Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 555 The Change of Power in France
Hours after the surrender was announced, the outcome of the Battle of Sedan was transmitted to Baghdad via telegraph.

In Nasserdin's office there is a sign marking the Franco-Prussian War, and he marks it every day; it is now the 71st day.

"Shah, the French emperor has surrendered! They have lost!"

Abdullah read the telegram aloud at the top of his lungs. Who could have imagined that the French emperor, commanding an army of 300,000, would surrender to Prussia so easily? If Napoleon I knew, he would probably beat his nephew to death.

"It's only been 72 days, right?"

Naser al-Din asked Murad, "The prince who just made the mark said..."

"Including today, it's exactly 72 days."

That speed should be hard to break, right?

"We really have to congratulate Prussia and Austria, because of them we should have made a fortune in Europe."

However, no amount of money can compare to one thing: the Suez Canal Company officially becoming an Iranian enterprise. Although some shares are still held by foreign companies, this is irrelevant to the parent company's decisions.

However, after officially taking over, he also found the company's current situation troublesome. The project payment was delayed by two months, there were also issues with the low wages of Egyptian workers, and various project completions were still pending. In total, it would have required nearly 1000 million riyals to resolve. However, the Shah generously covered the shortfall; the value of the canal far exceeded 1000 million riyals.

The results of the stock transactions arrived two days later. Following news of the Battle of Sedan, all Prussian financial products surged by 350%. Iran seized the opportunity to sell them, ultimately netting 10.6 billion rials from the initial investment of 300 million rials. Even after deducting the expenditure on the French stock purchases, they still had 900 million rials left.

This money can be used to invest domestically, or it can continue to become a chain binding them in Europe. It uses economics to tie European countries and Iran together.

Now all of Europe is focused on the situation in France after Sedan. When Empress Eugénie learned of this, she immediately fled Paris with some royalists. Now no one can suppress the citizens, and Paris has gone mad!
All forces sprang into action. The Republicans, under the leadership of their leaders, had taken the lead, blocking telegrams and secretly summoning members of parliament to Bourbon Palace. All the workers' leaders mobilized, doing everything in their power to seize control of the institutions of power.

Nasserdin stared at the map, then slammed his fist on it. "The Queen of France has fled! The new government will be formed as early as tonight, or at the latest tomorrow morning!"

"At that time, the whole of France will undergo a tremendous transformation, and Paris will be at the center of this transformation!"

Abdullah, with his keen diplomatic instincts, understood that the Shah's words meant France was definitely headed for a revolution. A new republican government would emerge again in 16 years.

Abdullah pointed to a point on the map: "Paris, the Palais Bourbon, the seat of the French National Assembly... Shah, the worst conflict in Paris will break out here right now!"

"In a state of anarchy, the first clash between the various factions would take place here, in the French National Assembly!"

Whoever seizes control of the National Assembly first will have the last laugh... Judging from the current balance of power, those worker leaders are definitely going to lose!

“But there are nearly 300,000 National Guard troops in Paris!” Murad said from the side.

To defend Paris, Empress Eugénie made a decision to increase the size of the National Guard, from 200,000 to 300,000. Most of the new recruits were unemployed workers seeking wages, naturally inclined to support the labor movement. "Mourad," she said, "you can't limit this to Paris… now we're fighting for the French National Assembly, not just the Paris City Council!"

"French workers are concentrated in industrialized cities, while people in the vast countryside still live according to their old habits!"

Even if they could control the votes of the people of Paris, how could they control the votes of representatives from all the provinces of France?

And indeed, the cataclysmic changes turned France into a power vacuum. The monarchy was suddenly overturned, and the previously suppressed forces stirred up a storm.

Paris descended into utter chaos. Leftists, rightists, royalists, republicans, and laborists—this time, no police or military dared to intervene. Even the plainclothes officers monitoring them had vanished.

The streets and alleys were filled with frantic crowds, shouting the latest news throughout the city.

"Napoleon III has surrendered... The Emperor has been defeated!"

Someone immediately stopped them, saying, "He will no longer be emperor; Louis Bonaparte will be forever condemned!"

All the doors and windows were open, and all sorts of people wore different expressions on their faces. Looking around, the whole city was enveloped in a state of excitement.

At this time, regardless of faction, everyone was vying for control of parliament. Whoever controlled parliament controlled the government.

After the outbreak of the French Revolution, the parliamentary system remained largely unchanged. Regardless of changes in the political system, the National Assembly continued to stand in Paris.

France is currently in a state of anarchy and teetering on the brink of war. Even at this critical juncture, the people still have faith in Parliament. Countless French people have sacrificed their lives to defend this system, which demonstrates the weight Parliament holds in the hearts of the people!

Therefore, under these circumstances, all politicians will try every means to seize control of parliament, because parliament is backed by the support of the entire French people.

The members of parliament began to discuss and vote on the new national system, and the fastest vote was passed in fifteen minutes with a large margin, declaring the fall of the Second French Empire.

As for the new government, the members of parliament were in an uproar. Logically, the fall of the imperial government should have led to a republican government, but it's important to understand that the royalists weren't just Bonaparte's faction. The Orleansists and the Legitimists also became active, intending to seize power amidst the chaos.

The tactic employed by the Orthodox faction was a grand narrative, claiming that the reign of Louis XIV was the best era in French history, and that if Parliament elected a Orthodox king, they would guarantee a peace agreement with Prussia within a week.

Unfortunately, the public didn't buy it. After all, Louis XIV was your family, and so were Louis XV and Louis XVI. All three loved to spend money, and that money came from their taxes, so this narrative simply didn't work.

The Orleans faction was of little use; they simply watched the situation in Paris unfold. They knew they couldn't stay here any longer, so they figured they might as well escape to Versailles before Prussia arrived, where they could stay informed about the capital's situation. After all, this was the most chaotic time since 1789.

(End of this chapter)