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France, an Outline of History – DC. Meyer
FRANCE, AN OUTLINE OF HISTORY (PART II)
3. The “Ancien Regime” (16th – 18th centuries)
Renaissance (16th c.)
By the end of the 15th century, the Kingdom of France had achieved a remarkable unity
under Louis XI and his successor Charles VIII who, through his marriage with Anne de
Bretagne, managed to attach to the French Crown the fiercely independent province of
Brittany, in western France. However, the French monarchs, now the most powerful in
Europe, looked southwards to extend their influence, and seek new economic and
political opportunities within the rich Mediterranean world. The Wars of Italy, started in
1495 by Louis XI on the pretext of recovering lost territories, would last until 1559 and
would greatly contribute to the cultural transformation of France in this period. Indeed, in
the process of waging these wars against its southern neighbor, supported by Austria
and the renegade province of Burgundy, the French political and intellectual elites were
also discovering a wealth of treasures: architectural wonders and sculptures from the
great Roman past and the present, extraordinary paintings, elegant furniture, refined
music and many other works of art brought about by the finest artists of the Italian
renaissance of the 15th century. Francis I, crowned King of France in 1515, wanted to
think of himself as the protector of the arts and sciences, and strongly encouraged
French artists to develop their craft and emulate their Italian counterparts. During his
reign, he invited many Italian artists, scholars, architects to come to France, among them
Leonardo de Vinci, who allegedly died into the arms of Francis I in 1519. Along the Loire
River, sumptuous chateaux, such as Blois and Amboise, were built as testimony of the
cultural rebirth of France.
The French Renaissance is also a vibrant period for the French literature. While Francis I
issued a decree in 1539 that made French (and non longer Latin) the official language of
the administration, and with the fast rising printing industry (50,000 books are printed in
Lyon and Paris in the course of the 16th century), writers such as Clément Marot (14961544), Marguerite de Navarre (1492-1549), Rabelais (1494-1553), Ronsard (1524-1585),
du Bellay (1522-1560) define new literary norms and genres which will set the standards
for the centuries to come. In 1580, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1594) publishes his
Essays, a unique masterpiece which encapsulates the humanist spirit of the
Renaissance: tolerance, defiance towards dogmas, cultivation of knowledge, cultural
relativism founded on the recognition and acceptance of difference. These ideas
expressed by the philosopher of Bordeaux will deeply influence the future generations of
thinkers.
The Wars of Religion
By the beginning of the 16th century, the Church of Rome enters a deep crisis and its
leadership is being challenged all across Europe. The works of the German Luther
(1488-1546) and the Swiss Calvin (1509-1564), both denouncing the excesses of Rome,
have a huge impact among the French nobility and create a split between Catholics and
Protestants (Huguenots). The partisans of the Reformation demand a return to the
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authentic faith of the Gospels, accusing the Roman Catholic Church of corruption and
superstition. The Catholics, supporting the papacy in Rome, charge the Protestants of
heresy. In 1562, an assault on a group of Protestants triggered a civil war that
culminated with the massacre of several thousand of Protestants in Paris on Saint
Bartholomew Day (24 August 1572). Further confrontations occurred in the following
months, causing the death of tens of thousands of Protestants across France. However,
after his coronation in 1594, Henri IV, a former Huguenot converted to Catholicism,
issued an edict in 1598 (Edict of Nantes) that granted to the Protestants freedom of cult
and the restoration of their civil rights. The reign of Henri IV was not only marked by
religious tolerance, the new King also showed compassion to the poor and triggered
economic growth through controlled spending and regulated administration. Nicknamed
Henri the Great, or Good King Henri, he was assassinated by a religious fanatic in 1610.
Towards absolute monarchy (17th c.)
Louis XIII, successor to the throne of Henri IV, was too young to govern and his mother
Catherine de Medicis appointed clergyman Richelieu in 1624 to act as chief minister to
the young King. The alliance between the King and the cardinal lasted for nearly 20
years, until Richelieu’s death, in 1642. Richelieu worked hard to strengthen the
monarch’s standing, with increased centralized power around his person and diminishing
nobility’s influence by increasing their obligations to the king. On the other hand, the
freedom granted to the Protestants under Henri IV was seriously eroded, while their
freedom of cult remained more or less intact, their control over certain French cities was
abolished. Richelieu was also keen to extend French influence over new lands. With
generous subsidies granted to the naval force, the French settled colonies in northern
America, around the Saint-Laurent river (now Quebec), as well as in Africa, and
Madagascar. Internally, Richelieu organized the collection of taxes to secure steady
income to the State’s finances which in turn helped the country’s economy through the
development of industrial and agricultural projects. Richelieu made himself famous for
his patronage of the arts: he created in1636 the Academie Francaise, an official body in
charge of overseeing matters pertaining to the French language. The Academy remains
today one of the most prestigious national institutions. Arts and letters flourished under
the reign of Louis XIII (1617-1643), with playwrights such as Pierre Corneille (16061684), notorious for his tragedies inspired by legends and stories of the Middle Ages and
the Antiquity (Le Cid, 1637; Horace, 1640; Polyeucte, 1642). It is also in 1637 that
philosopher Rene Descartes published his Discourse of the Method, a work which was
to influence deeply the development of the sciences and rationalist thought in the
centuries to come.
The 17th century is known as the classic age in France and King Louis XIV, nicknamed
the King Sun, or Louis the Great, epitomizes the unparalleled grandeur of the French
monarchy in this period. Louis was only 5 years old when his father Louis XIII passed
(1643) and the young heir had to wait until his majority in 1652 to access to the Throne
of France. Still, Louis XIV started his reign under the supervision of Richelieu’s
successor, Chief Minister Mazarin, who triggered a lot of discontent among the French
nobility. However, in 1661, following the death of his unpopular Minister, Louis XIV
decided to assume full control of the State. The King of France was only 24, and this
decision was emblematic of Louis’ style, who conceived the monarch’s authority as a
divine right and the King as the pure embodiment of God.
