five-hundred inhabitants would have an Inspection to investigate and report on all labour conditions in its locality and deliver reasonable punishment for infractions against the laws on labour conditions. Furthermore, to oversee the implementation of the law and good work of the local Inspections, the Ministry of the Interior would form an Inspection National de Travail, to assist in and assure the Inspection du Travail are successful in the ultimate execution of the social legislation and its clauses. This, to prevent the same rot that felled the Monarchy from destroying the Republic from within.

General Conditions of Employment​

After hearing the aforementioned testimonials of the conditions of child and female labour in the mills and factories of France, even after the passage of the Law on Safety of Mills and Factories, 1857, the Commission resolved upon the creation of a new and clarified framework on working conditions. As members such as M. La Marche and myself advocated, the mines, places of hazardous, hard and skilled labour, was no place for children. From testimonies of children as young as eight years old, these children were sent down the pits to do this unforgiving work, forcing their father out of work and their families into immorality and poverty. These conditions of labour are simply unacceptable. It is thus that the Labour Commission resolved to ban all child labour in non-familial and non-agricultural work places to the age of twelve. Between the ages of twelve and fifteen, employment in hazardous conditions or places were skilled labour is necessary is forbidden. This is, firstly, to prevent the significant harm this labour has repeatedly brought upon the youth of France, snatching a productive future and all its possible contributions to France away. Secondly, it is to ensure the employment of actually skilled into the necessary positions. As social industrialists in England, Flanders and Germany have shown, such dedicated employment vastly increased productivity, while significantly lowering injury and death among the work force.

A similar line of thought applied to the role of female labour in France. Where skilled labour is necessary or hazardous conditions are present, the necessity of employment of skilled labour over female labour cannot be denied. Furthermore, the Commission sought to resolve the increasing pressures on the morality of the family as a result of industrial relations of labour. The use of female labour should be terminated upon marriage, to protect both the morality of the family and protect mothers from the pressures of industrial labour.

Finally, the Commission’s aim to translate the Constitution’s clear position on the right of association into the work place. Ensuring all persons in employment enjoyed the right of positive association pertaining to the occupation or place where these persons are employed. However, to prevent disruptions in the free exercise of industry, whoever, by means of violence or assault, organized or attempted to organize the destruction of the free exercise of industry would have to be adequately punished by relevant authorities.

Safety of Labour​

Among the chief concern among the whole of the Labour Commission was a safe environment for employment. “In cases of risqué professionnel,” meaning injury or death incurred during work, “the employer has to pay out,” as M. La Marche stated quite vividly “to settle the issue.” It cannot be denied that the employers are responsible for the safe working conditions of their employees. To that end, the establishment of risqué professionnel in labour relations is necessary, moral and widely supported measure. Further, the Labour Commission resolved to re-establish the original outlines of the Law on Safety of Mills and Factories, 1857, declaring that every fly-wheel directly connected with the steam engine or water-wheel or other mechanical power, whether in the engine-house or not, and every part of a steam engine and water-wheel, and every hoist or teagle, near to which persons are liable to pass or are to be employed, and all parts of the mill-gearing included in a factory or hazardous workplace, including power shafts, are to be securely fenced.

Furthermore, upon hearing testimony of the lethal conditions of labour in the textile mills of Liège, where one women lost her life and another lost an arm to insecurely protected fly-wheel, the Commission resolved all industrial Accidents must be reported to an approved surgeon and investigated by the Inspection du Travail.

Chapter Three
Institutional Reform

Insurance against the Maladies of Labour​

"That a worker should stay home while sick, is clear to all, for his health to recover is for his benefit. Likewise that a person is prepared for old age, is a wise idea." From this shared conviction, here formulated by the late M. La Marche, members of the Commission proposed the establishment of mandatory insurance across France after a reasonable transitionary period. This follows both in the footsteps of pension insurances as old as 1634 state insurance of the marines of the Gironde, as it does the growing mutualist movement of workers and their industrial patrons across France. The aim of these proposals is to extend these good, but still far too disperate, impulses across France. Such insurances provide not only the French economy with an impetus of investable capital, as is the case with the Caisse Generale, these insurances protect families from sicknesss, disability and old age without harming the general competativeness of French industry.

