The Importance of the Petite Bourgeoisie in the French Revolution

In France the revolution and Napoleonic era had sunk a deep populist route into the common people. The urban working artisans were amongst the most fiercely patriotic of any group in the country. In 1839, a petition with 188,000 signatures was just rejected out of hand to extend the franchise to all the National Guard. A new class of commercial financiers who had played a critical role in the Revolution now had the run of the July monarchy.