 These laws created a mixed system in which some primary education establishments were public and controlled by the state and others were under the supervision of Catholic congregations.Although the concept of universal public schooling was important to these revolutionaries, it became clear that financial issues and political debate thwarted the implementation.Despite the differences on economic, social, and other issues among the Republican radicals with whom Jules Ferry identified, they were united by the desire to obtain a secular republic due to the growing popularity of anti-clericalism since the Revolution and notably during the Third Republic.