Elevation of the Productive Elements of Society​

The state of the productive elements of society was another matter of pressing concern to the members of the Commission. To this end, the Labour Commissioned considered the establishment of a Bureau de Placement and the Bureau d'Élévation de Travailleurs. On the one hand, the Bureau de Placement would be responsible for matching labour-supply to labour-demand, through the keeping of unemployment and employment demand registries. This Bureau would effectively eradicate the inefficiencies in labour exhange, a mutually benefitial development for the general welfare of France. On the other, the Bureau d’Élévation de Travailleurs would be tasked to provide facilities, either at the Bourse or through cooperation with other institutions, of education, self-enlightenment and learning ranging from fundamental bases of republican citizenship, literacy, to more advanced skills necessary to provide access to productive employment and membership of society, to those would-be productive members of society lacking the necessary skills. Both proposals have seen effectively applied by various mutualites on a smaller scale. With the support of the Republic, the benefits of these institutions to the advancement of both physical and financial capital would be undenaible.

Modernization of the Utility Workman Service​

In 1820, Interior Minister Victor Durand established the Utility Workman Service for unemployed men above the age of sixteen with a good moral character. This service was a vital backbone of the Durand Reforms, which saw the construction and repair of infrastructure in the widest sense of the word. Canal, bridges, roads, mills, post offices, these men build France from the destruction of the Napoleonic Wars. In return for their service, these men would be paid in kind and recieve a sunday's pay upon a week's completion. Although this may have been adequate in the 1820s, the hollowing out of the sustenance pay by succeeding Royal Ministries, as testified before the Commission, has created artificial famine among the families of the Utility Workman Service. It was therefore the opinoon of the Commission members that this vital Service was modernized before its fourth anniversary.

Upon hearing testimony of local prefects of selling the sustanence meant for the Utility Workmen to the highest bidder, in an attempt to cover a budget shortfall, causing famine among the Workmen families in Brittany in 1858, the Commission argued for the enshrinement of sustenance pay for the Utility Workmen in coin. Furthermore, responding to long standing designs by the Ministry of War, the Commission suggested the Utility Workmen should be allowed to be requisitioned by the Minister of War for logistical or supply purposes, as this untapped pool of manpower may be vital for the military interests of France. Lastly, as modern infrastructure, like railroads and telegraphs, and modern public utilities like sewers and street lighting, grows in importance to our general welfare, the Commission proposed the expansion of the already large infrastructural responsibilities of the Service to include these vital components for the general welfare. Through this modernization of the Utility Workman Service, the Commission sought to bring Victor Durand's mission for the Service to these times: "to save those men of good moral character, unemployed by no fault of their own, but for the vicissitudes of the market, from the starvation and paupurism that lead to immorality and revolution."

Recognition of the Necessity of Sustenance​

Upon hearing testimony of workers in "sweated industries," where the conditions of labour and the rate of pay are far below the necessity of sustenance, the Commission discussed various means to eleviate these conditions, thereby pacifying these industries from militancy, without sacrificing the necessary industry. Chief among the proposals that were deliberated upon is the introduction of local wage boards. These wage boards would represent one of five "sweated" trades, chain-making, ready-made tailoring, paper-box making, machine-made lace and finishing trading in agiven locality. Members of the Wage Boards were to be appointed by the Ministry of the Interior. Among these members were represented, in parity, the proprietors and workers in these trades.

These Wage Boards would meet and discuss the establishment of a proposed minimum rate in its respective sweated trade in the locality. Proprieters, through cooperation and agreement with workers, would be able to establish a minimum, which took into account the necessity of sustenance of their employees, without having to fear for competition from the other proprieters in the locality. Employers would have to pay wages not less than the minimum unless there was a written agreement under which the worker agrees to accept less. If less than the minimum was paid and there is no such written agreement, wages at the minimum rate would have been able to be recovered from the employer as a debt, in return the employer would not liable to be fined. However, if the employer were to recieve a contract from a commune, department or any other government institution, he must give notice to the wage board that he is willing to be bound by the rate fixed and to be liable for the fine for underpayment as if the rate had been obligatory. Without thereby directly intervening in the market or sacrificing the natural equilibrium, the Republic could ensure the minimum sustenance among the worst affected workers of France and thereby pacify these industries from harming the Republic or the free excercise of industry.

