Download - French Regimes History
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History of French Regimes, 1789 to
Present
Prepared by Mike Lofchie
August, 1572. St. Bartholemews Massacre. This was a purge of
French Hugenots (Calvinist Protestants) by French Catholics. It
insured that France would remain predominantly Catholic in its
religious identify.
By comparison, in early 1530s, Henry VIII had founded theAnglican Church, which is conventionally viewed as both Catholic
and Reformed.
1. 1643-1789. Absolute monarchy under the three Louis.First, Louis XIV, b. 1638, ruled from 16431715 (72 years).
His period of was marked by construction of Versailles, which
may have absorbed half of governments revenues. There was
great corruption, and the persistence of the feudal structure of
the French economy.
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Louis XIV
The second Louis was Louis XV (great grandson), b. 1710;
ruled France for almost 60 years, from 1715-1774.
Early period was considered an era of major economic reforms
to promote a more unified and developed nation-state. These
included:
o Stabilization of the currency (1726)o Balanced budget (1738)o Promotion of internal trade through elimination of
internal tariffs, building of canals and creating a
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national system of roads. By 1750, France had best
road system in Europe.
o Promotion of foreign trade.France began to experience emergence of a middle class based
principally on trade & commerce. Enlargement of trade
contributed to pressures on the guild system, leading to social
discontents of the sans culottes.
Merchants and bankers earning profits on trade wanted to
invest in manufacturing; were prevented from doing so by
dirigisme; i.e. highly centralized economic controls.
Reputation of the royal court for conspicuous consumption
and libertine lifestyles did not help monarchical legitimacy.
The third Louis was Louis XVI [b. August, 1754], was
grandson of Louis XV. Inherited throne in 1774, age 20 and
ruled from 1774-1789. Married Marie Antoinette [b.
November 1755] in May, 1770. He was age 15. She was age 14.
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Marie Antoinette
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Louis XVI
2. 1789-1792. Decline of the monarchy.
Spring, 1789. Louis XVI agreed to summon the Estates
General (Clergy, Nobility, Commoners). The three estates
agree to unite to become a single National Assembly. Total was
about 1200 members; 300 clergy, 300 aristocracy, 600 thirdestate (commercial classes).
Power of monarchy was increasingly limited by rise and
growing influence of radical movements, especially an
increasingly radicalized National Assembly dominated by a
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radical faction known as the Jacobins, led by Maxmillien
Robespierre.
Maxmillien Robespierre
There were several other significant political clubs including
Girondists, Cordeliers (radical republicans), Feuillants
(constitutional monarchists) and Montagnards (TheMountain), an ultra-radical sub-faction of Jacobins.
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The Estates Generales.
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August 26, 1789. Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen.
Key ideas were individual freedom, self-determination andsovereignty of the people.
But, later, September 17, 1793, Law of the Suspects.
1. Immediately after the publication of the present decree, all suspects within the
territory of the Republic and still at large, shall be placed in custody.
2. The following are deemed suspects:
1those who, by their conduct, associations, comments, or writings have shownthemselves partisans of tyranny or federalism and enemies of liberty;
2those who are unable to justify, in the manner prescribed by the decree of 21March, their means of existence and the performance of their civic duties;
3those to whom certificates of patriotism have been refused;
4civil servants suspended or dismissed from their positions by the National
Convention or by its commissioners, and not reinstated, especially those whohave been or are to be dismissed by virtue of the decree of 14 August;
5those former nobles, together with husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons or
daughters, brothers or sisters, and agents of the migrs, who have not constantly
demonstrated their devotion to the Revolution;
6those who have emigrated between 1 July 1789, and the publication of the
decree of 30 March (8 April 1792), even though they may have returned to Francewithin the period established by said decree or prior thereto.
October 6, 1789.
Paris mob storms Versailles Palace, forcibly moved Louis XVI
and Marie Antoinette to an older palace, the Tuileries, where
they are kept under virtual house arrest. [The departure of
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Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette from Versailles is the final
scene depicted in Sophia Coppola movie, Marie Antoinette.]
Images of the Tuileries Palace
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1791. First constitution proclaimed, lasted until August 10, 1792.
Role of Economic Factors
French Monarchy was bankrupt and hugely in debt that it couldnot repay to various international banking interests in Paris,
Amsterdam, Hamburg and Geneva.