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Louis XIV, as absolute monarch, was also keen to associate to his rule brilliant people,
such as Colbert (Marine and Finances), Louvois (Military and War), Vauban
(Engineering and Fortifications), who all contributed massively to Louis XIV’s ambitions
and successes: during the 55 years of Louis XIV personal reign, France spent some 30
years at war. France’s key victories over Holland and Spain in 1681 allowed the country
to aggregate to the Crown eastern and northern territories (Alsace, Lorraine, FrancheComté). But the glorious period of Louis XIV, which lasted until 1685, was not only about
winning battles, the King Sun wanted the arts to reflect the grandeur of his rule. In the
wake of the baroque style that developed across Europe since the 16th century, French
classical art rested on values such as simplicity, balance, clarity as well as meticulous
rules. Together with architecture and painting, French literature reached unprecedented
standards with authors such as Molière (1622-1673), Racine (1639-1699), Boileau
(1636-1711), La Fontaine (1668-1696), Madame de la Fayette (1634-1693) and de La
Rochefoucauld (1613-1680).
For such a king, a formidable palace had to be built. Versailles, conveniently situated far
from the hazardous Paris centre, took nearly half a century to complete and was the
most gigantic architectural work ever undertaken in France. Louis XIV and his court
moved to Versailles in 1684, starting a life of high-spending and lavish ceremonies,
draining the country’s finances, already under serious strain. From this point on,
discontent grew among the population at large, further aggravated by the economic
crisis triggered by the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685), by which all rights granted to the
Protestants a century ago were nullified. This decision of Louis XIV, who never tolerated
the partisans of Reformation, provoked the exodus of hundreds of thousands Huguenots,
taking with them their wealth and riches across the border. This exodus, as well as the
heavy cost of continuous wars from 1688 to 1697 against France’s neighbors, and later
against Spain from 1702 to 1714, threw the State’s finances into a desperate situation.
By the end of the reign of Louis the Great in 1715, France was close to bankruptcy and
had to abandon vast territories in North America to the British partly to recover its losses.
The Enlightenment (18th c.)
In 1728, Louis XV, the great-grandson of the Sun King inherits the throne, after reaching
his majority. The financial situation of the State is disastrous, legacy of the previous
regime. On the other hand, a new class of wealthy citizens has emerged, thanks to the
hefty dividends derived from overseas trade and commercial outposts in various parts of
the world: Canada, French Guiana and West Indies, Africa, Mauritius (Indian Ocean) and
India. The slave trade between Africa and the New World also provides a source of huge
income for this new commercial bourgeoisie enriched by the colonial expansion. When
Louis XV’s Chief Controller of Finances attempts in 1749 to levy a new tax on wealthy
citizens, the Parliament rejects the proposal in a humiliating defeat for the State. This
episode reflects the widening gap between Versailles and the rest of the country, as well
as the paradoxical situation of a cash trapped government unable to exert control on an
increasingly assertive industrial and commercial front protecting its own interests.
In this period, France is the most populous country in Europe, the French culture is
influential and serves as reference, French scholars are highly regarded, French artists
are on demand. The French language is the diplomatic language across the continent,
and the European elite speak French, from London to Vienna, from Madrid to Utrecht.
The brilliance of French intellectuals culminates with the publication of the 28 volumes of
the Encyclopedia, from 1751 to 1772. The work, edited by Denis Diderot, a philosopher,
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and d’Alembert, a mathematician, is defined as an attempt to collect all possible
knowledge in virtually all aspects of the sciences, history and the arts. This monumental
endeavor, which would remain a major reference tool for the following century, is
emblematic of the spirit of the Enlightenment, advocating that knowledge leads to
progress, and that progress paves the way for better justice and societies.
Diderot and d’Alembert are not the only authors to promote new ideas, other intellectuals
question the political establishment of the monarchy, and its long association with the
Catholic Church: In 1748, Montesquieu (1689-1755) publishes the Spirit of the Laws,
advocating tolerance and the advent of the secular state, with independent and separate
legislature, executive and judiciary. This work will deeply influence the future American
Constitution (1787) and of course the soon-to-be first French Constitution in 1791.
Voltaire (1694-1778), another prolific writer and prominent intellectual, prosecuted by the
French authorities, publishes in 1756 his most influential work, Essay on the Manners
and Spirit of the Nations, a vast description of global history, where he affirms his faith in
mankind, enlightened by Reason. As for Rousseau (1712-1778), one of his major works,
The Social Contract (1762), develops the idea of the democratic nation, founded on
equality, justice, and devoted to the well-being of its people.
The long reign of Louis XV comes to an end in 1774, as the King succumbs to smallpox,
a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people in France each year. His grandson
will take the succession. Louis XVI inherits a country with disastrous finances, a growing
discontent across all classes of the society, from the poor who cannot afford to pay their
taxes to the rich who don’t want to share their capital. In this tense context, France is
about to implode.
The Revolution (1789-1799)
The Revolution is one of the most significant moments in French history. Within ten
years, the events taking place will change the country deeply and for ever. These events
will also have a profound impact on Europe and on the rest of the world. For the first time
in modern history, the citizens of a country rise up to take their own fate into their hands
in the name of simple concepts such as freedom, equality, solidarity that should be
enshrined into laws and a constitutional framework. In short, democracy, the rule of the
people, is being experimented at the scale of a nation, which has been dominated for
centuries by one single class, the aristocracy, and its ally, the clergy.
The causes of the Revolution are multiple: widespread poverty, high taxation, widening
gap between the State and the civil society, economic and financial crisis, new political
ideas, anticlericalism, resentment of the class privileges enjoyed by the nobility, all these
factors and many other contributed to the upheaval of 1789. What pulled the trigger
though was an attempt by Louis XVI to push new taxes to ease the disastrous financial
situation of the State. As the legislation was turned down, the King had to convene in
May 1789 at Versailles the Estates General, an assembly representing the three orders
of the society, i.e., the clergy, the nobility and the Third Estate (the people). However,
disputes arose over the genuine representation of the people’s wishes and soon the
Third Estate deputies proclaimed themselves a National Assembly with constitutional
powers. On July 14, the citizens of Paris stormed the Invalides, where they found
weapons and canons, then attacked the Bastille, a huge prison in the heart of the city,
seen by the revolutionaries as the symbol of the repressive monarchy. Within hours, the
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Parisians were in control of the city and the provinces quickly followed. Major changes
were on the march and will be unstoppable.
