I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1403 An Election Without Suspense
According to French election law, any French citizen can participate in the House of Representatives election by submitting an application to run for office and obtaining the support of two thousand eligible voters.

Therefore, no political party has yet been formed; there are only relatively loose factional alliances.

This also makes the election full of randomness.

In a building on the western outskirts of Paris, candidate Butchard looked at the chubby man sitting opposite him and said seriously, "Mr. Rochefoucauld, you need to add at least another 1 francs to your campaign funds."

“You know, nowadays a campaign ad of 100 words in a corner of the Paris Handels newspaper costs 300 francs.”

The lawyer next to him, named Roche, immediately nodded: "Or I could withdraw from the race this year and leave the funds to Mr. Butchart, otherwise neither of us will be elected."

Yes, Rochefoucauld sponsored two candidates at once. However, he only gave them two thousand francs each.

“These unscrupulous newspapers, at the beginning of the year, 300 francs was enough to place an advertisement on page two,” Rochefoucauld said with an exaggerated “protest,” then smiled and said, “but believe me, the current funds are sufficient. I mean, two seats.”

The two candidates looked at each other helplessly and decided to temporarily skip the issue of funding: "Then let's discuss which faction to join."

"Given the current situation, it will be very disadvantageous to not have faction support."

The lawyer nodded: "I suggest choosing the 'liberal' camp; their street speeches are very effective. Most importantly, speeches don't cost much."

"The 'trade faction' is also good. Currently, the 'trade faction' probably has the largest number of members."

Rochefoucauld inquired about the current situation of the electoral factions, but frowned: "With all due respect, given your and Mr. Roche's fame, you are likely to be overshadowed by other candidates in such a large faction."

Butchart sighed: "So, the 'radicals'? But they advocate occupying Vienna, that's insane..."

Rochefoucauld thought for a moment and said, "Based on the various factions' claims that you just mentioned, I don't think any of them are the best campaign strategies."

"what do you mean?"

A sly glint flashed in the chubby boy's eyes: "How about we form our own faction?"

Butchard said dejectedly, "This... I'm afraid it will be very difficult... It requires a tremendous amount of influence..."

Rochefoucauld, however, seemed extremely confident: "What if we form a 'Crown Prince faction'? The core principle is only one: absolute loyalty to His Highness the Crown Prince and forever following in His Highness's footsteps!"

The two candidates looked at each other again, then shook their heads vigorously: "But...but the purpose of the House of Representatives is for citizens to oversee the monarchy. Wouldn't what you're doing..."

Rochefoucauld stared intently into their eyes and said, “What if the crown prince is the people’s choice? We are simply following the will of the people.”

"But……"

"It's settled then. I will find a very famous socialite to convene a salon, inviting a large number of young candidates, and you will take the lead in organizing them!"

The seats in this parliamentary election were allocated according to the provinces, and Paris won 102 of the 380 seats.

Once the "Prince's faction" gains influence in Paris, they will become a force to be reckoned with in the House of Representatives!
……

1800 7 Month 5 Day.

The French parliamentary elections, which have attracted attention throughout Europe, have officially begun.

On a street near a polling station in the Louvre district of Paris, two candidates from the "Crown Prince faction" were passionately proclaiming: "It is the great King and His Highness the Crown Prince who have granted us parliamentary power, so what reason do we have not to follow them?"

"May God forever protect them! Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!"

The hundreds of people around immediately joined in the excited shouts: "Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!"

A little further away, the largest group of "liberals" besides them had only gathered less than a hundred people, and their momentum was completely suppressed by them.

In front of the polling station, a group of veterans stood in neat rows, handing their ballots to the vote counters one by one.

In the French army, honorary deputies teach soldiers to read, and some even teach them math and geography. After their discharge, soldiers can attend regular schools for free with funding from the Ministry of Military Affairs, which gives nearly half of the veterans the right to vote.

The voters had all registered months in advance. The polling station administrator read out the votes on the spot: "Mr. Abel Chavarier voted for Mr. Henry Gaston Butchart."

Yes, elections in this era are mostly by name, mainly to prevent behind-the-scenes manipulation.

By 5 p.m. that day, when the polling station stopped counting votes, Butchard had received more than 600 votes.

Keep in mind that this is just the vote count for one district in Paris. Proportionally, his votes today alone would be enough to win a seat in the Chamber of Deputies.

The voting in Paris will last for ten days. The entire parliamentary election will conclude a month later.

……

7 month 27 day.

On the cobblestone path leading to the Petit Trianon, Louis XVI said to his son with a troubled expression, "I really have a brilliant idea that I urgently need to bring to life in the workshop. So, let's discuss it and cancel this afternoon's exercise for now."

Joseph, however, gripped his father's arm even tighter: "Look, in the past month and a half, you've lost a full 4 kilograms. That's a positive sign of improved health."

"Furthermore, you should have noticed that you have more energy now than you did a month ago."

Louis XVI nodded: "Indeed. Even at 11 p.m. now, I can still keep my mind clear."

"So exercise will not affect your inventions; on the contrary, it will enhance them."

"Moreover, only if you persist in exercising can you encourage your mother to do the same. You know, this is very important to her."

Louis XVI then stopped struggling and brought up a recent hot topic: "By the way, I heard the parliamentary elections are almost over?"

Although the election will not be completely concluded for another week, 351 seats have already been secured, excluding remote areas such as North Africa.

Joseph nodded: "Yes, they are already nominating the speaker."

Which faction can take over as speaker?

“Uh…” Joseph said somewhat awkwardly, “It will probably be ‘my’ faction.”

"Your faction?" Louis XVI was somewhat surprised. "You've planted someone in the Chamber of Deputies?"

“Father, I swear, this has nothing to do with me,” Joseph said with a wry smile. “I don’t know who started this ‘Crown Prince faction’ and they’ve won 57 seats in Paris alone.”

Louis XVI laughed: "That's good. Sometimes I really worry that some strange people will take control of the House of Representatives."

(End of this chapter)