So could Lamartine, leader of the Le National faction, theoretical head of the French Second Republic, Romantic poet, and great idealist, stop this rampaging age?
The answer was no!
At the height of his power, in the early days of the French Second Republic, Lamartine had not tried to stop it. He had chosen to compromise.
Though the French Second Republic itself was the product of compromises among various factions, Lamartine's concessions had undoubtedly emboldened the radicals.
The result was one diplomatic blunder after another. A string of wars had exhausted the French Second Republic's national fortunes.
If the French provisional government had not involved itself in the conflict between Austria and the Papal States, it would not have been humiliated so swiftly, nor would the British have been able to take advantage of the situation.
Without British interference, France would not be having such a hard time reclaiming its colonies.
Under the House of Orleans, France had been the world's second-largest colonial empire. By the time of the Second Republic, Algeria, Texas (New France), and Central America had all rebelled in turn, and France had nearly lost all its colonies.
Without those rebellions, the French Second Republic could have chosen a steadier way to revive the economy and restore the people's confidence.
But now, they had no choice.
"France must achieve total victory! We must show the British that we are valuable allies!"
The speaker was Dan Gira, the new leader of the La Réforme faction, delivering an impassioned speech. Louis Blanc and Ledru-Rollin, who had once represented the petty bourgeoisie, had been sidelined, but the pro-British political line had endured.
"The British are indeed the allies we need most, but the price of an all-out war is too high!
"We must consider the attitudes of the Kingdom of