Feudal system of collecting tax revenues prevented necessary
revenue from reaching the central government. Also,
Cost of Versailles Cost of Financing the American Revolution Cost of the Seven Years War Loss of Colonial Empire in N. America
National Assembly Debate: should the monarchical debt be
repudiated.
Yes: it had been accumulated by an un-democratic regime with no popular voice.
The people should not be held responsible.
No: the Revolutionary Government would need to be able to borrow to finance an
army for the expected war against invading European powers. Financial credibility
would be critically important.
1790 Confiscation of Church Properties.
National Assembly issues first of a series of assignats.
These were effectively mortgage documents with physical
properties of the church, now called national goods ascollateral.
Original idea was a 1-time issuance but as demand for
currency rose, there was a demand for more & more currency.
Assignats were issued over and over again; eventually any
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begins life in exile. He inherited throne in 1814, after collapse of
first Bonapartist Empire.]
April 20, 1792.
National Assembly declared war on Austria.
April 25, 1792.
Said to be date on which La Marseillaise (The Song of
Marseille), French national anthem was composed.
July 25, 1792.
Brunswick Manifestro, issued by Duke of Brunswick, who led
the Prussian Army.
Purpose was:"to put an end to the anarchy in the interior of France, to check the attacks upon the throne
and the altar, to reestablish the legal power, to restore to the king the security and theliberty of which he is now deprived and to place him in a position to exercise once more the
legitimate authority which belongs to him."
This manifesto is widely considered to have worsened the
position of the French monarchy by further radicalizing the
anti-monarchy, republican elements within the revolutionaryprocess. It probably contributed to the August 10th storming of
the Tuileries Palace.
August 10, 1792.
Radical revolutionary elements including republican militia
from Marseille together with radicalized sans culottes from
Paris storm Tuileries Palace. King and Queen flee across the
Tuileries Garden to take sanctuary in National Assembly. OnAugust 13, both are arrested on charges of conspiring with
European powers to overthrow revolution and are imprisoned
in the Templar Prison.
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Storming the Tuileries, August 10, 1792.
August 19, 1792.
Prussian Army (Duke of Brunswick) invades France, captures
fortress town of Verdun. Rumor that Prussians were advancing
on Paris further ignite radical sentiments.
The map, below, shows the location of Verdun, indicating how
far the Prussian army had invaded France.
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Paris commune mobilized a conscript (draft) army of 60,000.
This is considered first use of the draft to create a national
army.
But, leadership of army refused to leave Paris stating its fear of
a prison uprising that might destabilize (overturn) the
revolutionary process and free the king.
August 27, 1791.
Declaration of Pilnitz, issued by King of Prussia, stated that it
was in interest of European monarchies to see to the well-being
of Louis XVI; threatened consequences if anything should
happen.
September Massacre, September 2-7, 1792.
Paris mob, instigated by Commune, invaded prisons andslaughtered 1,400 prisoners including priests, criminals, some
members of royalty, and individuals suspected of loyalty to
monarchy. Many were women and young boys. Some of this
violence was instigated by a radical newspaper called The
Friend of the People, edited by Jean-Paul Marat.
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September Massacre
September 21, 1792.
Proclamation of the First Republic.
December, 1792.
Trial of Louis XVI by the National Convention, which had 721
members: 688 voted guilty; none, for acquittal. On death
penalty, however, vote was 361 for, 288 against.
During this period, real power was wielded by political radicals.
Paris was governed by a radical commune. Political defeat of
Girondist faction, which had favored a more constitutional
approach.
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September 20, 1792.
French conscript army holds off a combined Austrian-Prussian
army at Battle of Valmy. Though battle was indecisive, this is
considered a great victory for the revolution.
September 21, 1792.
Proclamation of the First Republic. Constitution of 1791,
providing for constitutional monarchy had lasted until the
August, 1792, raid on Tuileries Palace.
Louis XVI at Templar Prison
December, 1792.
Louis XVI is tried and convicted of treason for allegedly plotting
with European powers.
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January 21, 1793.
Execution of Louis XVI.
April, 1793.Formation of Committee on Public Safety, joined by
Robespierre in July. This Committee is notorious for having
launched the reign of terror, the systematic execution of
members of the aristocracy and their suspected sympathizers.
Reign of terror is generally considered to end in July, 1794 with
arrest of Robespierre in the National Assembly.
