Editing Louis XVIII (section)

===Second Restoration (from 1815)===
[[File:Cruikshank - Old Bumblehead.png|right|thumb|''Old Bumblehead the 18th trying on the Napoleon Boots – or, Preparing for the Spanish Campaign'', by [[George Cruikshank]], mocking the [[Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis|French intervention in Spain]]]]
[[File:La famille royale by Gautier.jpg|right|thumb|The royal family. From left to right: [[Charles X of France|Charles, Count of Artois]], Louis XVIII, [[Princess Caroline Ferdinande of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Marie Caroline, Duchesse of Berry]], [[Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de France|Marie Thérèse, Duchesse of Angoulême]], [[Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême|Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême]] and [[Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry]]]]
Louis returned to France promptly after Napoleon's defeat to ensure his second restoration "in the baggage train of the enemy", i.e. with Wellington's troops.{{sfn|Price|2008|p=83}} The Duke of Wellington used King Louis' person to open up the route to Paris, as some fortresses refused to surrender to the Allies, but agreed to do so for their king. King Louis arrived at [[Cambrai]] on 26 June, where he released [[s:Cambrai Proclamation|a proclamation]] stating that those who served the Emperor in the Hundred Days would not be persecuted, except for the "instigators". It was also acknowledged that Louis's government might have made mistakes during the First Restoration.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=253}} King Louis was worried that the counter-revolutionary element sought revenge. He promised to grant a constitution that would guarantee the public debt, freedom of the press and of religion, and equality before the law. It would guarantee the full property rights of those who had purchased national lands during the revolution.  He kept his promises.{{sfn|Artz|1938|p=127}}

On 29 June, a deputation of five from among the members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Peers approached Wellington about putting a foreign prince on the throne of France. Wellington rejected their pleas outright, declaring that "[Louis is] the best way to preserve the integrity of France"{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=254}} and ordered the delegation to espouse King Louis' cause.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=255}} The King entered Paris on 8 July to a boisterous reception: the Tuileries Palace gardens were thronged with bystanders, and, according to the Duke of Wellington, the acclamation of the crowds there were so loud during that evening that he could not converse with the King.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=256}}

Although the Ultra faction of returning exiles wanted revenge and were eager to punish the usurpers and restore the old regime, the new king rejected that advice. He instead called for continuity and reconciliation, and a search for peace and prosperity. The exiles were not given back their lands and property, although they eventually received repayment in the form of bonds.  The Catholic Church was favoured.  The electorate was limited to the richest men in France, most of whom had supported Napoleon. In foreign policy he removed Talleyrand, and continued most of Napoleon's policies in peaceful fashion. He kept to the policy of minimizing Austria's role but reversed Napoleon's friendly overtures to Spain and the Ottomans.<ref>{{cite book|first1=John W.  |last1=Rooney, Jr. |first2=Alan J. |last2=Reinerman |chapter= Continuity: French Foreign Policy of The First Restoration|title=Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850: Proceedings |year=1986 |volume=16 |pages= 275–288}}</ref>{{Sfn|Frederking|2008|pp=446-468}}{{sfn|Artz|1931|pages=16-21}}

The King's role in politics was voluntarily diminished; he assigned most of his duties to his council. During the summer of 1815, he and his ministry embarked on a series of reforms. The Royal Council, an informal group of ministers that advised Louis, was dissolved and replaced by a tighter knit [[privy council]], the ''"Ministère du Roi"''. Artois, Berry and Angoulême were purged from the new ''"ministère"'', and Talleyrand was appointed as the first ''Président du Conseil'', i.e. Prime Minister of France.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=260}} On 14 July, the ministry dissolved the units of the army deemed "rebellious". Hereditary peerage was re-established  by the ministry at Louis' behest.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=261}}

In August, elections for the Chamber of Deputies returned unfavourable results for Talleyrand. The ministry hoped for moderate deputies, but the electorate voted almost exclusively for [[ultra-royalists]], resulting in what King Louis called the ''[[Chambre introuvable]].'' The Duchess of Angoulême and the Count of Artois pressured King Louis for the dismissal of his obsolete ministry. Talleyrand tendered his resignation on 20 September. Louis chose the [[Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, duc de Richelieu|Duke of Richelieu]] to be his new Prime Minister. Richelieu was chosen because he was acceptable to Louis' family and to the reactionary Chamber of Deputies.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=266}} Louis dissolved the ''[[Chambre introuvable]]'' on 5 September 1816, after a rise in anti-monarchical sentiments.<ref>{{Cite web |title=France - France, 1815–1940 {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/France/France-1815-1940 |access-date=11 May 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=CORCIULO |first=MARIA SOFIA |date=1 January 2000 |title=La dissolution de la 'Chambre Introuvable' (5 septembre 1816): coup d'état de Louis XVIII? |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02606755.2000.9522104 |journal=Parliaments, Estates and Representation |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=167–175 |doi=10.1080/02606755.2000.9522104 |s2cid=144649560 |issn=0260-6755}}</ref>

