Restoration of the French Monarchy

[Furienna]

I just wonder, are you talking about the early 1700s or the late 1700s here? You both talk about 1709/1710 and 1792/1793, as it was the same time. I'm sorry, but I'm a little confused here.

[PrincessKoreen]

Louis XIV didn't rule in the late 1700s. Louis XVI did. His wars gained little and cost much, as did his building.

[Furienna]

Excactly! Louis XIV ruled then, not Louis XVI! There were five generations between these two kings. (Louis XIV was Louis XVI:s great great great grandfather.)

[Thribette]

Please, excuse me, I wrote twice 1792-1793, instead of 1692-1793!

[Furienna]

Okay, good to know. We just wanted to get things right.

[jabrownell]

As much as I think monarchy would benefit France, it is not likely to happen...EVER. The French people have a decidedly anti-authoritarian streak. After all, they riot when their presidential candidate doesn't win. Some have argued, and I tend to agree with them, that France is not a very democratic country (meaning that the nation has difficulty accepting the validity of opposition parties--hence the rioting when Sarkozy won fair and square). As far as acceptance of authority is concerned, I am convinced that monarchy in the United States would be easier than it would in France.

[Furienna]

And let's not forget the problem with choosing which dynasty to put on a French thrown. Would it be the Bourbons or the Bonapartes?

[jabrownell]

Originally Posted by Furienna

And let's not forget the problem with choosing which dynasty to put on a French thrown. Would it be the Bourbons or the Bonapartes?

That is a question, but I wonder why the Bonapartes are even a consideration. Just because one gains power through a military coup does not make them royalty. Napoleon wore a crown, but royalty he was not, and neither are his progeny. Dictators are dictators, not Kings.

[Furienna]

But there still were no less than three Bonaparte emperors (Napoleon I, II and III) in France. And most kings and emperors, who were the first of their dynasties on their throwns, came to power through military coups. I guess the Bourbons didn't become kings peacefully either.

[Madame Royale]

If the French one day came to the realisation that the monarchy is worth reinstating, it would not be the Bonaparte's they turn too. Let me make that emphatically clear.

Whether each dynasty came to form through military muscle and flex is not the question. Napoleon crowned himself. He was no royal, no prince and certainly no Emperor by right of birth. A mere power hungry dictator who sought to gain an authoritarian standing beyond the limitations of any political power which resulted in his own undoing.

Napoléon was no more an emperor than Marie Antoinette was a commoner.