The Campagne des banquets (banquet campaign) were political meetings during the July Monarchy

July Monarchy

The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 which destabilized the King of the French Louis-Philippe. The campaign officially took place from 9 July 1847 to 25 December 1847, but in fact continued until the February 1848 Revolution during which the Second Republic was proclaimed. During this campaign, the Republican

Republicanism

Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...

 triptych Liberté, égalité, fraternité

Liberté, égalité, fraternité

Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for "Liberty, equality, fraternity ", is the national motto of France, and is a typical example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, it was then only one motto among others and was not institutionalized until the Third...

resurfaced, for example in Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

 with Ledru-Rollin .

The Banquets were private political meetings which were a way to turn around the 1835 Act prohibiting public assemblies. The first session was in Paris on 9 July 1847, and progressively spread to all of the French provinces. The prohibition of one of these meetings by François Guizot

François Guizot

François Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848, a conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, and worked to sustain a constitutional...

's cabinet, supposed to take place on 14 January 1848 in the XIIth arrondissement of Paris, and then of another one set up for 22 February 1848, were the immediate cause of the riot

Riot

A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...

s which led to Louis-Philippe's destitution.

Origins

The 1846-1848 economic crisis favored the opposition, who progressively united itself. After the reforms obtained during the parliamentary session of 1847, such as the lowering of the cens tax to 100 Francs in March, the prohibition of the cumulation of administrative public offices with deputies' seat, Guizot's cabinet became more authoritarian. In preparation of the 1847-1848 parliamentary session, Louis-Philippe prohibited the meetings of the democrat, republican and liberal opposition. The Orleanist

Orléanist

The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in...

s gathered behind Adolphe Thiers

Adolphe Thiers

Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French politician and historian. was a prime minister under King Louis-Philippe of France. Following the overthrow of the Second Empire he again came to prominence as the French leader who suppressed the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871...

 claimed a more parliamentary regime, and joined force with the Left.

The campaign

The moderate left-wing opposition used these banquets as occasions to organize themselves and to claim for a reform of the electoral law and a larger enfranchisement. 70 Banquets assisted by 17,000 persons took place from July 1847 to February 1848, in all of the country. Three days before the opening of the parliamentary session, on 25 December 1847, the campaign was officially stopped. But the King's speech on 28 December and his declared opposition to any reform relaunched the Campaign, with a solemn address being sent to the King.

The prohibition of the 22 February 1848 banquet and the unrest which followed triggered the 1848 Revolution by a union of the popular Republicans and the liberal Orleanists, who turned their back on Louis-Philippe.

Influence

The 1848 Campaign of Banquets was used as a model for the opposition to the Tsar

Tsar

Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

 Nicholas II

Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...

, in 1904-1905, where it was a cause of the 1905 Russian Revolution.