As French PMs fail, pretender heir calls for monarchy’s return

As four prime ministers have failed to steer France out of a political deadlock, the self-styled Duke of Anjou, Prince Louis de Bourbon, has suggested that the French people might be in need of a king.

Louis claims to be the descendent of French King Lous XIV, who ruled France from 1643 to 1715

In a newspaper editorial earlier this month, Louis said that that he considered it his “role as head of House of Bourbon and heir of the dynasty that made France” to address the people and offer them a way forward.

But the restoration of monarchy may be a tough sell — and not just because it was last abolished in 1870. Louis is not alone in laying claim to the French throne. There are two other claimants as well: Jean-Christophe Napoleon, who styles himself as Prince Napoleon and claims descent from Napoleon Bonaparte’s family and the self-styled Count of Paris, Jean d’Orleans, who claims descent from King Louis Philippe I (1838-40), are the other two claimants.

‘The French Republic is on the verge of collapse’

In his editorial, Louis said that the French republic was on the verge of collapse from the political crisis. He urged the French people to make a conscious choice about the direction of their country — in an apparent suggestion that they should abolish the republic to opt for monarchy.

In the English translation of the editorial carried by Washington Examiner, Louis said that “the political, institutional, and social state of our country continues to worsen”.

Louis further said, “At a moment of decision, I hope that the monarchical legacy of which I am the trustee is still sufficiently vibrant in the heart of my compatriots to be a source of inspiration and, I must say, hope.”

Originally published in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, the editorial indicted the French political class of preferring to “play their own games” instead of “acting in the higher interest of France and therefore of the French people”.

In his appeal to the people, Louis said, “As has so often been the case in the past, the republican institutions and the political class are proving unequal to the challenges of our time. The Fifth Republic, like its predecessors, seems on the verge of collapse. Thus, I invite the French people to reflect carefully on the current state of our institutions and on a ruling class whose great negligence makes its practice of self-appointment intolerable."

France’s wannabe king is Spanish dictator Franco’s descendent

Louis, 50, is the descendent of Spanish dictator Franco, (1939-75), according to Daily Mail.

Franco turned Spain into a single-party totalitarian regime, killed civil liberties, and summarily executed several thousands of people.

Louis is a social conservative and is against same-sex marriage and adoption, and wants to see a return to a ‘Christian society’ in France, as per The Mail.

Louis is married to María Margarita Vargas Santaella, who is from Venezuela. He is a banker by profession.