Initially, the revolutionaries conceived that a constitutional monarchy would provide the
best system is these times of changes. According to the new constitution, the King would
remain Head of State, but the Assembly would retain its influence on the executive and
legislative powers. The new national flag reflected this compromise, the colors of the city
of Paris (blue and red) combined with that of the monarchy (white). In August 1789, the
declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen set out the basis for such a political
framework. The text declared boldly that all citizens should enjoy the same privileges
and equality of rights.
In 1792, France entered a war against Austria, backed by a coalition of countries. The
French revolutionary army however registered a key victory against the enemy in Valmy,
Eastern France. This victory gave a new momentum to the Revolution, and the new
Convention proclaimed the First Republic, which constitution was based on the
Declaration of 1789. Louis XVI, suspected of plotting with the enemy, was executed in
January 1793 and a few months later began the darkest period of the French revolution,
as the country tilted into a civil war, involving thousands of executions through the
infamous guillotine. This episode, known as the Terror, ended in 1795, as the Directory
took over from the Convention. The new regime however became quickly unpopular,
stained by rampant corruption, political maneuvering and heavy-handed repression of
dissent. Taking advantage of the situation, a young general named Bonaparte, already
famous following several successful military campaigns, made his way quickly to the top
to stage a coup d’état in 1799. This event effectively put an end to the Revolution and
under the new Consulate, Bonaparte created the position of First Consul, thus securing
for himself entire control of the country.
4. The 19th century
The 19th century in France is a period of deep changes and political instability, testing
various regimes (empire, republic, monarchy). It is only in the last quarter of the century
that the Republican ideals conceived by the revolutionaries of 1789 were achieved.
Indeed, the heritage left by the Ancien Regime is heavy, and with the industrial
revolution, a new social layer emerges, the working class, dwelling in the cities. In the
meantime, the bourgeoisie becomes the dominant class, stimulating the commerce and
the industry, while imposing its moral and social values.
The First Empire (1805-1814)
Bonaparte’s ambitions for France were great and his priority was to bring the country
back to its feet after decades of financial mismanagement and political turmoil. Under his
rule were created many lasting institutions: the Bank of France was set up to ensure
monetary stability; the Civil Code gave to the judiciary and society a solid foundation
where to anchor decisions of justice and it is still the basis of civil law in France today;
several prestigious schools were created to secure the training of the elite in the
administration and the military; he also reinforced the central government by creating the
positions of prefects to administer the departments created in 1790. Napoleon, while
carrying on with the Revolution’s ideal of a laic state, was also favoring a rapprochement
with the Catholic Church, which had been evicted from power control in 1789 and .
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But these ambitions ran even beyond the borders of France: five years after his coup
d’état, in 1804, he crowned himself Emperor of the French (1804) under the name of
Napoleon 1 and soon sent the French armies marching across Europe. At its peak in
1811, the Napoleonic Empire dominated most of the continent, with the exception of
England. Napoleon saw himself as a liberator, rather than a mere conqueror, and under
his firm rule, he purported to build a federation of free peoples in Europe who could unite
around liberal governments articulated to a democratic constitution, committed to civil
law, fostering education, science and the arts and combating feudalism.
However, the disastrous attempt to invade Russia in 1812 marked a turning point in
Napoleon’s success. The following year, a coalition of six states defeated the French
army and invaded France, forcing Napoleon’s abdication in 1814. Exiled in Elba (Italy)
for almost a year, Napoleon made an extraordinary comeback to regain for hundred
days the control of the nation. However, the French armies were defeated again in June
1815, ending this time and for good Napoleon’s reign, who was deported on the island of
St. Helena in the middle of the Atlantic. He died there six years later.
The Restoration (1814-1830) and the Monarchy of July (1830-1848)
The fall of the First Empire coincides with the end of the revolutionary period in France,
after more than 20 years of wars and conflicts that have caused the death of more than
3 millions people across Europe. In 1815, France is economically weak and deeply
divided. In Europe, a coalition is formed, the St. Alliance, to respond immediately to new
attempts by France to initiate new conflicts. However, with the monarchy restored and
the accession to the throne of Louis XVIII, grandson of Louis XV, the conditions for a
new equilibrium seemed to be reunited. The new king could not ignore 25 years of
profound changes in the country, and at the same time he needed to provide assurance
to the conservative forces that the country was safe for the many refugees to return. In
1814, the Chart was adopted, a sort of constitution that allowed the formation of political
parties and an advisory bi-cameral assembly with little power. The chambers were
elected by voters who could afford to pay a hefty poll tax, which effectively limited the
number of voters to a few thousands, and among the wealthiest. The political spectrum
was then divided into three streams: the liberals, who advocated a return to the
fundamentals of the Revolution; the Constitutionals, who wanted to associate a proper
constitution to the royal regime; and the ultra-royalists, who wanted to see a return to
absolute monarchy. The reign of Louis XVIII, with all its weaknesses, marked a period of
relative peace and economic prosperity in France, and in many respects, allowed much
more freedom of expression than the Napoleonic regime ever did.
Charles X ascended to the throne in 1825, following the death of Louis XVIII. The new
king had a totally different agenda which became apparent as soon as his coronation,
which took place in the cathedral of Reims, according to the Ancient Regime tradition.
