Although the newspapers had not published it, the informed deputies were discussing whether, after the tobacco trade, the First Consul would continue protecting France's cotton textile industry.
Opposition deputies began opposing Napoleon's continued meetings with that increasingly notorious scandal-ridden girlfriend. Supporters of Napoleon's faction, of course, obeyed the First Consul's orders unconditionally.
The French Theatre by the Seine was like a lawful wife, a venue for formal events where one had to dress conservatively and properly. The Paris Opera, meanwhile, was a mistress, dressed in gaudy splendor. How many months had it been since the commotion caused by Lucien's welcome reception? Christianity did not permit polygamy. Even fools knew what the canal groundbreaking ceremony at the docks meant. The opposition would never let the dictator have his way.
This was the second time the deputies had argued with Napoleon over the canal.
Hypocrites often used flashy but empty preaching to conceal their true purpose.
Parliament and its deputies had become opposed for opposition's sake. October was France's grain-sowing season, and it directly affected next year's harvest.
The heavy draft horses that had been bought were not for the mines, but to be rented out to farmers for plowing.
The money to buy the heavy draft horses had not come from the national budget, but from military expenditures. That raised a question people avoided yet had no choice but to face: did the army obey the god of war, Napoleon, or the deputies who had never set foot on a battlefield?
Digging a canal was the simplest kind of manual labor. It did not require much learning; not everyone had attended university or earned a degree.
If a nationwide referendum were held in Paris now, those supporting the canal's construction would absolutely outnumber those against it. Why could they not accept