Before leaving, Louis Philippe wrote an abdication proclamation:
"Today, I, Louis Philippe of the God-given House of Orléans, yield my people and my throne to my grandson, the Count of Paris.
May he fulfill the mission God has entrusted to him."
Louis Philippe clearly meant to abandon the cart to save the horse, a tactic not uncommon in European courts.
The King of Bavaria had also been forced to abdicate before, then passed the throne to his son, preserving House of Wittelsbach's rule.
Louis Philippe had another consideration as well: the Count of Paris was only ten, and the Duchess of Orléans was a woman with no political experience.
With those two conditions in place, if the Count of Paris took the throne, Louis Philippe could likely continue pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
As soon as the Duchess of Orléans learned that Louis Philippe had abdicated, she rushed to the Chamber of Deputies with her son. But reality dealt her a crushing blow.
First, Parliament refused to recognize her authority. Then the Republican Dinouart led the crowd in storming the chamber.
The Count of Paris was knocked down. If the Duchess of Orléans hadn't shielded her son with her body, he would have been trampled to death.
Afterward, the duchess fled with her eldest son, embarking on a desperate escape. When the furious crowd couldn't find the king, they dragged his throne into the square and set it on fire.
In the glow of the flames, the people sang La Marseillaise once more.
By then, the Republicans had gained an overwhelming advantage in France, but La Réforme and Le National factions were at odds.
The former wanted universal suffrage and reforms to the existing economic and political systems. The latter wanted protectionist trade policies, a true property-based electorate,