Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 1496 - 1402: House of Representatives

The Suez Canal is a link between the largest markets in Eastern and Western human history.

Once completed, Marseille will no longer be just a harbor of France but will immediately become the maritime trade hub for much of Europe!

The short-term risks and long-term benefits made Joseph finally make a decision.

He looked at Godan and said, "I have decided to place the European Settlement Bank in Marseille."

"Marseille?"

Both Baron Breti and Godan were taken aback, "Your Highness, isn’t that too far away?"

"Your Highness, Marseille’s economic and financial scale is not enough to..."

Joseph, however, broke out even more shocking news: "Not only the Settlement Bank, but the Paris Stock Exchange and futures market will also move to Marseille subsequently.

"Large banks will also be mandated to establish branches in Marseille.

"And the railway from Marseille to Lyon will be prioritized for funding."

The two ministers exchanged glances and hurriedly advised, "Your Highness, this may bring about unpredictable impacts on the entire financial sector..."

Joseph nodded, "I understand your concerns, but Paris has become too bloated; it would be best to only serve as a political and cultural center in the future.

"Of course, I’m merely proposing a general plan. As for how to separately manage the financial departments and relocate them, the Senate will need to organize all involved banks and exchanges for planning."

He then looked at Baron Breti: "You will be fully responsible for this matter, I just want to see the final result."

Lately, he has focused all his energy on his mother’s health, taking this opportunity to give the Senate a chance to exercise.

In fact, the French Cabinet has already developed a virtuous operating mechanism; he only needs to oversee the strategic direction.

Hmm, Joseph’s dream is to be able to take a vacation for six days a week.

That afternoon, Joseph took his parents and Charles to the Asclepius Hall.

During the preliminary health check in the morning, Louis XVI’s blood pressure, blood sugar, uric acid, white blood cell count, and other indicators were evaluated as normal, which allowed Joseph to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

It appeared that his father’s frequent manual work in the workshop did indeed have some beneficial effects.

What surprised him was that the finest microscopes of this era could clearly distinguish different cells in the blood. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

When he explained the significance of white blood cell counts to Bisha and others, these "mad" doctors actually spent over a dozen hours counting the number of white blood cells within a 0.5 cubic millimeter of blood with the naked eye.

Of course, the results were certainly not accurate, and Joseph himself couldn’t recall how many white blood cells constituted a normal count.

However, Bisha collected blood from two other very healthy middle-aged men, counted their white blood cells, and compared them with the King’s, finding no significant difference.

Lately, Joseph has been acting as a health advisor for his parents.

The focus has been on his mother’s diet and supervising both of them in physical exercises.

Soon enough, with Joseph’s assistance, Louis XVI began bench press exercises.

His Majesty the King’s arm strength was quite decent, lifting a 65-kilogram barbell five times in succession with strength to spare.

Meanwhile, Queen Mary struggled on the seated high pulldown machine, panting heavily yet barely managing to pull 20 kilograms, and repeatedly asking the Countess of Debeninac to reduce the weight.

Joseph himself wasn’t clear on the appropriate amount of training, so he could only have them determine based on their stamina, ensuring at least 25 minutes of strength training and 20 minutes of aerobic exercises like running each day.

He and Charles also picked up a pair of dumbbells each to begin exercising, pondering in his heart that besides the financial center, other centers could also be established.

For instance, Lyon, with its abundance of industrial workers and mature factory operations experience, could develop into a light industrial center.

Namur’s assistance to the Luxembourg line has rich coal and iron resources, making it the best choice for establishing a steel industrial center.

The fertile lands of the Paris Basin in northern central France, with farmers having rich planting experience and being very industrious, could in the future develop into an agricultural center.

Lorraine’s Steam Engine Company already has considerable scale and the country’s earliest industrial district, along with decent coal reserves, allowing it to serve as a mechanical processing center...

By leveraging the industrial advantages of each region, supplemented with policy support, these places could become new economic engines.

However, this also requires a large amount of funding and supporting railway construction, which cannot be accomplished overnight.

For now, it is better to concentrate on progressing with the Marseille Financial City; the rest can serve as medium to long-term plans.

As long as it is realized over a period of thirty or forty years, it can lay the foundation for the nation’s development over the next few centuries.

While Joseph was strategizing these development plans, France’s first House of Representatives election was entering the final sprint stage.

Though the timing of this election was somewhat rushed, with only over three months of preparation time, France’s Third Level Council has a long history. Cities like Brittany and Lorraine have had ongoing involvement in the Third Level Council’s management, so people are not unfamiliar with elections.

After the Cabinet completed the setup of the election committee, the entire election process quickly spread nationwide.

In a villa of a noblewoman in the Saint-Germain District of Paris, dozens of business elites were attending a salon.

Brode frowned at Walsh, whispering, "Are you insane? You actually gave that journalist 50,000 francs for free!"

The latter dismissively waved his hand, "Mr. Nestor may not often appear in public, but his reputation is very high. With my sponsorship, he is almost certain to be elected as a Member of Parliament."

Brode pursed his lips, "So what? He’s a damn ’market restrictionist.’ According to his theories, we can’t even dream of getting the rights to build Mons’ railway."

"People can change," Walsh smiled, "You should see that he is running this time as a ’member of the Trade Faction.’ This means that once he enters the House of Representatives, he must align his policies with his fellow Members of Parliament."

Brode continued to complain, "I think it’d be better to support a ’Liberal’ candidate at least their asking price isn’t high."

"But all they do is chant slogans. The ’Agrarian Faction’ and the ’Radical Faction’ are better at getting things done. Trust me, Nestor is the most suitable choice."

In just over two months, the candidates in Paris had quickly grouped themselves into seven or eight factions ranging from the ’Trade Faction’ and ’Agrarian Faction’ to the ’Tax Faction,’ to maximize their supporters, win votes, and beat competitors.