I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1338 Symbol of Civilization

Today wasn't the day the Crown Princess drew lots on her weekly football day, but thousands of people gathered in the open space in front of Alexandra's bakery, blocking the street.

It was simply because people saw in the newspapers that the Crown Princess would be announcing an important matter concerning charity.

Without the royal orchestra playing, Alexandra's usual unassuming "Gem II" carriage slowly approached from the west.

A burst of enthusiastic cheers immediately erupted around her, and many women began to pray devoutly for the Crown Princess. Many poor people relied on discounted bread sold in bakeries to feed their children, which made the Crown Princess extremely popular among the common people.

Wearing a light purple dress, Alexandra stood on the flower bed in front of the bakery and waved to the crowd, which immediately drew cheers.

Once the crowd had finally quieted down, she called out loudly:

"I believe everyone has heard about Mr. Landry's terrible experience at the Bloissy Welfare Home."

An angry murmur immediately broke out all around.

Alexandra raised her hand and pressed down, continuing, "In fact, similar situations are common in welfare homes across the country."

"His Highness the Crown Prince has decided to abolish all welfare homes nationwide and establish a Public Relief Department to help those who are struggling to make ends meet. I will personally take charge of the affairs of the Public Relief Department."

People nodded excitedly and whispered among themselves, "With Her Highness the Crown Princess here, those poor people will never be mistreated again."

"His Highness the Crown Prince has never forgotten the suffering people."

“From now on, those heartless bastards will no longer be able to do whatever they want.”

For the underprivileged, welfare institutions are not just simple acts of charity. In this era, people face unemployment at any time if they are injured or seriously ill, and at that point, they may very well end up in welfare institutions.

In fact, before journalist Landry exposed the dark side of the orphanage, most people already knew that it was not a good place; it was just that public opinion had not yet erupted.

Alexandra continued, "According to His Highness the Crown Prince's plan, orphanages, relief centers, and shelters will be established throughout the country."

"The orphanage will be responsible for caring for children under the age of 14 who have lost their parents, and will do its best to help them find adoptive parents."

The crowd began to whisper again, "Adoptive parents? What's that?"

"It seems to be looking for someone to adopt the orphan."

"It's probably similar to an apprenticeship system."

Yes, there was no system for adopting orphans in this era. For orphans in welfare homes, the best outcome was for a workshop to take them in, sign an apprenticeship contract with them, and take them away.

The so-called "apprentices" were actually just people who worked for the workshop for free in exchange for food, and they usually didn't gain their freedom until they were in their twenties.

Alexandra explained, “The adoptive parents will become the children’s foster parents. The adopted children have no inheritance rights unless the foster parents make a will in their name. The adopted children are obligated to support their foster parents.”

"At the same time, adoptive parents are prohibited from abusing or selling their adopted children, and must ensure their basic living and education."

"His Majesty the King has signed the Adoption Law, and the adoption details I just mentioned are part of it."

The crowd erupted into even more heated discussion. Indeed, in the past, orphans were treated like commodities, disposed of at will, or forced into labor, but now the government was going to help them "obtain" a new family.

It sounds very humane, and it warms everyone's hearts.

The Crown Princess's light voice rang out again: "The shelter mainly provides assistance to the elderly who have lost their loved ones, as well as the disabled, and distributes food to those who are struggling to make ends meet."

These are all routine tasks for church welfare homes, but in the past, apart from distributing some black bread as a formality, the church did not play a real role.

The relief center will now rely on the Ministry of Civil Affairs to identify those who are truly in need, in order to ensure that relief supplies are not wasted by lazy people.

"As for shelters, they are mainly for the temporary accommodation of healthy people who are in trouble. Shelters will provide them with jobs and skills training."

The shelters primarily target groups such as the homeless and refugees. In this era, many of these people are involved in crimes such as theft and robbery, so sheltering them is the choice of most countries.

Of course, they had to work in exchange for food.

In the past, welfare homes treated everyone from children to the elderly as homeless. Now, with the subdivision of different groups, the nature of social charity can be truly reflected.

Alexandra looked at the people around her and raised her voice: "From now on, orphanages, shelters, and refugees will be open to the public at any time, and anyone can come in for a visit."

"From the moment the Public Relief Service was established, everyone in France who is in trouble will receive assistance."

"This is our true practice of 'natural rights,' and it is also the best testament to civilization!"

Yes, these institutions, which seem quite ordinary to later generations, were nothing short of a blessing from God to humankind at the end of the 18th century.

It is important to understand that orphans, elderly people living alone, and people with disabilities in this era mostly face the fate of being left to fend for themselves, or being drained of their last bit of life in welfare institutions.

Joseph's actions can be said to have led to a genuine wave of philanthropy throughout Europe.

Among the Ministry of Civil Affairs officials who accompanied Alexandra, Baron Gagnon, head of the Audit Office, frowned and muttered as he watched the Crown Princess waving her hands and giving a speech: "Spending millions of francs a year on these worthless people is a complete waste. We would be better off using that money to build more factories."

Armand Bizzot, the Deputy Minister of Civil Affairs standing nearby, glanced at him and shook his head, saying, "No, you're wrong. The money that the Public Relief Department spends will bring our country tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of francs in revenue."

Baron Gagnon turned around in surprise: "How is this possible?"

Bizo said calmly, "Just as the Crown Princess said, compassion and assistance to the weak throughout all regions will make our country a symbol of progress and civilization."

"And the allure of advancement and civilization is sometimes even greater than that of gold coins."

"I can foresee that more and more foreigners, especially wealthy and educated people, will choose to come to France to invest and live in the future."

"Paris will thus become a 'pilgrimage' destination for all of Europe!"

An hour later, Alexandra left the bakery amidst cheers from the crowd, as she had to rush back to Versailles to preside over a large-scale charity fundraiser.

In fact, the daily work of the Public Relief Department is basically handled by Bizo and others, and what she can do is mainly to supervise and raise funds.

(End of this chapter)