1851 French plebiscite
1851년 프랑스 국민투표
Part of French coup d'état of 2 December 1851
The plebiscite held by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte on 20–21 December 1851 to ratify his coup of 2 December. Asked to maintain his authority and delegate to him the powers to make a new constitution, voters returned 7,481,231 yes votes (92.03 per cent of valid votes) against 647,292 no. It was held under restored male universal suffrage, but a third of the country was under a state of siege and only yes ballots were printed, so it was no free vote.
In depth
In his decrees of 2 December Bonaparte announced the repeal of the electoral law of 31 May 1850 and the restoration of male universal suffrage, appealing directly to the people. On 20–21 December, ten days after the last pockets of resistance had been crushed, the French were asked whether "the French people want the maintenance of the authority of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, and delegate to him the powers needed to establish a constitution on the bases proposed in his proclamation of 2 December". Every man over 21 who had lived six months in his commune could vote.
The vote was held amid terror. A third of the country was still under a state of siege, only newspapers favouring the plebiscite could appear, and the electoral rolls were purged between the coup and the vote. Civilians voted by secret ballot, but soldiers and sailors signed open registers. The authorities printed only "yes" ballots, so that voters wishing to vote no had to bring their own. Campaigning for no was out of the question while the risings against the coup were being repressed. Even so the president enjoyed real popularity among the peasants, and the clergy and many of the Party of Order deputies arrested on 2 December rallied to him.
The final results published on 14 January 1852 gave 7,481,231 yes, 647,292 no and 1,871,477 abstentions. The no votes came mainly from the big cities, and the only rural canton with a no majority was Vernoux in the Ardèche. Opponents such as Victor Hugo questioned the count and the freedom of the vote. The new constitution was promulgated the same day, and a second plebiscite on 21–22 November 1852 approved the restoration of the Empire with 7,824,189 yes votes. Bonaparte went on governing through plebiscites, as a direct bond with the people, until 1870.
In chapter VII of The Eighteenth Brumaire Marx explained the vote by the small-holding peasantry: "The condition of the French peasants provides us with the answer to the riddle of the general elections of December 20 and 21, which bore the second Bonaparte up Mount Sinai, not to receive laws but to give them." Scattered and unable to represent themselves, the peasants handed their representation to a master standing above them.