17 OCTOBER 1874, Page 1

The general result of the elections to the French Councils

- General seems to be that the Monarchists and Republicans are about equal, and that the Bonapartists, 150 in number, or say ten per cent. of the whole, hold the balance. This is a gain for the Republicans, who were formerly kept down by the local nota- bilities, rarely Republicans, whom the peasantry sent up to manage local affairs. Moreover, as the Legitimists, Orleanists, and Bonapartists cannot act together, the elections leave the Republicans the strongest single party, and in possession, in par- ticular, of almost every important town. Outside Paris, it is true, local ascendancy has seldom helped any political cause in France, but still the elections show that the peasantry are not hostile to the Republic.