French History:
The Search for Stable Government
After Napoleon's defeat, Austrian, Prussian, Russian, French and
British delegates reorganized Europe during
the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) and restored the French borders
to what they had been in 1790. In the years
that followed, France underwent several political changes: it was first governed
by a
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constitutional monarchy, then by an authoritarian empire, and finally France
became a republic as we know it today.
The monarchy returned, with two more kings of the Bourbon royal family. Their rule was interrupted by the
Second Republic during which French men got the right to vote. The last king, Louis-Philippe, abdicated in 1848.
Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, established the Second Empire and declared himself Emperor
Napoleon III in 1852.
Industrial development advanced, and new building flourished. His reign ended with French
defeat in the Franco Prussian War (1870-1871). The post war treaty forced France to give much of Alsace and Lorraine
to the new German empire. The people ousted Napoleon III and gradually evolved a new constitution that became the
basis for the Third Republic. In 1940, the German backed Vichy government under Marshal Henri Philippe Petain
replaced the Third Republic during the Nazi occupation of World War 2.
France's older colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and India were mostly lost or sold by the 1800s.
In their place, France established a powerful colonial empire in Africa and Asia. The glory of France was once
again exported to new parts of the world, including Algeria, Tunisia, Indo-China, Senegal, Madagascar, and Morocco.
The late 19th century also saw the beginnings of secular, compulsory public education, the growth of the
railroads, the rise of labor unions, and a clear separation of church and state.
History: Two World Wars
The great loss of life in World War I, a world economic depression that followed, and defeat by Germany in
World War 2 marked very low periods in history of this country.
In 1907, France entered into a diplomatic agreement, the Triple Entente, with Britain and Russia. Germany
invaded France shortly after World War I (1914-1918) began. Much of the war was fought in France, and almost 2
million French people died. Soldiers suffered the horrors of trench warfare and new technologies of death bombs
dropped from airplanes and poison gas. After the war, Alsace and Lorraine were restored to France, but the French
economy had suffered greatly. Recovery depended on German reparations. In the 1930s, the rise of Fascist leader
Adolf Hitler in Germany and the world economic depression led to political turmoil.
In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, touching off World War II and France joined Great Britain in declaring
war on Germany. In May 1940, Germany once again invaded France. France fell quickly, and Germany occupied the
northern two thirds of France, including Paris. Southern France remained in French hands for a while with a
German controlled puppet government in Vichy under Marshal Petain, a World War I hero. In 1942, the Germans also
occupied southern France.
In June 1944, soldiers from the United States and the Allied countries landed in Normandy and liberated France.
Petain was convicted of treason and sentenced to prison for life. After the war, a new constitution in 1945
created the Fourth Republic led by General Charles de Gaulle. French women voted for the first time that year.
France rebuilt its economy with much help from the United States' Marshall Plan. In 1949, France became a charter
member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Allied victory over Germany ultimately restored
France's prewar boundaries.
History: Postwar France
France lost important colonies after the war. Indo China had been taken by the Japanese during the war,
and after the war, France regained control of southern Indo China only. After eight years of bloody struggle
the former colony was divided into Kampuchea (Cambodia), Laos, and North and South Vietnam. In 1954, the specter of
rebellion reared its head in Algeria, and a long and brutal struggle ensued. Fear that the rebellion would spread
to Morocco and Tunisia led the government to make such drastic concessions to these two countries that they
finally gained independence in 1976. The costly war in Algeria lasted through the 1950s. sharply dividing the French
people and inspiring terrorist violence. In April 1962. Algeria finally gained independence from France.
The president who succeeded Charles de Gaulle was Georges Pompidou (1969-1974). He contributed strongly to the
development of France's nuclear proficiency and its new defense plan. Valery Giscard d'Estaing, leader of the
independent Republican Party, followed with a coalition government. With the election of Francois Mitterrand of
the Socialist Party in 1981, government ownership of businesses increased. He was reelected for a second term in
1988. Socialists also controlled Parliament until 1986, when Jacques Chirac, the conservative mayor of Paris,
became prime minister. In 1991, Edith Cresson of the Socialist Party replaced Chirac's Successor, Michel Rocard,
to become the first woman in France to hold that post. She was replaced by Pierre Beregovoy in April 1992.
The election of March 1993 introduced a new period of cohabitation ("KOH-ah-be-tah-zjo") between a socialist and a
center right government, led by Edouard Balladur as prime minister.
As one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, France maintains a strong position in
world affairs.
Extract from “Cultures Of The World France”, Written by Etbel Caro Gofen. Times Editions Pte Ltd, Singapore: 1999.
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