Charles X wanted to pass power to the ultra-royalist and did his best to weaken the
prerogatives granted by the Chart to the Liberals. In 1830, Charles X committed the
French troops to the invasion of Algeria, effectively starting the colonization process in
which will be engaged for the decades to come. The same year, he dissolved the
Assembly, hoping to return a favorable majority, but the plan failed. Following another
attempt to dissolve the new Assembly, the Parisians staged an insurrection on the 27, 28
and 29 July, known as the Three Glorious Days. Charles X was forced to abdicate and
flee the country.
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The Assembly chose the duke of Orleans as the next king of France, a descendant of
Louis XIII. The new king assumed power under the name of Louis-Philippe for 18 years,
the longest reign since Louis XV. Louis-Philippe was initially popular among the masses
for his liberal views, and his reign seemed to mark a return to constitutional monarchy,
the Chart being enforced and somehow widened in its scope. These measures however,
which included a cheaper poll tax, still favored mostly the wealthy middle class and very
soon, in the wake of an assassination attempt on the king in 1835, the freedom of the
press was severely curtained. Important social changes took place in the period, through
the increasing industrialization of the country (coal mines, foundries, textile factories,
railways), a new working class emerged in the cities. Theorists such St Simon and
Fourier laid the foundations of a critical appraisal of the capitalist order, and their writings
would inspire generations of politicians to come.
Second Revolution of 1848 and the Second Empire (1852-1870)
The abdication in 1848 of Louis-Philippe was precipitated by an economic crisis which
started the year before, owing to bad harvests. Again, the people commanded the flow
of events as demonstrators took to the streets of Paris to protest against unemployment,
poor living conditions and to demand civil and political rights. This second revolution led
to the declaration of the Second Republic by the Assembly. The blue, white and red flag
was raised again, after nearly 35 years of being folded under the restoration of the
monarchy. The new Republic, led by the Socialist Louis Blanc, had generous intentions:
the universal suffrage was adopted, although this measure excluded the women; the
mandatory creation of “National Workshops”, meant to guarantee the availability of jobs
and income for the working classes. However, the political inexperience of the
revolutionaries of 1848, their poor political basis in the provinces among the peasantry,
could not contain a conservative backlash at the next Assembly elections. Step by step,
the new rights gained by the workers were eroded or cancelled. In 1851, Louis Napoleon,
the popular president of the Republic and nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, took
advantage of the weakness of the Republicans to stage a coup d’état and illegally
dissolve the Assembly. The following year, he declared himself Emperor Napoleon III.
The Second Republic had been short-lived.
The new Emperor started his reign by imposing a firm hand on the country and dissent.
The press, the citizens were closely watched and opposition members were deported or,
such as Victor Hugo, forced to exile. For nearly a decade, France lived under the rule of
a dictator with zero tolerance. Things turned to the worse after an assassination attempt
against the Emperor staged in 1858 by an Italian anarchist. As a result, a security law
was issued to authorize the deportation of any suspect without trial. This tight political
context however favored economic growth and prosperity, as capital holders and banks
were more willing to invest for new projects. In the meantime, scientific progress helped
the industrial and urban development of the country. Under Napoleon III, Paris
underwent a radical change led by Baron Haussmann, who redesigned the crowded
capital with large arteries and landmark buildings.
The Second Empire was also a period of rapid colonial expansion for France, a process
already initiated under Louis-Philippe. Competing with England, the French overseas
colonies were both a source of raw materials to feed the domestic industry and
consumption market and a convenient outlet for products made in the metropolis.
Significant territorial gains were made in West and Central Africa, in Indochina
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(Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos) as well as in the South-Pacific. In 1869, the Suez Canal
was finally opened after a decade of works conducted under the supervision of French
diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. The canal dealt a significant blow in British domination
of the region and opened a new route to the East that cut traveling time by half.
In the 1860’s, amid an economic downturn, failed foreign policy and growing discontent
towards his authoritarian regime, Napoleon III’s credibility and popularity started to
dwindle, even among the bourgeoisie who would not forgive him the signing of a treaty
that allowed British goods to be freely marketed in France. In response, the ageing and
ailing Emperor eased his grip on the media and relaxed political rights, such as the
freedom of strike and parliamentarian representation. These changes favored the
massive return of Republicans to the Assembly in 1870. The same year, Napoleon III, in
the hope of retaining power, agreed to a new constitution providing full parliamentary
legislative regime to the country. However, the Franco-Prussian war broke out, and with
the French armies mobilized in Western France and the Emperor captured by the
Germans, the Republican deputies in Paris took advantage of the situation to topple the
Second Empire and install a new provisional government.
The Third Republic (1870-1940)
Soon after their seizing of power, the new government proclaimed the Third Republic, a
bicameral parliamentarian democracy that will resist many crises during the next 70
years, until the invasion of France by Germany at the onset of the Second World War.
The new republic emerged while Paris was still under the siege of the German troops,
ready to invade the capital. The siege was to last for four months, until a treaty was
signed, by which France had to pay heavy war reparations and to abandon to Prussia its
eastern provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The loss of these provinces was to leave a
deep scar into the French psyche, until their eventual recovery some 50 years later, after
the First World War.
However, the young republic had not seen the end of its troubles: in March 1871, a civil
insurrection, known as La Commune, broke out in the capital. Overwhelmed by the
events, the government led by Thiers was forced to retreat to Versailles to prepare the
counter-attack. The Communards, which will become a source of inspiration for many
Communist revolutionaries worldwide, adopted the red flag, formed a freely elected
government and implemented radical measures in favor of the working class, among
them free and laic education. By May 1871 however, the loyalist troops of Versailles
stormed the capital and crushed the insurrection, leaving at least 25,000 men, women
and children dead in one of the bloodiest repression in French history. Countless other
citizens suspected of supporting the insurrection were deported or imprisoned. The
short-lived Commune was the last gasp of the French Revolution that changed France’s
history almost one century earlier.
