560 Readings in European History Provisional government desires a republic. the popular government which the provisional government proclaims, every citizen is a magistrate. Frenchmen, it is for you to give to the world the exam- ple which Paris has given to France ; prepare yourselves by order and by confidence in your destiny for the firm institu- tions which you are about to be called upon to establish. The provisional government wishes to establish a repub- lic, — subject, however, to ratification by the people, who shall be immediately consulted. The unity of the nation (formed henceforth of all the classes of citizens who compose it) ; the government of the nation by itself ; liberty, equality, and fraternity, for fun- damental principles, and " the people" for our emblem and watchword : these constitute the democratic government which France owes to itself, and which our efforts shall secure for it. 467. Decrees of the provisional government relating to the working- men (Febru- ary 25, 1848). Labor unions sanctioned. The workingmen and their leaders played an impor- tant part in the February revolution. This fact is em- phasized by the decrees in the interest of the laboring classes which were issued by the provisional government on the day following its creation. The provisional government of the French republic de- crees that the Tuileries shall serve hereafter as a home for the veterans of labor. The provisional government of the French republic pledges itself to guarantee the means of subsistence of the workingman by labor. It pledges itself to guarantee labor to all citizens. It recognizes that workingmen ought to enter into asso- ciations among themselves in order to enjoy the advantage of their labor. Suppression The provisional government returns to the workingmen, of the j- wnom it rightfully belongs, the million which was about civil list. . . . to fall due upon the civil list.
