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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Le pouvoir royal (1814-1848). A la recherche du quatrième pouvoir ?

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This work sheds light on the representations of royal power that confronted each other until 1848 to fulfil the programme of reconciliation of the "two France" wanted by Louis XVIII. They are divided between the desire to return to the Ancien Régime and the attempt to renew the royal function. Opposed to the ultraroyalists, the supporters of this original path wished to consecrate liberal constitutionalism by resorting to an unexpected expedient, the power of the King, which had to be remodelled. As with Constant and Dunoyer, it was a question of creating a fourth power with its own essence and a new mission: to watch over the institutions. This regulating or preserving power produced a passionate debate on the ideas and philosophy of law between these Moderns and the Ancients. Like Bonald, the latter preferred to encourage the conservative power of society, even if it meant going back on established dogmas (sovereignty, legitimacy) or on undesirable achievements (responsibility) that could undermine the conservative mission entrusted to the King. The search for the fourth power in fact forces a complete revision of royal power, its nature and its relationship with the other powers.Despite their failure, these reflections would have a lasting impact on French thinking about the head of state, being reborn as circumstances changed. It will then be interesting to reconsider the role of the Head of the Fifth Republic in the light of this ambivalent heritage.