Anti-Napoleonic sentiment was high in Southern France, and this was prominently displayed in the [[Second White Terror|White Terror]], which saw the purge of all important Napoleonic officials from government, along with the execution or assassination of others. Popular vengeance led to barbarous acts against some of these officials. [[Guillaume Marie Anne Brune]] (a Napoleonic marshal) was savagely assassinated, and his remains thrown into the [[Rhône River]].{{Sfn|Lever|1988|page=417}} Louis publicly deplored such illegal acts, but vehemently supported the prosecution of those marshals of the army who had helped Napoleon in the Hundred Days.{{sfn|Price|2008|p=84}}{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=424}} Louis's government executed Napoleon's [[Michel Ney|Marshal Ney]] in December 1815 for treason. The King's confidants [[Charles François, Marquis de Bonnay]], and the Duke de La Chatre advised him to inflict firm punishments on the "traitors".{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The King was reluctant to shed blood, and this greatly irritated the ultra-reactionary Chamber of Deputies, who felt that Louis was not executing enough.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=425}} The government issued a proclamation of amnesty to the "traitors" in January 1816, but such trials as had already begun took their course. That same declaration also banned any member of the [[House of Bonaparte]] from owning property in, or entering, France.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=426}} It is estimated that between 50,000&nbsp;– 80,000 officials were purged from the government during what was known as the [[Second White Terror]].{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=427}}

In November 1815, Louis's government had to sign another [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Treaty of Paris]] that formally ended Napoleon's Hundred Days. The previous treaty had been quite favourable to France, but this one took a hard line. France's borders were now less extensive, being drawn back to their 1790 extent. France had to pay for an army to occupy her, for at least five years, at a cost of 150&nbsp;million francs per year. France also had to pay a [[war indemnity]] of 700&nbsp;million francs to the Allies.{{sfn|Price|2008|p=89}}

In 1818, the Chambers passed a military law that increased the size of the army by over 100,000. In October of the same year, Louis's foreign minister, the Duke of Richelieu, succeeded in convincing the Allied Powers to withdraw their armies early in exchange for a sum of over 200&nbsp;million francs.{{sfn|Price|2008|pages=95-96}}

Louis chose many centrist cabinets, as he wanted to appease the populace, much to the dismay of his brother, the [[ultra-royalist]] Count of Artois.{{sfn|Price|2008|p=93}} Louis always dreaded the day he would die, believing that his brother, and heir, Artois, would abandon the centrist government for an ultra-royalist autocracy, which would not bring favourable results.{{sfn|Price|2008|p=94}}

King Louis disliked the [[Prince of the Blood|''premier prince du sang'']], Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, and took every opportunity to snub him,{{sfn|Price|2008|p=98}} denying him the title of "Royal Highness", partly out of resentment for the Duke's father's role in voting for Louis XVI's execution. Louis XVIII's nephew, [[Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry|the Duke of Berry]], was assassinated at the Paris Opera on 14 February 1820. The royal family was grief-stricken{{sfn|Price|2008|pages=106-107}} and Louis broke an ancient tradition by attending his nephew's funeral, whereas  previous kings of France could not have any association with death.{{sfn|Mansel|1999|p=194}} The death of the Duke of Berry meant that the House of Orleans was more likely to succeed to the throne.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

[[File:Painting, Louis XVIII and the French Royal Family, Louis Ducis.jpg|right|thumb|Louis XVIII on a balcony of the Tuileries Palace receiving the Duke of Angoulême after his successful military campaign in Spain]]

Berry was the only member of the family thought to be able to beget children. His wife gave birth to a posthumous son in September, [[Henri, comte de Chambord|Henry, Duke of Bordeaux]],{{sfn|Price|2008|pages=106-107}} nicknamed ''Dieudonné'' (God-given) by the Bourbons because he was thought to have secured the future of the dynasty. However the Bourbon succession was still in doubt. The Chamber of Deputies proposed amending [[Salic law]] to allow the [[Marie Thérèse of France|Duchess of Angoulême]] to accede to the throne.{{sfn|Nagel|2008|page=287}} On 12 June 1820, the Chambers ratified legislation that increased the number of deputies from 258 to 430. The extra deputies were to be elected by the wealthiest quarter of the population in each [[Departments of France|département]]. These individuals now effectively had two votes.{{sfn|Price|2008|p=108}} Around the same time as the "law of the two votes", Louis began to receive visits every Wednesday from a lady named [[Zoé Talon, comtesse du Cayla|Zoé Talon]], and ordered that nobody should disturb him while he was with her. It was rumoured that he inhaled [[Snuff (tobacco)|snuff]] from her breasts,{{sfn|Price|2008|p=109}} which earned her the nickname of ''tabatière'' (snuffbox).{{Sfn|Lever|1988|page=537}} In 1823, France embarked on a [[Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis|military intervention in Spain]], where a revolt had occurred against King [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]]. France succeeded in crushing the rebellion,{{sfn|Price|2008|p=110}} in a campaign headed by the Duke of Angoulême.{{sfn|Nagel|2008}}