Sans Culottes
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July 13, 1793.
Eve of 4th
anniversary of storming of BastilleJean-Paul Marat,
a radical journalist, was assassinated by Charlotte Corday (1768
1793), young woman (25) who believed him responsible for theSeptember 1792 Massacre. She was a Girondist sympathizer.
The actual bathtub in which Marat was murdered as well as the
knife that Charlotte Corday used can be viewed at the Musee
Grevin in Paris.
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Death of Marat, by David.
July 13, 1793.
Charlotte Corday executed by guillotine.
October 14-16, 1793.
Trial of Marie Antoinette in the Palace of Justice, then called the
Revolutionary Court. The trial was held from October 14th
to
16th
. She was found guilty and executed at the guillotine on
October 16, 1793.
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The enduring symbol of the French Revolution is the Guillotine,
which is named after Dr. Joseph Guillotin (1738-1814), Jacobin
member of Estates General. He advocated it as a merciful
method of execution.
January, 1793.
A coalition of European powers including Austria, Prussia andEngland invade France. England encouraged local revolts.
In addition, revolution was challenged by local resistance in
region of Vendee, in south-western France. Suppression of the
anti-revolutionary rebellion in the Vendee gave rise to the
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concept of total war. Napoleon distinguished himself as an
artillery officer at Battle of Toulon.
April, 1793.
Formation of Committee on Public Safety.
April, 1793-July, 1794.
Radical phase of First Republic, government by Committee of
Public Safety.
September 17, 1793.
The Revolutionary Government issued the Law of the Suspects.This law criminalized descent (being a member of the
aristocracy) as well as association and thought. There was
discussion of what it meant, genetically, to be a member of the
aristocracy. Law was extremely vague: it was punishable to be
an enemy of the revolution.An early instance of identity
crime and is generally considered the beginning of the Reign of
Terror, which lasts until June, 1794.
October 31, 1793.
Execution of Girondists, who were thought to favor
constitutional monarchy. Approximately 23 Girondist leaders
had been imprisoned in the Concierge with Marie Antoinette.
An exhibition there depicts their last meal.
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Concierge
Execution of Girondists
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July 1794.
Arrest and Execution of Robespierre. This was end of radical
phase of the revolution.
The Arrest of Robespierre
4. November, 1795 toNovember, 1799, government by
Directory.
This was the so-called moderate phase of First Republic.
Government was called the Directory. It included
representatives of all major groups, including military.
Napoleon Bonaparte, now known for his military exploitsdefending the revolution, had close friends on the Directorate.
5. 1799-1804: Military Dictatorship.
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Coronation of Napoleon I
December, 1804. Napoleon held a referendum on
proclamation of first Napoleonic Empire. Had himself crowned
emperor.
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1812. War against Russia, defeat of French army.
Minards Graph
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1813-1814. Political instability included various efforts to send
Napoleon into exile.
1814.
Napoleon abdicated, accepted exile to Island of Elba.
Restoration of Bourbon monarchy under Louis XVIII. [b. Nov.,
1755, was younger brother of Louis XVI, uncle of Louis XVII.]
He had fled France for exile after the failed flight to Varennes
of June, 1791. He remained in exile for 23 years, until 1814.
Louis XVIII
March, 1815. Napoleon returned from Elba and captured Paris.
Louis XVIII fled to Belgium.
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June 1815. Battle of Waterloo.
Napoleons final attempt to return was defeated by a combined
European army under the command of the Duke of Wellington
and a Prussian army under Blucher. Napoleon exiled again, toisland of St. Helena where he died in 1821.
7. 18141830. Restoration of Bourbon Monarchy under Louis
XVIII, who ruled until 1824. Followed by Charles X.
8. Revolution of 1830, the July Revolution.
[Architectural note: Tuileries Palace was destroyed again
during violence that took place during this revolution.]
18301848: The Orleanist Monarchy.
Installation of the more moderate Orleanist of July
Monarchy under Louis-Philippe, who governed until 1848.
Critical Features of Orleanist Ideas.
1. Orleanists did not accept principle of divine right of kings. [But, also, did
not accept popular legitimization of monarchy.]
2. Orleanists accepted constitutional monarchy and, therefore, power-
sharing with Parliament.
3. Declared that Catholic religion was not official state religion: King was not
instituted (installed) in a Church ceremony.
