The fighting in Paris was bloody and brutal. Most of the barricades were destroyed in the first wave of attacks.
At this point, the French military desperately needed a victory to prove its worth, and it could be said they were pulling out all the stops.
They not only deployed their most elite troops but also brought out large quantities of new weapons that had yet to see battle.
Yet all this was only the beginning. Billefort resigned and fled into exile in Britain, leaving the French Second Republic government in chaos.
Ledru-Rollin felt his moment had come. He publicly declared that he was the best candidate to succeed as interim president and mobilized members of the Mountain Party to seize control of the government.
This naturally provoked opposition from the other parties, and Parliament Hall once again descended into a full-blown brawl.
At this moment of crisis at home and abroad, Cavaignac's subordinates could no longer sit still. One after another, they urged the "hero" who had just put down the Paris uprising to take power as "Protector of the Republic."
In truth, the military had long been dissatisfied with the politicians. They believed France's current predicament was entirely the result of the politicians' reckless orders.
Furthermore, the status of soldiers had been declining ever since the Napoleonic Wars. They wanted to change things, and establishing a military government would undoubtedly be the best way.
Cavaignac had neither a distinguished record nor enough prestige to command the army's respect. He even lacked a talent for directing military operations.
Choosing to split his forces at the outset and advance recklessly with lightly equipped troops had hardly been a wise move.
But Cavaignac was a staunch Republican. He refused to become Protector of the Republic, and he did not let Ledru-Rollin