le seize mai

…precipitating the constitutional crisis of le seize mai (May 16), centring on the question of whether ministerial responsibility was owed to the president or to the Chamber. Because events determined that it should be owed to the Chamber, Mac-Mahon himself resigned on Jan. 30, 1879, and the Third Republic became…

…and, on May 16 (le seize mai), 1877, Mac-Mahon posted a letter to Simon that was tantamount to dismissal. Premier Simon’s resignation precipitated the crisis of le seize mai. When Mac-Mahon commissioned conservative Albert de Broglie to form a ministry and won the Senate’s assent to dissolve the chamber…