in the face of the rise of boulanger, the republican leaders were divided. from one side, the old republican moderate wing, composed by prominent personalities like jules ferry, maurice rouvier and eugène spuller, representing the middle bourgeoisie, industrialists and scholars, formed the national republican association (anr) in 1888. to the other side, the republican right-wing of henri barboux and léon say, who represented the interests of the rich bourgeoisie and catholics, formed the liberal republican union in 1889. continuing to depict itself as leftist, the anr was a conservative group opposing the income tax and strikes that tried to defend the republic from its reputed enemy boulanger and used many "banquets" to finance his activities. finally, there was a rupture inside the boulangist party, namely the radicals of clemenceau, who disenchanted by the militarism of boulanger launched the society of the rights of man and of the citizen and the socialists became disappointed by boulanger's frequentation of monarchists like the duchess of uzès and prince napoléon bonaparte, also themselves disappointed by boulanger's republican ideas. the "coup de grâce" to boulangisme arrived when he was accused of preparing a coup d'état, causing his flight to bruxelles and a republican landslide in the 1889.