The First cabinet of Jules Dufaure was the 54th cabinet of France and the second of the Third Republic, seating from 19 February 1871 to 18 May 1873, headed by

Jules Dufaure Jules Armand Stanislas Dufaure (; 4 December 1798 – 28 June 1881) was a French statesman. Biography Dufaure was born at Saujon, Charente-Maritime, and began his career as an advocate at Bordeaux, where he won a great reputation by his oratoric ...

as Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Justice, under the presidency of

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

History

The

Government of National Defence The Government of National Defense (french: Gouvernement de la Défense nationale) was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclam ...

, having led the republic during the Franco-Prussian War, signed the

Armistice of Versailles The Armistice of Versailles that came into effect on 28 January 1871 brought to an end the active phase of the Franco-Prussian War. The signatories were Jules Favre, foreign minister in the provisional Government of National Defence, for the Fren ...

which provided for new elections in the National Assembly to establish a more legitimate government. The cabinet was formed following the Legislative elections of 1871, which saw a majority of royalists elected. Their initial project was a third

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of descendants of either the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

or the Orléans; the Republic was merely seen at that time by royalists as a system of transition before the return of a constitutional monarchy. However, Jules Dufaure succeeded in assembling a coalition of

Opportunists Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances – with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term ...

, Legitimists, Orleanists and independent Liberals, while leaving Bonapartists, marginalized following the fall of the Second Empire, and

Radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

, openly in favour of the pursuit of the war, out of the majority. On 18 May 1873, Adolphe Thiers, wishing to reorganize the government and to make it more republican leaning, asked the cabinet to resign and tasked Jules Dufaure to form a new one, leading to the formation of the Cabinet Dufaure II.

Actions

The main actions of the government were to deal with the Paris Commune and to end the Franco-Prussian War by conducting negotiations with Bismarck before signing the

Treaty of Frankfurt The Treaty of Frankfurt may refer to one of three treaties signed at Frankfurt, as follows: * Treaty of Frankfurt (1489) - Treaty between Maximilian of Austria and the envoys of King Charles VIII of France *Treaty of Frankfurt (1539) - Initiated ...

and reducing the indemnity requested by Prussia to five billion francs. It also supervised the reorganization of the French Army in order to provide it with manpower equivalent to that of the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

and to professionalize it, and finally dissolved the National Guard now seen as a major threat to the republic and the regular army.

Composition

Notes

References

{{Cabinets of the French Third Republic French Third Republic Cabinets established in 1871 Cabinets disestablished in 1873 1871 in France