Du suffrage universel et de la manière de voter

In the wake of France’s turbulent political reshaping, the author steps into the public debate over how the nation’s representatives should be chosen. He argues that universal suffrage, though imperfectly used for over two decades, remains essential because it has become a deeply rooted habit, enjoys popular support, and reflects a basic sense of fairness: every citizen, whether farmer, worker, or bourgeois, should have a say over decisions that affect their lives and property.

From this premise, the essay urges a sincere reform of the voting process. Rather than offering a token ballot that merely slides into a box, the law should provide a genuine expression of will, tailored to the education and experience of the average Frenchman of 1871. The author dismisses the idea of list voting as a gimmick that forces voters to pick strangers at random, insisting that any new system must respect the voter’s intelligence and promote honest participation.