By 1875, the “Republic without Republicans” went through a range of constitutional
reforms and appointed its first president, the general Mac-Mahon, a monarchist, who had
led the repression against the Communards. The government adopted a strict policy
based on moral values, while closely watching for a possible rebirth of the workers’
movement. In 1879 however, Mac-Mahon was forced to stand down, following
parliamentary elections that returned a majority of Republicans to the legislative
Assembly. From then on, a truly democratic regime was put into place, controlled by
liberal members of parliament who only distinguished themselves by either their
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moderate or radical affiliation to democratic values. The moderate camp however
dominated the Chamber and from 1881 onwards, Jules Ferry, one of the most revered
politicians in French history pushed a package of long-awaited legislation: the free,
mandatory and secular education for all children until the age of 13 and the complete
freedom of the press. Further laws enshrined the right to belong to trade unions and
helped to regulate the work of women and children. To celebrate the memory of the
French Revolution as well as the industrial prowess of the country, it was decided to
build a gigantic tower in the heart of Paris. The Tour Eiffel was unveiled in 1889 at the
Exposition Universelle and would remain thereon as one of the universal icons of the
French nation.
Meanwhile, the colonial policy was actively pursued with further gains on the African
continent and south-east Asia. The French colonial empire was then 16 times larger than
France itself and second in size to the British empire. Beyond its commercial and
strategic rationale, the French government justified colonialism as a way of bringing
“civilization” to the “backward peoples” under its rule. As such, colonialism was seen as
a duty performed by the Western industrial countries for the good of the rest of the world.
The French were also present in China, in the Yunnan province in particular, contiguous
to its possessions in Indochina, as well as through commercial concessions in Canton
and Shanghai. In 1900, the French participated in an international military expedition that
was sent to Tianjing and Peking to help crush the Boxers rebellion.
In the late 1890s and early 1900s, in the wake of a bitter dispute over the Dreyfus affair
that had uncovered the extent of anti-Semitism and political divisions in France, the
radical Republicans progressively took the upper-hand over the moderate wing in what is
called the “anti-clerical Republic”. The Catholic Church, seen as the main ally of the
conservative forces, became the main target of the radical Republicans. In 1904, the
French government severed its diplomatic ties with the Vatican and the following year, in
1905, a bill was issued to formally separate the Church from the affairs of the state. In
practice, while Catholicism was still recognized as the national religion, the government
was no longer required to subsidize the Church’s activities, including the salaries of its
personnel. The significance of this legislation was symbolically far-reaching, inasmuch
as it translated into law the secularism of a democratic nation that has been associated
with Christianity since the Gallo-Roman period.
5. The 20th century
During the first decade of the 20th century France enjoyed a period of upbeat mood and
optimism to the point that this time is remembered as ”la Belle Epoque”. The country
produced and benefitted from many of the scientific and technical innovations of the
second industrial revolution: photography, gramophone, electricity, automobile, bicycle
and the prototypes of aerial machines on which Blériot realized the first 30-km flight
across the channel (1909), from Calais to Dover. Marie Curie experienced the
radioactivity in her laboratory and was awarded two Nobel prizes (1903 and 1911). In the
capital Paris, the first metro line opened on 14 July 1900 and changed the face of urban
transport for ever. France enjoyed considerable international prestige: it had the secondlargest colonial empire in the world, played a leading role in international diplomacy and
was at the forefront in the realms of art, culture and science.
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World War I (1914-1918)
From 1910 onwards, the tension between France and Germany increased, the lost
provinces of Alsace and Lorraine remaining at the heart of the dispute. In spite of the
opposition of French Socialists led by Jean Jaurès to an armed conflict with Germany,
the preparations gained pace. Following the assassination in June 1914 at Sarajevo of
Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria, Germany formed a alliance with Austria-Hungary
(the Central Powers) while France responded by seeking an alliance with England and
Russia (the Triple Alliance). When Germany declared war to Russia and France in
August, a “sacred union” of the French political class favored the warmongers. France
entered the conflict assuming that the war would be short and limited in scope. However,
this war would last four years and for the first time in history, would take a global
dimension.
Even though the conflict involved countries as far as the US and Japan, the main
battlefield took place in eastern France. The German troops stationed on French soil
attempted several times to seize Paris while the French troops resisted and tried hard to
push the Germans back behind the border. In February 1916, the Battle de Verdun
started and for nearly one year, French and German troops fought each other from the
entrenched positions in appalling conditions. Amid diseases, food shortages, artillery
and chemical warfare, hundreds of thousands soldiers from each side lost their lives,
and many more were seriously wounded. The trenches of Verdun would soon become a
symbol of the “Great War”. By 1917, the United States who had adopted so far an
isolationist stand entered the conflict to reinforce the triple Alliance, in the wake of the
destruction of American ships by the Germans. However, in December 1917, as the
Bolshevik Revolution broke out, the Russians left the Triple Alliance, a move that
allowed the Germans to redeploy on the Western front in France.
In March 1918, the German troops were within 30 km of Paris and bombarded the
capital with long-distance canons. But the arrival of fresh American troops in August
gave a new twist to the battle. The Germans were finally forced to retreat and with the
capitulation of Turkey and Austria-Hungary in November, the Germans have no choice
but to face defeat. The armistice is signed on November 11, 1918, near Paris. The war
has caused the death of 8 millions people across Europe. One year later, Germany will
pay a heavy price : according to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany would surrender
Alsace and Lorraine back to France; pay war reparations for up to 132 billions of marks;
the bordering provinces of Rhenania and Sarre would remain occupied and demilitarized;
the country would also be prevented to develop weaponry and an army of more than
100,000 men. Finally, all the German colonies in the Pacific and Africa are distributed
among Australia, Japan, Belgium, England and France. This treaty will have a profound
psychological, social and economical impact on Germany, it will also change drastically
the political map of Europe, exacerbating nationalist feelings in many regions.
