One panelist suggests that communist support, including within the army, could quickly overturn an Orleanist restoration. Clarke challenges that assumption by emphasizing disagreement over leadership among prewar communist organizations. He argues that wartime losses among leaders helped produce a more coherent command structure in the Resistance, so wartime effectiveness cannot simply be projected backward. The army faction is also recalled as divided among three colonels who could not agree on leadership. This remains a disputed interpretation within the counterfactual.
Notable Point · 2:41:23-2:43:39
Would French communists overturn a restored monarchy?
The panel disputes whether the strength of French communism would translate into an organized revolution against a restored crown.