The French mind is still agitated with rumours of a
coming coup d'etat. The latest report is that Marshal MacMahon has re- solved not to endure defeat at the polls, that the Government has determined on using military force, and that the Duke de Broglie and General Berthaut, who desire to obey the law, have offered their resignations. That there has been talk about resignations seems true, but it is more probable that the recalcitrant Ministers are resisting the proclamation of a state of siege just before the elec- tions. Even if the Marshal is inclined to strike a coup d'etat, which, as we have elsewhere argued, is improbable, he has no temptation to move before the result of the elections is known. It is much more likely that the Marshal, who has a good deal of self-confidence, still believes that his name will charm France, and that the next Chamber will be composed of "excellent" Deputies, as obedient as corporals. He has no motive as yet to proclaim the Prince Imperial, and a coup d'itat in his own name would be a grotesque crime.
