Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte

The French republican party, unlike the country, which hails this reconciliation of liberty and order, refuses to be content with the liberties they have won; they refuse all compromise, declaring themselves more than ever decided upon the overthrow of the Empire.

The killing of the journalist Victor Noir by Pierre Bonaparte, a member of the imperial family, gives the revolutionaries their long desired opportunity (10 January), but the émeute (uprising) ends in a failure.

In a concession to democratic currents, the emperor puts his policy to a plebiscite on May 8, 1870.

The result is a substantial success for Bonaparte, with seven and a half million in favor and only one and a half million against.

However, the vote also signifies divisions in France.

Those affirming are found mainly in rural areas, while the opposition prevails in the big towns.