One hundred years ago
THE air in the French Chamber is getting charged with electricity. Nobody has been killed yet; but on Tuesday four Deputies, the Republicans M. Arene and M. Etienne, and the Reactionaries M. de l'Aigle and M. Duchesne, came to actual blows, and were only parted by main force. A Deputy, moreover, said to have been M. Andrieux, pro- duced a loaded revolver. The Reac- tionaries began it, one of their number, M. Lejeune, having called the Republi- cans canaille because they wished to postpone a debate on the arrest of Boulangist Deputies at Angouleme; but the parties were almost in the temper of civil war. It is unfortunate when the political air is so hot that the President of the Chamber, M. Mane, possesses no authority, and that the Deputies themselves do not punish violence with greater sharpness. Instead of expelling Deputies who resort to physical force, they expect them to challenge one another, an arrangement which only deepens the risk of altercations by making it seem cowardly to be cool. Great changes in France have always been preceded by these violent scenes.
The Spectator, 29 June 1889
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