June Days Rebellion
France 1848
Synopsis
In June 1848 civil war broke out in Paris. Although the fighting only lasted for four days, it was one of the bloodiest conflicts in France in the nineteenth century, with thousands killed and injured. The fighting occurred between the forces defending the Second Republic and a minority who believed that the new government was betraying the principles of the February revolution from earlier that year. The failure of the insurrection signaled the defeat of the movement for radical social and political change and the victory of the conservative reaction to the 1848 revolution. Brutal repression had alienated a large part of the lower classes from the republican government. Most observers were horrified by the violence and bloodshed and wanted a return to law and order. This helps to explain the widespread popularity of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte and his landslide victory in the December 1848 presidential elections. In the June Days rebellion lies the triumph of Bonapartism, which led to the eventual downfall of the Second Republic.
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