Make France Great Again-Chapter 985 - 976: Turmoil After the Judgment

The news of the Orsini trial and his associates was released on the morning of March 16. Whether from the Republican Faction, the Bonaparte Faction, or the Royalist Faction, all media outlets provided extensive coverage of Orsini’s trial.

The most radical coverage came from the Church Faction’s newspaper, which declared Orsini’s attempt to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor as utterly insane. It stated that any conscientious Catholic should condemn Orsini’s actions. At the end of the report, the Church Faction’s paper quoted the new Archbishop of Paris, Molloy, asserting that the crimes committed by Orsini and his accomplices would never receive the Lord’s forgiveness, and that Hell was Orsini’s final destination.

The aggressive stance of the Church Faction’s newspaper wasn’t purely for the Emperor, but for the Pope State on the Apennine Peninsula.

It’s well known that Orsini was a member of the Charcoal Party, dedicated to unifying the entire Apennine Peninsula. This identity branded him with dual labels of being anti-secession and anti-Papacy.

Under such circumstances, Orsini naturally became a target for suppression and even discredit by the Church Faction.

If his ideas were allowed to spread in France, the Pope State and the Church States on the Apennine Peninsula would be in danger.

After all, the French Emperor was not like the Count of Paris or Count of Chambord, who loved religion.

[PS: During this period, the Count of Chambord and the Count of Paris had already written many letters to Pope Pius IX, with each letter being more cloying and fervent than the last.] 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

If all of France were willing to help unify the Apennine Peninsula, then their Emperor would undoubtedly charge ahead without hesitation.

After all, their Emperor rose to power by following public opinion.

In stark contrast, the Republican Faction’s newspaper perceived Orsini’s assassination attempt on the French Emperor as an irrational act, yet they admired his heartfelt love for Republicanism, which was second to none.

Orsini lost his life due to his extreme Republican beliefs, serving as a warning to all Republicans that assassinating is not the only path to realizing Republicanism.

Some Republican newspapers specifically mentioned the debate in the Administrative Court at the end and praised Leon Gambetta for his brilliant defense. They also posed a question to the Administrative Court: why choose a law student for defense? Is it that the court couldn’t find a formally qualified defense lawyer, or was the court’s action deliberate?

"We urge the Administrative Court to promptly give an explanation to the Parisians" became the last line in the Republican Faction’s newspaper.

As for the Bonaparte Faction’s newspaper, they expressed regret over Orsini’s death according to Jerome Bonaparte’s instructions, while also hoping more people would not emulate Orsini.

In the middle of the report, the Bonaparte Faction’s newspaper included an image of a confession letter Orsini wrote by hand during his imprisonment.

The general content of the letter was Orsini regretting his assassination attempt on the Emperor, as well as urging others not to follow in his footsteps.

As for the Royalist Faction’s newspapers, their coverage of Orsini was far less proactive than the above three factions, merely summarizing the timing and process of Orsini’s trial.

...

Sitting in the Tuileries Palace, Jerome Bonaparte read through the newspapers of the three other factions, aside from the Bonaparte Faction. He was surprised to discover that Leon Gambetta, who originally didn’t emerge until the 1860s, was inadvertently thrust onto the historical stage by the actions of the Administrative Court, causing Jerome Bonaparte some headaches.

To be fair, among the monstrous figures in the late Second Empire, Leon Gambetta was relatively mild.

In the latter part of the Second Empire, figures like Rochefort and Blanqui were the true threats to the Empire.

But this was not the chaotic era of the late Empire with its chaotic figures. Those who rose in the late Empire were, during this period, either imprisoned by Jerome Bonaparte (Blanqui), not yet released; or permanently exiled by Jerome Bonaparte (Rochefort, Delacroix).

Leon Gambetta, a Republican unwilling to compromise with the Empire, looked exceptionally glaring in this situation.

For a moment, Jerome Bonaparte considered eliminating him before Gambetta fully rose to prominence, just like he did with Adolphe Thiers. However, after briefly considering, Jerome Bonaparte abandoned the idea.

Even assassinating Leon Gambetta would be futile, as another Leon Gambetta would rise.

The two Bourbon generations suppressed countless Republican uprisings, yet to no avail.

If the assassination of Leon Gambetta were exposed, the Second French Empire would fall into a political crisis.

