Blanqui knows that it is unrealistic to ask for seats in parliament now. No one can hold another election for workers like them at the moment!
Since there is no hope of getting a seat in the parliament, they must do everything possible to obtain actual benefits. Anyway, these things were formulated by them in the first place.
At the end of the 19th century, especially before and after the Franco-Prussian War, the life of the working class in France was extremely poor. Many literary works of later generations recorded the hardships of the lower class people at that time, many of which are unimaginable to people in the 21st century.
For example, in "Les Misérables" written by Victor Hugo, the heroine Fantine sold her hair for ten francs and her two front teeth for forty francs.
When she was a maid, she was beaten, insulted and treated inhumanely, and eventually she was reduced to a prostitute... These stories may seem fictional, but they actually had prototypes in the society at that time.
According to the historical files of the French police compiled by later historians, many records describe in detail the chaos and poverty in Paris at that time.
'The craftsmen on the Ile de la Cité have moved away, leaving behind fifteen thousand homeless people. The bell tower of Notre Dame overlooks these low and chaotic buildings...'
'A large number of fringe men and women just rely on robbery to make a living. They hang out in large numbers in dirty bars and brothels...'
'The fifth arrondissement of the Left Bank is home to countless vendors selling scrap iron and cloth, and the San Maso area on the outskirts has been plagued by the plague for a long time...'
'In the adjacent 14th arrondissement, rag pickers and leatherworkers live together, and animal carcasses are thrown into the Biye River...'
A newspaper observer once wrote this passage: "The central and eastern parts of Paris have formed a Gothic city. It is dark, gloomy, full of urine, and popular with fanaticism. It is a lightless and disorderly place, where violence, suffering and... A horrific hotbed of blood..."
"The horrible neighborhoods and mud houses mixed with the billabong exude a pungent and terrible smell. Paris is already an extremely unhealthy city, with more people dying than being born every year..."
"But due to the continuous influx of poor people from other provinces, there are obviously fewer and fewer newborns, but the size of the city is expanding day by day..."
Only one-fifth of the buildings have clean drinking water, and keeping out the cold in winter is a permanent problem. Even though the Ottomans have carried out the largest urban beautification work, the painted city still cannot hide the devil of poverty!
In this context, one can only imagine what the lives of ordinary people are like. Those workers who devoted their lives to following Blanqui did not grow up in bitter water.
The miserable life accumulated countless hostility in the people's hearts. When the French Emperor was in power, these signs of hostility were directly aimed at Napoleon III.
Now that the French Emperor has fallen, the people's anger must be vented. They must see an obvious improvement in their lives. If this is not done, I am afraid that the anger will shift the target of hatred and be directly aimed at these representatives of the capitalists. of parliament.
The bills proposed by Blanqui do not allow bargaining. If a National Guard soldier can earn two francs or even one and a half francs a day, it can basically satisfy a family of three. They can even have some money to buy coal in winter. Warm up.
But it’s just about keeping food and clothing. Wanting to save some money is out of the question!
Queen Eugenie also ordered Trochu, Montauban and others to set military pay for the National Guard. But at that time, each soldier was only given 70 centimes per day. What was this money enough for? (One franc equals one hundred centimes)
The meal was only half-full, so the National Guard at that time had long been holding back its efforts to overthrow the French Emperor's rule, even if it was to feed and clothe the whole family!
Blanqui knew that this most important thing must be done today. If the new government cannot agree, then even if it means facing eternal infamy, a revolution must be launched today!
The world is huge and the food is the largest. In the poor East District, malnourished children starve to death every day. Such urgent needs must be solved. There is no room for bargaining in the face of life and death.
The proposal to increase revenue is a headache for these MPs. If it is passed, the National Guard alone will increase the expenditure by more than 400,000 francs every day.
This is just the beginning. If the Prussians come to the city, the money spent by the Self-Defense Forces once they expand their troops will be a lot of money.
It's heart-wrenching to hear, but the most heart-wrenching thing is the latter proposal. No matter how much the salary is, it will ultimately be a national fiscal expenditure, but the latter proposal is just to cut off the flesh of rich people like them.
Pawn items worth less than thirty francs must be returned to the poor without compensation. What nonsense is this? Steal money directly from the pawnshop owner?
Who did the pawnshop owner offend?
There is actually a proposal not to allow evictions of renters? The price increase is not allowed yet, and the price is reduced by 30%? Robber!
These capitalist MPs all have properties in Paris. They may not have directly invested in the pawn industry or real estate industry, but their relatives, friends or business partners are all related to these industries.
More fundamentally, the vote owners who support the congressmen are all small and medium-sized capitalists!
The parliament was completely in a state of shock, and everyone was condemning Blanqui!
"Blackmail! You are using the national crisis to blackmail!"
"God is watching. This kind of unreasonable proposal must not be passed!"
"The pawn shop doesn't owe you anything, so why should it give you money for free..."
"How can I rent a house if I don't have money? Is it reasonable if I don't pay?"
In the face of the turmoil of accusations, Blanqui was steadfast and undaunted: "Gentlemen, no matter how you slander and insult, this proposal must be passed today!"
"When the country is facing a crisis, everyone has to contribute their own strength. The poor people have dedicated their lives. So, why don't you rich people even refuse to give away money?"
"This is everyone's country! Everyone must bear responsibilities and obligations!"
Blanqui licked his chapped lips and sneered, "Gentlemen, please always remember that when war comes, it's not the poor people all over the world who rush to the front and die in battle?"
"They don't even want their lives, so why can't they get a better treatment?"
"It's September now, and the weather is getting colder day by day. If we don't calm people's hearts now, how will we spend this winter?"
"What valuable pawned items do the poor people have? It's not just the winter clothes at home! The standard of thirty francs I set is just to let the people get back their winter clothes..."
"There is also the reform of the rental system! Do you want these people to freeze to death? If they are dead, who will fight?"
Blanqui finally said coldly, "Gentlemen, I want to remind you that the poor who protect the empire are not only concentrated in the National Guard..."
"You know, in the regular army and in the new army regiments temporarily formed in the south... the poor are also the majority!"
Note: There will be more updates soon!