The Interwar (1918-1939)
Right after the war, the conservative Republicans are back in control in France, with
Raymond Poincaré heading the government. Poincaré advocated a tough policy against
Germany and in 1923, the French troops are sent to occupy the Ruhr region. This
decision sent waves of panic across financial markets. In order to protect the French
currency against heavy speculation, Poincaré took the step of increasing taxes by 20%,
a very unpopular decision that cost the Republicans the general elections of 1924, won
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by the Radicals and Socialists. The first decision of the new left-wing government led by
the Radical Herriot was to design a new tax capital tax, which resulted in a fresh
monetary crisis as a massive flow of capital left the country. Herriot was then forced to
step down and Poincaré was called again to form a coalition government. Thanks to a
firm economic policy, the finances were soon back on track, which allowed the
Republicans to win the next general elections in 1928.
The period right after the war was not only about financial crises however. The 20s were
also a period of deep cultural changes amidst a society which slowly recovered from the
great damages of the First World War. After the Belle Epoque of the first decade, the 20s
were named the “Années Folles” (the Mad Years). Women played an essential role in
these years: during the war, they replaced men in many sectors of economic and social
activities. In many instances, they also acquired the status of “head of family” creating for
themselves much room for independence. The birth rate was also in sharp decrease,
allowing more freedom to women, who were no longer confined to motherhood role.
Coco Chanel, the first female designer, revolutionized the way women dressed and
thought about themselves. The writer Colette, provocative and carefree, sketched the
profile of a new emancipated woman in her immensely popular novels. On the other
hand, André Breton and a group of young intellectuals and artists brought about the
Surrealist Revolution in a Manifesto published in 1924. In this new vision of the arts
(literature, painting, sculpture), freedom, invention and spontaneity were the keys to
approach new creative forms, more attuned to the inner impulses of the Unconscious,
just recently uncovered by Sigmund Freud.
In 1930, in a relatively healthy economic context, the conservative government led by
André Tardieu introduced welfare measures directed to the less wealthy which would
thereafter become a landmark of France’s social State: public works, social insurance,
and free secondary schooling. His government also undertook the construction of the
Maginot line, a series of concrete fortifications and bunkers along its borders to Germany
and Italy, in order to foil a surprise attack from the enemy, as it had happened in 1914.
By 1932 however, France started to feel the pinch of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, with
an increasing number of unemployed and disgruntled people. In the meantime, Adolf
Hitler had ascended to power in Germany with a tough propaganda around the theme of
revenge, in particular against France. The fascist treat across Europe (Germany, Spain,
Italy) contributed to unite left-wing parties in France who managed to win the general
elections of 1936 under a broad coalition, the Front Populaire (Popular Front). The
government led by Leon Blum, which for the first time included women ministers,
immediately passed spectacular social measures: workers’ right to strike; mandatory 12
days (2 weeks) of paid vacations; workweek limited to 40 hours; wages raises. Blum also
dissolved the fascist leagues who had become very active in France.
Blum’s government however was short-lived. Budgetary deficit, disputes among the
coalition on the question of the civil war in Spain, opposition of the Senate forced Blum
to step down after only one year at the helm of the government. The new president of
the Council, Edouard Daladier, initially believed, as the British did, that by making
concessions to Hitler at Munich in 1938 over the eastern part Czechoslovakia would
make it possible to avoid hostilities. However, on 3 September 1939, shortly after the
German’s invasion of Poland, the Head of government committed France to the Second
World War, alongside the British.
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World War II (1939-1945)
The German’s armies, backed by powerful tanks and air forces cut across French
borders north of the Maginot line, where they were not expected and after a long period
of waiting, in May 1940. They quickly reached Normandy and in six weeks the French
armies are crushed. The Germans entered Paris on June 14 and a week later the
armistice was signed at Rethondes, in the very place Germany conceded defeat on
November 1918. On June 18, the General de Gaulle speaking on radio from London,
launched his historic appeal to the French to resist to the invaders. According to the
terms of the armistice, the Germans annexed again the Alsace and Lorraine, the
northern part of the country and the Atlantic coast were put under German control, while
the south was declared “free zone” and administered from the city of Vichy by a “French
State” led by the Marechal Petain who pledged allegiance to the occupant.
The « government of collaboration » as it will be called, took immediate measures to
reform the Constitution and to silence the opposition: the President was given full
authority, political parties and trade unions were suspended, the right to strike was
annulled and the nation’s policy articulated after three principles: work, family and
fatherland. This new order represented in fact a complete negation of all democratic and
social progress made in France since the Revolution. The former political leaders
(including Blum and Daladier) were arrested and prosecuted. The French government
also assisted and organized the arrest and deportation of resident Jews to Germany’s
concentration camps. By 1943, the Vichy government urged the youth and workers to go
to Germany to help in the industries and farm estates. The greatest ambition of Petain’s
government was to become the second economic and industrial power in Europe after
Germany.
Between the Nazi occupant and the Vichy government, the Resistance managed to
organize itself, notably with Jean Moulin, a young civil servant who escaped France to
join de Gaulle in London. Soon back to France, Moulin organized the resistant networks
to help the passages of resistants into the Free Zone, perform sabotage operations,
provide help to persecuted Jews. In November 1942, the Germans, worried by the
growing threat of a new war front in North Africa, decided to deploy their troops in the
Free Zone. The general de Gaulle had set up in Algeria a provisional government of
France and organized resistance from there. When Moulin was arrested in June 1943,
tortured and died from his wounds, the Resistance was already a powerful organization
that would play a major role in the preparation of the gigantic Allied landing of Normandy
the year after, in June 1944. In spite of enormous human loss, the landing was
successful and on August 25, the French and allied troops marched victorious into the
streets of the capital Paris. The country was free at last, and the General de Gaulle took
the lead of the provisional government.
The French Resistance may not have been a key factor in the Allied victory over Nazism,
but its role was crucial for France in that it convinced the British, American and Soviet
politicians that France should be considered one of the victorious Allies, rather than an
enemy whose territory should be occupied. France was thus able to participate fully in
the victory and was present at the signing of Germany’s capitulation on 8 May 1945 in
Reims. In this sense, it is fair to say that it was the Resistance, personified by de Gaulle,
which allowed France to hold on to its international position despite having suffered a
military defeat.