Jerome Bonaparte sighed and murmured to himself, "Forget it! Let’s leave it for now!"

At this moment, Jerome Bonaparte was unaware that Emile Olivier had already met with Leon Gambetta the previous day.

Jerome Bonaparte immediately called Bashirio and ordered him to go to the Supreme Administrative Court to inquire with President Auvergne about what exactly was going on with Leon Gambetta. How could a lawyer who hadn’t yet graduated be allowed to defend Orsini?

After a while, Bashirio returned to the Tuileries Palace and reported to Jerome Bonaparte that President Auvergne was also unaware that the defense lawyer was a student. The task of finding a lawyer had been delegated to a subordinate, who then assigned it to his own subordinate, and so on. Eventually, Leon Gambetta became Orsini’s defense lawyer through this series of delegations.

Upon hearing Bashirio’s report, Jerome Bonaparte suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Wasn’t Auvergne’s operation just like the future scenario of successive layers of subcontracting, where a project initially worth tens of millions ended up being made into something shoddy due to the layers of subcontracting and deductions?

The final product might even be produced by a group of students, and their compensation would probably amount to only a few hundred francs.

Thinking of this, Jerome Bonaparte gritted his teeth in anger. Despite his repeated orders for them to take matters seriously, they still treated him this way.

Thus, Jerome Bonaparte again ordered Bashirio to summon Minister of State Guizot to his presence, and also instructed him to prepare two cups of tea.

When Minister Guizot arrived at the study, he saw Jerome Bonaparte savoring tea on the sofa.

Minister Guizot quickly said to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty!"

"Minister Guizot, please come over!" Jerome Bonaparte warmly invited Guizot to sit down and placed a cup of black tea in front of him, saying, "Enjoy!"

Guizot picked up the teacup with both hands, sipped the black tea, savored it for a moment, nodded, and said, "Very good!"

Jerome Bonaparte smiled and said to Guizot, "Minister Guizot, you can appreciate tea?"

"I know a little," Guizot modestly replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Then could you tell me about it?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Guizot once again.

Guizot shared his years of experience in tea drinking with Jerome Bonaparte, who nodded repeatedly and then praised, "Minister Guizot, you are very knowledgeable!"

"Your Majesty, you flatter me!" Guizot modestly replied, then shifted the conversation to Jerome Bonaparte, saying, "However, Your Majesty, you did not call me here just for tea, did you?"

"You’re right; it wasn’t just for tea!" Jerome Bonaparte sipped the black tea again and said to Guizot, "Did you know? The lawyer you debated with yesterday was actually a student!"

"Your Majesty! I knew!" Minister Guizot calmly nodded.

"Since you knew, why didn’t you tell me when you reported back?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Guizot with a frown and an unhappy tone.

"Your Majesty, I thought Leon Gambetta was specially brought in by you!" Guizot looked innocently at Jerome Bonaparte.

"How could I have chosen a student?" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Guizot, shaking his head. "Never mind! It’s no use talking about it now; public opinion has already arisen. I plan to dismiss Auvergne directly!

Do you have any recommendations for a replacement?"

Minister Guizot pondered for a moment and tentatively suggested a name to Jerome Bonaparte, "How about Mr. Montalambert?"

Hearing Guizot’s suggestion, Jerome Bonaparte frowned tightly and said, "Mr. Guizot, do you intend to turn the Administrative Court into a religious tribunal? I don’t want to see the sacred court dominated by religion!"

Hearing this, Guizot couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

Then, Guizot nominated Deputy President Judge Delange to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Isn’t he a bit too gentle?" Jerome Bonaparte also seemed a bit dissatisfied.

"Your Majesty, the purpose of law is not just punishment; its ultimate goal is to maintain the stability of social order!" Guizot explained to Jerome Bonaparte. "Judge Delange’s gentleness can precisely reassure people to the greatest extent!"

After hearing Guizot’s explanation, Jerome Bonaparte pondered for another moment before nodding and responding to Guizot, "Alright! We’ll go with your choice, it will be Delange!"

That afternoon, President Auvergne of the Supreme Administrative Court received a tactful resignation letter from the Tuileries Palace. After reading the letter, Auvergne submitted his resignation to the Tuileries Palace with a hint of sadness.

Jerome Bonaparte quickly approved Auvergne’s resignation and appointed Delange as the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.