In the second meeting, held on Tuesday, in a crowded
build- ing calculated to hold some ten thousand persons, M. Gambetta wholly failed to obtain a hearing. Great discourtesy was shown both to him and to his Committee, and be had at last to leave the building, after saying nothing but a few words of fierce de- nunciation of the conspiracy against him, and of the " slaves " who did its work. The interruptions were from the friends of M. Rochefort and of the Commune, and were accompanied by violent cries of " Vive Rochefort !" " Vive la Commune !" " has le Dictateur !" Whether the popular feeling of Belleville is really turning against M. Gambetta, it is hardly possible as yet to say. No doubt, many of these interrupters may have been hired, but there was no sufficient resentment shown to quell the spirit of the anti-Gambettist faction. We see some reason to fear that the Extremists are breaking with M. Gam- betta, and setting up M. Clemenceau as their idol in his place.
Previous page