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France, an Outline of History – DC. Meyer
The post-war era (1945-1958)
In the months following the liberation of the country, the level of euphoria was high and
proportionate to the degree of trauma and hardship endured by the French during the 4year Nazi occupation. This euphoria translated into a cultural Renaissance of which the
Saint-Germain district on the left bank in Paris was the main focus. There in the jazz
clubs, the trendy cafés, the Parisian youth celebrated their newly found freedom. A new
generation of artists and intellectuals emerged, such as Boris Vian and Juliette Greco,
and on the literary scene, Jean-Paul Sartre, thinker of Existentialism and Simone de
Beauvoir, prominent feminist and author of the celebrated “Second Sex”. Meanwhile, a
climate of revenge – known as l’épuration - settled in, with spontaneous settling of
scores and summary executions of thousands of “collabos”. Formal trials were also held
to press charges against and prosecute the collaborators, among them Pierre Laval,
former associate of Marechal Pétain, the writer and intellectual Robert Brasillach, and
Louis Renault, head of the car maker company. However, economic collaborators were
largely spared, as the country needed its entrepreneurs and captains of industry for the
postwar reconstruction. In August 1945, Pétain was sentenced to death but on the
ground of his old age, the sentence was commuted to life-long imprisonment. Overall,
the French were torn between the glorification of the Resistance and the desire to bury
the shameful collaborationist State which helped the deportation of 76,000 Jews from
France to Germany’s extermination camps.
As soon as 1945, the provisional government, while working on a new Constitution which
would soon give birth to the Fourth Republic, engaged into radical reforms, such as the
nationalization of banks and large companies (energy, transport, insurances), the
creation of the Social Security, the right of vote for women. However, de Gaulle stepped
down in 1946, dissociating himself with the reforms of the government, in particular
those regarding constitutional amendments. De Gaulle, who advocated a presidential
regime and strong executive leadership, could not be satisfied with a new constitution
which basically prolonged the former parliamentary regime. Despite the Communist
opposition, France soon became a member of the Atlantic Alliance (NATO) in April 1949.
In addition, after Germany was divided, France opted for a policy of entente with West
Germany which was to lay the foundations of the European Community. Jean Monnet,
Robert Schuman and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer were instrumental in bringing the two
countries closer together - a strategy which resulted, in 1951, in the creation of the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), a first milestone on the road to a united
Europe.
But the troubles envisioned by de Gaulle for the new Republic inaugurated in 1947 didn’t
come only from inner struggles on the French political scene: the French Empire was
also on the brink of collapsing and the colonies abroad were actively seeking their
independence, following the global trend after the war, which greatly weakened the
colonial powers. Indochina thus became the central focus of foreign policy for the new
Republic: Vietnam, in the wake of its liberation from Japanese occupation, had declared
its independence in 1945, a move that France was not ready to accept. Hô Chi Minh,
leader of the Vietnam Liberation Front, backed by the Soviet Union and Communist
China, organized the resistance from the North against the French troops. After many
years of a “dirty war” where 100,000 French troops were killed, the French defeat at Diên
Biên Phu in May 1954 precipitated the capitulation of France as well as the fall of the
government. Pierre Mendes France, head of the new socialist government, signed in
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France, an Outline of History – DC. Meyer
July 1954 the Geneva Accords, which recognized the independence of Laos and
Cambodia, as well as the split of Vietnam into two zones.
As peace was gained on the Indochina front, war erupted in Algeria, the oldest French
colony, conquered in 1830. While other French colonies like Tunisia and Morocco, as
well as most territories in sub-Saharan Africa won their independence in the late 50s and
early 60s without armed conflict, the case of Algeria was different. The ties linking
France with this country were deep and complex, economic and emotional, and many
French settlers had been living on this land for generations. France was reluctant to
make this ultimate concession on her lost empire. In 1954, the first insurrections by the
National Liberation Front are harshly suppressed. Pierre Mendes-France, who favored
conciliation, was forced to step down in 1955 after only seven months in power. Under
the various governments which followed, the Algerian war became the focus of French
politics, the conflict became more and more unpopular among public opinion. In 1958,
the French residents of Algeria, backed by the Army of General Massu and the local
authorities, threatened to stage a coup and form an insurgent government unless the
Constitution was amended and the General de Gaulle installed into power. The pressure
succeeded. De Gaulle was called by President René Coty to lead the government. He
initiated the drafting of a new Constitution, which was to lay down the future modus
operandi of the French institutions. On 28 September 1958, the Constitution of the Fifth
Republic was adopted by referendum. It gave the President of the Republic much
broader authority. On 21 December 1958, de Gaulle was elected President by a college
of deputies, senators and local elected representatives.
The Fifth Republic (1958-present)
The new constitution didn’t stop the war, but serious disturbances both in mainland
France and in Algeria, and a putsch by generals in Algiers on 22 April 1961, led to an
acceleration of the negotiations with the provisional government of the Algerian Republic
which culminated in the Evian agreements, overwhelmingly approved by referendum on
8 April 1962. Algeria gained independence and a million French inhabitants had to return
to mainland France and a new life. The General de Gaulle, seen as the liberator of
France in 1944, had again freed his country, but this time from its own colonial past. At
the same time, the new regime conceived by de Gaulle could now be tested in a period
of stability, after 22 years of continuous conflicts since the beginning of WW2. On 28
October 1962, de Gaulle called a referendum which approved election of the head of
State by direct universal suffrage. He would be elected president on 19 December 1965.
As soon as the following year, de Gaulle undertook to demonstrate what he had in mind
for France: based on a thriving economy boosted by post-war reconstruction and a
booming demography, de Gaulle wanted a France which would affirm its independence
from the two superpowers of the Cold War and strongly anchored in Europe. In January
1963, de Gaulle opposed the entry of Great Britain into EEC, as he judged that the
British entertained too strong ties with the US. However, a week later, de Gaulle and
Adenauer laid the foundations of a deeper partnership with Germany with the signature
of the Franco-German Treaty of Friendship. A few months later, France – which had
developed a nuclear arsenal, declared its military independence, thus preparing its
actual withdrawal from NATO which would eventually materialize in 1966. Finally, in
January 1964, just as though he wanted to seal his huge unpopularity among the US
and British leaders, de Gaulle became the first Western Head of State to initiate
diplomatic links with the Popular Republic of China, then led by Mao Tse Tung.
