Liberal Party (Bourbon Restoration)
Liberals Libéraux | |
---|---|
Political position | |
Colours | Yellow |
Chamber of Representatives (1815) | 510 / 630 |
The Liberals (French: Libéraux) was a short lived French liberal political party which was active in several elections before being absorbed into the Doctrinaires, a fellow constitutional monarchy party. Several members of the Liberals eventually went on to serve in the Movement Party and even later in the Orléanist parties. The precedent set by the party would help form modern French classical liberalism, something used in the modern centre-right Republicans party.
First Liberals
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Following the
Following Napoleon's return, the Charter of 1814 became nulled, and a new charter, the
Party formation
After
The
The Liberals, as a 'party' however, weren't officially formed until the elections partial elections in 1817. In accordance with the 1814 Charter, and indeed an election system which mirrored that of the Constitution of the Year III (1795), a third of the assembly was to be elected yearly. In the 1817 partial legislative election, the Ultras lost all their seats up for grabs, the Doctrinaires gained 39 seats, and the Liberals gained 12. The 1819 partial legislative election saw even more seats lost by the ultras, gaining just 5, while the Doctrinaires gained 13 seats and the Liberals gained 35 seats. Following the results of the election, the Liberals controlled roughly 1/3 of the assembly.[9][10][12][13][14]
The 1820 legislative election further expanded the Liberal's influence winning 23 more seats for a total of 80. During the election, 16,920 votes were cast for the Liberals, or roughly 18.4%. The election marked a turning point for the party, and would be its last election.[9][12]
Decline
In February 1820, before that year's legislative election,
In the
Ideology
The "Left-Centre", later the Liberals, was made up of men who supported moderate
Societies
In 1818, a number of radical deputies and peers, including the Marquis de La Fayette, Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure, the Marquis d'Argenson, and Jacques-Antoine Manuel, formed connections with several secret societies: L'Union (The Union), Les Amis de la Presse (The Friends of the Press), and Les Amis de la Vérité (The Friends of the Truth). These secret societies, about which little is known, included some
In 1821, there was founded at
Electoral results
Election year | No. of
overall votes |
% of
overall vote |
No. of
overall seats won |
+/– | Position | Leader |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 1815 | 26,356 (1st) | 80.95% | 510 / 630
|
New | 1st (majority) | |
1816 | 3,760 (4th) | 3.9% | 10 / 258
|
500 | 3rd (minority) | Marc-René de Voyer,
Marquis d'Argenson |
1817 (partial) | 22 / 258
|
12 | 3rd (minority) | Marc-René de Voyer,
Marquis d'Argenson | ||
1819 (partial) | 57 / 258
|
35 | 3rd (minority) | Marc-René de Voyer,
Marquis d'Argenson | ||
1820 | 16,920 (3rd) | 18.43% | 80 / 434
|
23 | 3rd (minority) | Benjamin Constant |
In the French political spectrum
The French assembly was indeed the first of the European legislatures to have their members grouped by party and sit on the "wings". The Ultras sat on the "Right wing", indicating their closeness to the monarch (Right wing), the Doctrinaires just to their left (Centre-Right), then the Liberals in the "Centre-Left", and the Republicans on the left (Left-wing). Because of their location, Liberals became known as members of the Centre-left political spectrum.[9]
Footnotes
- ^ Caron, pp. 1–10
- ^ Transferred through Wikipedia from the page on the Bourbon Restoration in France.
- ^ "Collège électoral du département et Collèges électoraux d'arrondissement (Mai et Août 1815, 1816) Élections législatives de 1819 et (préliminaires) de 1827 (FR-FRAD015 - FRAD015_27_J)". Archives départementales du Cantal. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "Acte additionnel aux Constitutions de l'Empire du 22 avril 1815 | Conseil constitutionnel". www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr (in French). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "Connaissance de l'Assemblée : L'élection des députés". www.assemblee-nationale.fr. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "Statistique électorale de la France de 1815 à 1877" (PDF). Journal de la société statistique de Paris. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "Collège électoral du département et Collèges électoraux d'arrondissement (Mai et Août 1815, 1816) Élections législatives de 1819 et (préliminaires) de 1827 (FR-FRAD015 - FRAD015_27_J) - Archives Portal Europe". www.archivesportaleurope.net. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "Acte additionnel aux Constitutions de l'Empire du 22 avril 1815 | Conseil constitutionnel". www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr (in French). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Caron, Appendix.
- ^ a b c Liberals Journal for 1816.. Paris, Kingdom of France. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ a b Artz, p. 62
- ^ a b c d French Official Election Results. Paris, Kingdom of France. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ (in French) Le Constitutionnel, 20 September 1819 (No. 264), p. 2. Accessed at the Gallica Digital Library, 17 April 2014.
- ^ (in French) Journal des débats politiques et littéraires, 20 September 1819, p. 2. Accessed at the Gallica Digital Library, 17 April 2014.
- ^ Artz, pp. 58–59
- ^ "Charbonnerie". www.ohio.edu. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ Artz, pp. 63–64
References
- Caron, Jean-Claude (1993). La France de 1815 à 1848 (in French). Paris, France: Armand Colin. OCLC 174296752.
- Artz, Frederick B. (1963). France under the Bourbon Restoration: 1814–1830. New York City, New York, United States of America: Russel & Russel Incorporated. OCLC 1120831890.