The Second Republic had come into being almost by accident and at a time of collapsing businesses and food shortages. Under pressure from the radicals inside the government and from the Parisian crowds, the government introduced some hasty reforms: it reduced the daily working hours to ten in Paris and eleven in the provinces, recognized the ‘right to work’ and set up ‘National Workshops’ to provide work and poor relief. This was an expensive measure, and to fund it, taxes had to be raised by 45%.
On 5 March the government decreed that in elections to a National Constituent Assembly to be held in April, every Frenchman over the age of 21 should be entitled to vote; this increased the electorate from 200,000 to 9 million, the great majority of whom were conservatively-minded peasants.
On 23 April 84% of the electorate voted, and the result was a disaster for the radicals and socialists. The majority of the new Assembly were royalists, either Legitimists (supporters of the Bourbons), Orleanists (supporters of Louis-Philippe), or moderate Liberals and Republicans. The Assembly set up an Executive that included Lamartine but excluded Louis Blanc.
On 15 May, following three days of demonstrations, crowds invaded the Assembly in scenes reminiscent of the French Revolution, but they were held off by the National Guard. The socialist societies were disbanded and Louis Blanc fled.
The June Days
On 21 June the government issued a decree abolishing the national workshops. On 23 June barricades sprang up in a spontaneous popular uprising. On 24 and 25 June pitched battles took place between the insurgents, the National Guard and the new Mobile Guards under the command of General Cavaignac. The guns were trained on the barricades and the workers were mercilessly massacred. When the fighting was over many insurgents were summarily executed and thousands were imprisoned or sent as forced immigrants to Algeria. Victor Hugo said of the June Days that civilization had defended itself with methods of barbarism.