Appendix One:
Proposals as deliberated upon by the Labour Commission

Spoiler

Proposals as deliberated upon by the Labour Commission​

Section One: Pertaining to the Employment and Labour of Children

I. The employment of children under the age of twelve [12] years is forbidden.​

II. The employment of children between the ages of twelve [12] and fifteen [15] shall be:​

a. Forbidden in mills, factories, mines, quarries, mining industry or other forms of employment where hard or skilled labour is necessary or hazardous labour conditions are present.​

b. Employed no more than eight [8] hours per day after 1st January, 1868.​

c. Employed no longer at night, that is between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., or Sunday.​

III. All children in employment between the ages of fifteen [15] and eighteen [18] shall be:​

a. Employed no more than eight [8] hours per day after 1st January, 1868.​

b. Employed no longer at night, that is between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., or Sunday.​

c. Forbidden to be employed in mines, quarries, mining industry, the cleaning of moving machinery or any other forms of employment where skilled labour is necessary or hazardous labour conditions are present.​

IV. The age of children in employment is to be verified by an approved surgeon.​

V. All children not in employment are to receive an education, and shall be required to complete primary education, and a secondary education up to the level of the collège.​

​

Section Two: Pertaining to the Employment and Labour of Women

I. All women in employment shall be:​

a. Employed no more than eight [8] hours per day after 1st January, 1868.​

b. Employed no longer at night, that is between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., or Sunday.​

c. Forbidden to be employed in mines, quarries, mining industry, the cleaning of moving machinery or any other forms of employment where skilled labour is necessary or hazardous labour conditions are present.​

II. All women in employment, upon their marriage, shall be released from their contractual work obligations, unless explicitly approved by the local Chair of the Labour Inspection, and given six [6] fr. upon release of contract. ​

Section Three: Pertaining to the General Conditions of Labour and Employment

I. All persons in employment shall be:​

a. Employed no more than ten [10] hours per day after 1st January, 1868, if his daily employment is not regulated by Section One, Article IIb, Article IIIa, Section Two Article Ia or Section Three Article IIa.​

b. Allowed ninety [90] minutes for meal breaks.​

1. Meal breaks must take place at a reserved location within the work premises, as approved by an inspector.​

II. All persons in employment in mines and quarries shall be:​

a. Employed no more than eight [8] hours per day after 1st January, 1868.​

b. Employed no longer at night, that is between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., or Sunday.​

III. All persons in employment shall enjoy the right of positive association pertaining to the occupation or place where these persons are employed.​

IV. Whoever, by means of violence or assault, organized or attempted to organize the destruction of the free exercise of industry can be punished with imprisonment between six [6] days to three [3] years and a fine of sixteen [16] fr. to three-thousand [3,000] fr., or only one of these two penalties.​

V. Time keeping in workplaces is to be made by public clock, approved by a labour inspector.​

Section Four: Pertaining to General Safety Concerns

I. Every fly-wheel directly connected with the steam engine or water-wheel or other mechanical power, whether in the engine-house or not, and every part of a steam engine and water-wheel, and every hoist or teagle, near to which persons are liable to pass or are to be employed, and all parts of the mill-gearing included in a factory or hazardous workplace, including power shafts, are to be securely fenced.​

II. Employers shall be responsible for cleaning of the work premises at least every eight [8] months, furthermore, employers shall be responsible for the risque professionnel on the work premise.​

III. Thorough records regarding compliance with this Act must be maintained, and are to be made available to inspectors upon request.​

III. Industrial Accidents must be reported to an approved surgeon and investigated by the Inspection du Travail.​

IV. An abstract of this Act must be hung up in the workplace so as to be easily read, and must as a minimum show: the names and addresses of the inspector and sub-inspector of the commune; the certifying surgeon; the times for beginning and ending work; the amount of time and time of day for meals, and the location where meals are to be taken.​

