In May 1873, MacMahon was elected President of the French Republic, with by the royalist and conservative majoroity in the National Assembly.
Only one vote was cast against him.
Renowned for his popularity, Mac Mahon was elected following the unsuccessful election of Adolphe Thiers on 24 May 1873.
He replaced Prime Minister Jules Armand Dufaure with Duke Albert, 4th duc de Broglie, a monarchist.
With Duke Broglie as Prime Minister, he adopted a series of "moral order" measures.

MacMahon favoured a restoration of the monarchy but when this project failed, accepted a seven-year mandated which the Assembly gave him on 9 November 1873.
Mac Mahon deemed himself responsible to the country than to parliament, which brought him into conflict with the Chamber of Deputies.

In his still unpublished memoirs, MacMahon described his political convictions: "By family tradition, and by the sentiments towards the royal house which were instilled in me by my early education, I could not be anything but a Legitimist."
Nevertheless, in November 1873, he refused to meet with the Bourbon claimant to the throne, Henri, Count of Chambord, as he thought this incompatible with his duties as President of the Republic.
 On 4 February 1874, MacMahon declared that he would respect the established legal order.
Preferring to remain "au-dessus des partis" (on top of the parties), he observed rather than take part in the procedures which in January and February 1875 led to the French Constitutional Laws of 1875, which established the French Third Republic as the government of France.

During the night of 23–24 June 1875 the Garonne region suffered heavy flooding.
While visiting the inundated cities and villages he declared "que d'eau… que d'eau !… " (
nothing but water…only water!…).
The prefect of the department responded to him: "Et encore, Monsieur le Président, vous n'en voyez que le dessus!" (
Then again, Mr. President, you are only seeing what's above the surface!").

In September 1875, he stayed at Vernon for several days, in order to prepare the grand maneuvers of the third army.
Following the 1876 French legislative election, which resulted in a republican majority, he agreed with great reluctance to the formation of governments under prime ministers Jules Dufaure and Jules Simon, which were dominated by Republicans.

In order to contain and destabilize France, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sought to promote republicanism in France by strategically and ideologically isolating MacMahon's clerical-monarchist supporters.
Bismarck's containment policy almost got out of hand in 1875 during the "War in Sight" crisis.
There was a war scare in Germany and France when the German press reported that influential Germans, alarmed by France's rapid recovery from defeat in 1871 and its rearmaments program, were talking of launching a preemptive attack on France.
Britain and Russia made it clear that they would not tolerate such aggression.
Bismarck did not seek war either, but the unexpected crisis forced him to take into consideration the alarm that his aggressive policies, plus Germany's fast-growing power, were causing among its neighbors.

The 16 May 1877 crisis heightened MacMahon's conflict with the Chamber of Deputies.
After the bishops of Poitiers, Nimes and Nevers had ensured Pius IX of the French government's support in the Roman Question, the Chamber passed a resolution that asked the government to "suppress the ultramontanism manifestations".
Twelve days later, dismissed Prime Minister Jules Simon and again appointed Albert de Broglie.
Hoping for a conservative victory, MacMahon then convinced the Senate to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, and campaigned across the country, while protesting that he had no intention of overthrowing the Republic.
On 15 August 1877, Léon Gambetta declared: "Le Président n'a que ce choix: il lui faut se soumettre ou se démettre." ("
The President has only but one choice: he must submit or resign.")

The elections of 14 October gave the Left-wing a majority of 120 seats, and prime minister Broglie accordingly resigned
In May 1873, MacMahon was elected President of the French Republic, with by the royalist and conservative majoroity in the National Assembly. Only one vote was cast against him. Renowned for his popularity, Mac Mahon was elected following the unsuccessful election of Adolphe Thiers on 24 May 1873. He replaced Prime Minister Jules Armand Dufaure with Duke Albert, 4th duc de Broglie, a monarchist. With Duke Broglie as Prime Minister, he adopted a series of "moral order" measures.
MacMahon favoured a restoration of the monarchy but when this project failed, accepted a seven-year mandated which the Assembly gave him on 9 November 1873. Mac Mahon deemed himself responsible to the country than to parliament, which brought him into conflict with the Chamber of Deputies.
In his still unpublished memoirs, MacMahon described his political convictions: "By family tradition, and by the sentiments towards the royal house which were instilled in me by my early education, I could not be anything but a Legitimist." Nevertheless, in November 1873, he refused to meet with the Bourbon claimant to the throne, Henri, Count of Chambord, as he thought this incompatible with his duties as President of the Republic.  On 4 February 1874, MacMahon declared that he would respect the established legal order. Preferring to remain "au-dessus des partis" (on top of the parties), he observed rather than take part in the procedures which in January and February 1875 led to the French Constitutional Laws of 1875, which established the French Third Republic as the government of France. 
During the night of 23–24 June 1875 the Garonne region suffered heavy flooding. While visiting the inundated cities and villages he declared "que d'eau… que d'eau !… " (nothing but water…only water!…). The prefect of the department responded to him: "Et encore, Monsieur le Président, vous n'en voyez que le dessus!" (Then again, Mr. President, you are only seeing what's above the surface!").
In September 1875, he stayed at Vernon for several days, in order to prepare the grand maneuvers of the third army. Following the 1876 French legislative election, which resulted in a republican majority, he agreed with great reluctance to the formation of governments under prime ministers Jules Dufaure and Jules Simon, which were dominated by Republicans.
In order to contain and destabilize France, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sought to promote republicanism in France by strategically and ideologically isolating MacMahon's clerical-monarchist supporters. Bismarck's containment policy almost got out of hand in 1875 during the "War in Sight" crisis. There was a war scare in Germany and France when the German press reported that influential Germans, alarmed by France's rapid recovery from defeat in 1871 and its rearmaments program, were talking of launching a preemptive attack on France. Britain and Russia made it clear that they would not tolerate such aggression. Bismarck did not seek war either, but the unexpected crisis forced him to take into consideration the alarm that his aggressive policies, plus Germany's fast-growing power, were causing among its neighbors.
The 16 May 1877 crisis heightened MacMahon's conflict with the Chamber of Deputies. After the bishops of Poitiers, Nimes and Nevers had ensured Pius IX of the French government's support in the Roman Question, the Chamber passed a resolution that asked the government to "suppress the ultramontanism manifestations". Twelve days later, dismissed Prime Minister Jules Simon and again appointed Albert de Broglie. Hoping for a conservative victory, MacMahon then convinced the Senate to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, and campaigned across the country, while protesting that he had no intention of overthrowing the Republic. On 15 August 1877, Léon Gambetta declared: "Le Président n'a que ce choix: il lui faut se soumettre ou se démettre." ("The President has only but one choice: he must submit or resign.")
The elections of 14 October gave the Left-wing a majority of 120 seats, and prime minister Broglie accordingly resigned 
Patrice de MacMahon