4. Orleanists accepted French revolution: did not consider that the purpose
of their government was to restore the pre-revolutionary, ancien regime.
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June, 1832.
Student revolt against Orleanist Monarchy, depicted in final
scenes of Les Miserables.
9. Revolution of 1848: 1848-1852. Second Republic.
1848. Second Republican Revolution leads to creation of Second
Republic. Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon,
elected President.1
1Napoleons first wife, Josephine had been previously married to a member of the
French aristocracy, Alexander de Beau Harnais, with whom she had two children,
Hortense and Eugene. Alexander Harnais was executed by the revolution, making
her a widow, and therefore eligible for marriage, when Napoleon married her.
Together, they had one son, Napoleon II, but who was sickly and died at age 21. One
of Napoleons brothers, Joseph, married Hortense, and their son became Napoleon
III, or Louis Napoleon. Thus, Napoleon III was both Napoleons nephew (son of his
brother, Joseph) and, by Josephines daughter, his step-grandson; i.e., his brothers
son and his wifes grandson.
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1851. Napoleon III stages coup.
Napoleon III
1852. Napoleon holds referendum on creation of second
Napoleonic Empire.
10. 1852-1870. Second Napoleonic Empire.
Franco-Prussian War, July 1870-May, 1871.
September 2, 1870.Defeatand captureof Napoleon III at Battle of Sedan.
Capture of an entire army.
September 4, 1870. Military coup overthrows Napoleon III,
proclamation of Third Republic, which lasted until 1940.
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The new government continued military resistance to the
Germans who laid siege to Paris but did not wish to invade the
city. It is estimated the 40,000 Parisians perished owing to food
shortages.
February, 1871.
Final defeat of France by Germany in Franco-Prussian war.
Germans are permitted to march through Paris.
March-May 1871.
Paris Commune included Anarchists, Socialists, Jacobins and
Communists. Civil war between Paris Commune and Versailles
Government included the second siege of Paris. About 25,000communards were killed during this period; 35,000 arrested and
sent to prisons.
May, 1871 suppression of Paris Commune. [During their brief
period, the Communards destroyed and looted the Tuileries
Palace.]
Women Defending Paris Commune
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Ruins of the Tuileries, 1871.
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Committee of Communards
August 1871. Adolph Thiers elected President. He had
campaigned as a monarchist.
1873.
Thiers was replaced by Marshall McMahon a more conservativemonarchist. McMahon banned celebrations of Bastille Day and
Republic Day (September 21).
FebruaryJuly 1875.
Constitutional Assembly approved laws and procedures for the
new republic.
October 14 and 28, 1877. Two stage election under the SingleMember District System produced a Republican Majority in
National Assembly.
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The Radical Party, led by Leon Gambetta had campaigned to
persuade peasant farmers that they could prosper under
democratic institutions.
Leon Gambetta
1888 Boulanger Affair.
General George Boulanger was an extremely popular figure.
Owing to the unpopularity of the Third Republic, he very nearly
staged a Bonapartist coup. Boulanger affair is generally
considered to demonstrate the strength of right-wing sentiments
in France.
1894-1906.
Dreyfuss Affair: revealed depth of anti-semitism in France.
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Alfred Dreyfuss
12. 19401944.Vichy France. This was a period of military government under
Marshal Petain, a hero of World War I.
May 1940.
German invasion. Armistice with Germany divided France into
2 zones. Roughly, northern half, including Paris and west coast
of France, was under direct military occupation by German.
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The southern half of the country was Vichy France. Capital
of Vichy France was small town of Vichy. Head of Government
was Marshall Petain. The Vichy Government was known for its
close collaboration with German authorities.
June, 1942.
Germany occupied Vichy France, but allowed Petain
Government to operate as a peudo-sovereign entity.
Jeu de Paume (Handball Court) Museum
Role in WW II.
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Rose Valland, 1898-1980
Memorial Plaque for Rose Valland
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June, 1944.
Allied invasion.
August 1944.
Liberation of Paris.
1944 -1946.
Period of 2 Constituent Assemblies and 3 referenda.
DeGaulle had disbanded the Resistance, allowing the individualparties to pursue their separate constitutional and political
agendas.
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Francois Hollande
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Marine Le Pen
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Olivier Besancenot, New Anti-Capitalist Party