Légitimistes français sous la Monarchie de Juillet : image catastrophique de la France, image panégyrique de la Russie

摘要

The French legitimists who remained loyal to the elder branch of the House of Bourbon —overthrown in 1830—became «the internal émigrés» (in the words of Delphine de Girardin) within their own country. They refused to collaborate with the new Establishment and they were seeking their political ideals outside France. As opposed to France's constitutional monarchy, they idealised Russia's absolutist monarchy for its order and political harmony. The worse they considered matters in France under Louis-Philippe, the more they cherished the situation in Russia under Nicholas I. While some legitimists limited themselves to praising the patriarchal Russian state in theoretical terms, others opted to put their enthusiasm to the test and joined Russia's military or civil service. They found the practices of autocratic monarchy in reality, however, less desirable than they had envisaged these earlier in their dreams. This article will assess some of the experiences of French legitimists in Tsarist Russia.