The society trained young people in debates and in the workings of a legislative chamber. Its purpose was to study and consider legislation, administration, political economy and general politics. Members met weekly for six months of the year. The proceedings were modelled on those of the Chamber of Deputies or Corps législatif. A mock bill was tabled by a member, examined in committee and then presented to the general assembly. After discussion, the members voted on the bill. Topics included prostitution, decentralization and freedom of association. It was customary for a member to make their maiden speech on the first occasion after being admitted. The members formed factions based on political affinities, like the political groups in parliament. The meeting room contained "desks as in the Chamber, a committee, a gallery. Franck Chauveau, president of the society in 1876, said "We naturally acquire a taste here for free institutions, a spirit of discussion and free scrutiny, the habits of parliamentary life of which the Conférence is the image. The Conférence Molé was an important training group for future political leaders in the July Monarchy. Around 1845 the Molé absorbed a similar, well-known society, the Conférence d'Orsay. The Conférence d'Orsay had been founded in 1839 by some young, conservative aristocrats and law students who met at the Quai d'Orsay. It was joined by Louis Ferdinand Alfred Maury in 1841 after he left the Conférence Bailly. The Molé played a key role during the French Second Republic. In 1850 the Conférence Molé moved to 40, rue des Saints-Pères, following the Academy of Medicine. It remained there until 7 July 1939. The Molé tended to be moderately conservative under the July Monarchy, and was critical of the authoritarian regime of the Second French Empire. It was one of the rare places where some degree of free public discussion was allowed under the Empire. Léon Gambetta was admitted to the Molé in 1861 and wrote to his father, "It is no mere lawyers club, but a veritable political assembly with a left, a right, a center; legislative proposals are the sole subject of discussion. It is there that are formed all the political men of France; it is a veritable training ground for the tribune." Gambetta, like many other French orators, learned the art of public speaking at the Molé. At that time the Molé met in the Café Procope in the Rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie, the oldest coffee house in Paris.