Section Five: Pertaining to Insurances against the Maladies of Labour

I. Insurance against Sickness:​

a. All persons in wage employment shall be insured against sickness. ​

b. All persons in wage employment shall contribute to the fund thirty [3o] centimes a week; all employers shall contribute thirty [30] centimes a week per person in their employ.​

c. All persons in wage employment, upon being declared too sick to work by a certified health officer, will be paid ten [10] francs a week for the first ten [10] weeks of sick leave and five [5] francs a week for the next ten [10] weeks.​

d. The sickness of persons claiming sick leave must be certified at least once every week by a certified health officer.​

e. The insurance shall be mandatory after 1st January 1869.​

II. Insurance against Disability and Old Age​

a. All persons in industrial and mining wage employment shall be insured against disability through industrial accidents and old age. ​

b. All persons in wage employment shall contribute to the fund thirty [3o] centimes a week; the government shall contribute twenty [20] centimes a week.​

c. All persons in wage employment, upon reaching the age of seventy [70] or being declared disabled by a certified health officer, will receive five [5] fr. a week.​

d. The insurance shall be mandatory after 1st January 1871.​

III. Insurance against Unemployment:​

a. All persons in wage employment in highly cyclical industries shall be insured against disability through industrial accidents. These highly cyclical industries are:​

1. Building Trades​

2. Mechanical Engineering​

3. Foundries​

4. Dockyards​

5. Sawmills​

b. All persons in such wage employment shall contribute to the fund twenty [20] centimes a week; all employers shall contribute twenty [2o] centimes a week per person in their employ; the government shall contribute twenty [20] centimes a week.​

c. All persons in such wage employment, upon being laid off through no fault of their own, will be eligible for seven [7] francs a week of financial support for a maximum of fifteen [15] weeks in a period of two [2] years. ​

d. The insurance shall be mandatory after 1st January 1873.​

Section Six: Pertaining to the Employ of Insurance Capital for Utility and Workers’ Elevation

I. The Caisse d’epargne des Travailleurs (Workers’ Savings Bank, henceforth referred to as the Caisse) shall administer and control the capital under the Insurances against the Maladies of Labour.​

II. The Caisse shall be established in pre-existing offices of the Utility Workmen Service and, where the aforementioned lack, Post Service.​

III. Each communal Caisse is owned for its members and works for their financial success and communal development. The Caisse seeks the elevation of the working class.​

IV. Each member of the Caisse has one share and one vote.​

IV. Individuals and Organizations in the region wherein the local Caisse was established, henceforth referred to local individuals and organizations, are permitted to open a deposit account.​

V. Yearly interest is added to each deposit account, paid out of profits from the communal Causse, at rates set by the communal Caisse in conjunction with the National Credit Union Communission​

VI. Local individuals and organizations are permitted to open an investment account at their Caisse.​

VII. Local individuals and organisations are permitted to apply for a loan at their Caisse​

VIII. Caisses are to provide loan structures that meet the needs of applicants while minimizing risks and working for the financial success of its members and communal development.​

IX. Caisses are to create investment vehicles to meet demands of the locality and its members; which can be achieved by, among other things, the following:​

a. Caisses may source investment vehicles from private banks approved by the National Credit Union Commission.​

b. Caisses are encouraged to work together with other Caisses to create investment vehicles.​

c. Caisses may work with private banks approved by the National Credit Union Commission.​

d. Caisses are encouraged to work alongside together with other Caisses to create larger loans when beneficial.​

Section Seven: Pertaining to the Employment in the Utility Workman’s Service

I. The Utility Workmen Service shall employ local excess labour to carry out necessary work.​

II. Utility Workmen may be requisitioned by the Ministry of War for military supply and logistic purposes or the Ministry of the Interior to be used for the purpose of repairing, expanding, refurbishing et c. bridges, railroads, roads, docks, windmills, watermills, granaries, canals, government buildings, and bakeries in those regions, departments, and communes of France in which they are deemed necessary.​

III. The Ministries of War and the Interior will reimburse the Utility Workmen for the requisitioning of labour, and funds will be made available to that end for both Ministries.​

IV. All Utility Workmen must be resident in the Department in which the work is taking place at the time that such works begin.​

V. The Utility Workmen weekly wage is to be set at eight [8] fr., twenty [20] centimes.​

VI. The Utility Workmen are to be awarded, if they have completed all six [6] workdays of the week adequate and admirably completed their tasks, a further one [1] fr., sixty-four [64] centimes in an account at the communal Caisse d'Épargne de Travailleurs, which can be withdrawn after three weeks, but can be immediately used as a guarantee for loans.​

Section Eight: Pertaining to the Labour Exchange, Improvement and Inspection

I. Every commune with seven-thousand-and-five-hundred [7,500] inhabitants or more shall establish a Bourse du Travail no longer than eight months after this bill passes into law.​

II. The Bourses du Travail shall be established in pre-existing offices of the Utility Workmen Service and, where the aforementioned lack, Post Service.​

