Thus, until the turn of the 20th century, the dominant forces of the French Left were composed of the Opportunist Republicans, who considered that the Republican regime could only be consolidated by successive phases. Those dominated French politics from 1876 to the 1890s. The Opportunists included figures such as Léon Gambetta, leader of the Republican Union who had participated to the Commune, Jules Ferry, leader of the Republican Left who passed the Jules Ferry laws on public, mandatory and secular education, Charles de Freycinet, who directed several governments in this period, Jules Favre, Jules Grévy or Jules Simon. While Gambetta opposed colonialism as he considered it a diversion from the blue line of the Vosges, that is of the possibility of a revenge against the newly founded German Empire, Ferry was part of the colonial lobby who took part in the Scramble for Africa.