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France, an Outline of History – DC. Meyer
However, the first signs of a crisis of confidence towards Gaullist politics became
manifest as the younger generation, who hadn’t known the war and its immediate
aftermath grew disillusioned of the consumerist society in which France had engaged
during the « Thirty Glorious Years » since the end of the war. The youth of the late 60s
wanted a society based on different values than those of their parents and the politicians
that had led the country in the reconstruction phase and the colonial wars. The 1968
uprising started in March in a Parisian university, and quickly spread throughout the
country in the following weeks. The students on strike at first demanded reforms of the
education system, but soon their demands concerned a large spectrum of aspects of the
society, such as workers’ rights, freedom of expression, political censorship. In May, the
students confronted the police in the streets, elevating barricades in violent clashes. The
workers joined the movement and by May 24, 10 millions people across France were on
strike, bringing the country to a halt. Faced with this unprecedented unrest and with
France on the brink of anarchy, de Gaulle called for general elections to take place by
June end. The ballot boxes returned a large majority in favor of the Gaullist government.
The upheaval died down as quickly as it started, de Gaulle emerged victorious, and the
“National Hero” had won another battle, on the social front this time.
The protesters of May '68 may not have achieved the ideal society they wanted to
promote in the course of their revolt, but the events would have a deep social impact on
the country in the longer term. The conservative values of the “old state”, based on
morality, religion, patriotism, respect of authority had been seriously challenged and a
clear shift towards more liberal views, such as equality, sexual liberation, human rights,
defiance towards capitalism, concerns for the environment would from now on dominate
French society.
De Gaulle stepped down in 1969 as he suffered a rebuke in a referendum on
constitutional affairs. Georges Pompidou, a former Prime Minister, was elected soon
afterwards. Pompidou adopted a more pragmatic economic policy and distanced himself
from Gaullism. Under his presidency, France lifted its veto on Britain’s entry into the
European Economic Community (EEC). The EEC was also subsequently opened to
Ireland and Denmark, taking the number of members to nine in 1973. But Pompidou’s
mandate was interrupted by his death from illness in 1974. In the presidential elections
that followed, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, a former Finance Minister under de Gaulle and
Pompidou, was elected. Under the backdrop of the first oil crisis that threatened the
global economy, the young president was keen to present himself as a promoter of a
new style of government with a “centrist” approach. Giscard introduced bold reforms,
such as the lowering of the age of majority to 18, the legalization of abortion, and the
end of censorship of films and TV broadcasting. He also initiated meetings of the G7
(“Group of Seven” most industrialized countries) and, together with the German
Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, was instrumental in setting up the European Monetary
System (EMS) and the election of Members of the European Parliament by universal
suffrage. However, with the second oil crisis that struck France in 1979, the economic
situation worsened, with notably a sharp increase of the number of jobless people, which
would remain the main issue in French politics for the decades to come.
Weakened by poor economic result and a plunging popularity due to scandals that had
cast doubts on his personal integrity, Giscard d’Estaing lost the presidential elections in
May 1981 to the Socialist François Mitterrand, who had been the leading figure of the
opposition since the inception of the Fifth Republic. The election of the first Socialist
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France, an Outline of History – DC. Meyer
President was historical, in a country which had always been dominated by Conservative
parties. In some respect, France was ready to take this step and the revolt of May 68
had certainly played a major role in the maturation process. With a comfortable majority
of left-wing MPs gained in the subsequent general elections, Mitterrand had an open
field ahead of him to implement the policies of the Left he had promised to deliver. The
first measures taken by the government represented just that: abolition of the death
penalty; nationalization of major industrial groups and banks; a series of laws on
decentralization, allowing greater autonomy to the regions and local governments. On
the social and economic levels, in a spirit reminiscent of the Popular Front in 1936, the
minimum wage was increased, the working week was lowered to 39 hours (from 40
hours), the amount of paid leave was brought to five weeks (from four), the retirement
age was set at 60, and a solidarity tax on wealth was created to help the poorest, along
with a range of various social measures in direction of the workers. The objective was to
boost economic activity by creating more demand, but the plot failed. By 1983, the
government had to adopt a set of austerity measures to combat inflation and ever rising
unemployment.
The euphoria of 1981 was overturned by disappointment and the general elections of
1986 showed that the generous Left of Mitterrand had not been more able to address
the economic difficulties facing France than the Liberal Right of Giscard d’Estaing. As
the ballots returned a Conservative majority to the National Assembly, Mitterrand was
forced to “cohabit” with Jacques Chirac, a Gaullist Prime Minister, for the next remaining
two years of his presidential mandate. In a sense, this unprecedented cohabitation of
two political opponents at the helm of the State provided a perfect test for the institutions
of the Fifth Republic and the French people seemed to be happy with this sharing of
power. Under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, the distribution of the roles was clear:
the President led the Nation (Defense and Foreign policy) while the Prime Minister led
the government. In 1988, François Mitterrand was reelected for a second 7-year
mandate, and following the dissolution of the National Assembly, the left-wing parties
managed to hold a narrow majority. Overall, the second mandate was no more
successful in solving the economic problems of France, but it was in his second term
that Mitterrand engaged in major architectural projects which would become the legacy
of his presidency: the Louvre Pyramid, the Channel Tunnel linking France and Britain,
the Grande Arche of the Defense, the Bastille Opera, the Finance Ministry in Bercy, the
National Library of France, the Institute of the Arab World. In 1993, after the Socialists
lost for a second time in the general elections, François Mitterrand was again forced to
cohabit with a Conservative cabinet led by Edouard Balladur. Mitterrand’s second and
last term ended in 1995, and Jacques Chirac was elected new President of France.
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