III. Bourse du Travail shall house, at the least, the following institutions:​

a. Bureau de Placement​

b. Inspection du Travail​

c. Bureau d'Élévation de Travailleurs​

IV. The Bureau de Placement will be responsible for matching labour-supply to labour-demand, through the keeping of unemployment and employment demand registries. ​

V. The Inspection du Travail shall be responsible for the application of the Labour Code in its respective locality. ​

VI. The Inspection du Travail is empowered to investigate and report on all labour conditions in its locality and deliver reasonable punishment for infractions against the Labour Code.​

VII. The Inspection du Travail shall be empowered to appoint such employees as is deemed necessary for the prosecution of its duties, including a surveyor, a clerk, a treasurer, an officer of health, who is to be a qualified physician, and inspectors, who is to be empowered to investigate, and take action against, interactions.​

VIII. The Inspection du Travail may not be obstructed by organizations or individuals in the carrying out of its duties, be it receiving reports, inspecting labour and taking actions upon infraction of the Labour Code.​

IX. So as to oversee the implementation and good work of the clauses and articles of this Code, the Inspection nationale du Travail is hereby constituted, falling within the Ministry of the Interior. The National Inspection shall be presided over by an Inspector-General, who shall be answerable to and appointed by the President upon advice of the National Assembly. The Inspector-General shall be assisted in his duties by as many Junior Inspectors as is deemed necessary for the proper execution of the duties of the National Inspection.​

X. The National Inspection is henceforth empowered to assist in and assure the Inspection du Travail are successful in the ultimate execution of this Code and its clauses.​

XI. The Bureau d’Élévation de Travailleurs shall, to those Utility Workmen not being utilized for productive labour and other such productive members in society lacking necessary skills, offer facilities, either at the Bourse or through cooperation with other institutions, of education, self-enlightenment and learning ranging from fundamental bases of republican citizenship, literacy, to more advanced skills necessary to provide access to productive employment and membership of society.​

X. The Local Commission of Agriculture shall, in communes lacking a Bourse du Travail, act as a Bourse du Travail through the Registre Agricole de France, which shall be expanded to include the employment status and labour conditions on the agricultural estates, communities and fields.​

Section Nine: Pertaining to the Registration and Maintenance of Adequate Wages

I. Local wage boards shall be established for sweated trades, which are the following:​

a. Chain-making​

b. Ready-made tailoring, ​

c. Paper-box making​

d. Machine-made lace and finishing trading​

II. Other trades may be included upon suggestion of the Ministry of the Interior by the National Assembly​

III. Members of wage boards will be appointed by the Ministry of the Interior, and include, in parity, proprietors and workers in these trades. The Chairman of the Wage Board shall be an official of the Ministry of the Interior.​

IV. The Wage Board shall give notice of a proposed minimum rate in its respective sweated trade in no less than six [6] months after its first meeting.​

V. Any objections to the proposed rate raised within three [3] months after the Wage Board’s notice shall be formally investigated, after which it shall be rejected or sustained.​

VI. If the proposed minimum rate is affirmed after the objection period, it shall remain valid in the locality until another proposed minimum rate is affirmed. ​

VII. Employers have to pay wages not less than the minimum unless there is a written agreement under which the worker agrees to accept less. If less than the minimum is paid and there is no such written agreement, wages at the minimum rate can be recovered from the employer as a debt; the employer is not liable to be fined.​

VIII. No employer shall receive a contract from a government department or local authority unless he has given notice to the trade board that he is willing to be bound by the rate fixed and to be liable for the fine for underpayment as if the rate had been obligatory.​

Section Ten: Pertaining to provisions of the codes, laws and regulations contrary to this Code

I. All provisions of the codes, laws and regulations now in force, and which are in contradiction with the present Labour Code, shall hereby be repealed.​

II. The provisions of the codes, laws and regulations affected by the present Labour Code, include but are not limited to: ​

a. Article 144 of the Code Pènal, which is hereby repealed.​

b. Articles 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 420 and 421 of the Code Pènal, which shall be revised accordingly.​

c. Article 1781 of the Code Civil, which is hereby repealed.​

d. The Law on the Safety of Mills and Factories, 1857, which is hereby superseded.​

e. The Law on Mining, 1810, which is hereby superseded.​