Why was Gustave Flaubert put on trial after Madame Bovary was published?

Following the serialization of Madame Bovary in the Revue de Paris in 1856, the French government brought Gustave Flaubert to trial on charges of "outrage to public morals and religion" due to the novel's alleged immorality.123

While the book was considered sexually frank for its time, historical analysis suggests that the prosecution was motivated less by genuine moral concern and more by the government's political desire to shut down the Revue de Paris, the magazine that published the work. Flaubert was ultimately acquitted in early 1857, and the publicity surrounding the trial significantly heightened public interest in the novel.324