introduction:
The French are undoubtedly one of the most toss-and-turn peoples in the world!
As for what proof is there? Just look at the history from 1789 to 2022!
This short history of 233 years, less than 300 years of cyclical law, the restless French left ten eras in the history books.
In these ten epochs, there were three kingdoms, two empires, and five republics.
The French of these 233 years, after the beheading of Louis XVI, will mourn after Napoleon's abdication, will wrestle in various humiliations and glory, and then finally choose the strong de Gaulle after more than 70 years (105 cabinets) and 14 years (20 cabinets) of chaos, and then restore self-confidence.
Among them, there are countless kings and heroes who have died, and there are also countless wars.
The kingdom became a republic, the French cheered, the republic became an empire, the French cheered, the empire was destroyed, the French were sad, and when the republic was reborn again and again, the French were also sad and happy.
So were the French armies, with the highlights of conquering Europe, the great cause of colonizing the world, and the humiliation of greeting the enemy at the Arc de Triomphe.
Back and forth for more than two hundred years, it is an interpretation of a proud nation, glory and dreams, and an attempt to find a way forward for a swinging nation.
This is the contradictory France, the romantic France, the tangled France, the past and present of today's European powers.
And to understand this past, we only need to understand the ten eras of France, the five republics, and two real men interspersed with them.
(Witness the history of Paris)
I: Title in the Joint Statement
The most sensational news recently was that the Five Permanent Members of the United Nations (UN) issued a Joint Statement, jointly speaking of a series of commitments such as "avoiding the outbreak of nuclear war among nuclear powers" and "promising that nuclear weapons should be used only for defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war".
It has been clarified that the attitude that "nuclear war cannot be won or fought" has aroused widespread concern.
There is no question of concern, only the question of names.
In this Joint Declaration, the full name of France is: The French Republic.
France is the meaning of France everyone understands, so what does republic mean?
A republic means that the state and the government are public forms of state government, and the leaders of the organs of state power at all levels are not inherited, not hereditary, nor predestined, but are elected freely and fairly.
Clearly defined, non-hereditary electoral regime!
So why does France have one, two, three, four, five: republics?
Looking at the overview first, and then talking about the changes in the republic, this will be an interesting science.
II: Overview of the five French republics.
Looking at the French Republic, the analogy can be made from different dynasties in Chinese history.
These five republics, officially known as the French Republic, were classified numerically to avoid confusion because they belonged to different eras.
If we go back to the roots, the purpose is to enable those who love French history to understand the temporal context of the French republics.
The general effect is similar to the Meaning of qin, Han, Sui and Tang in our Chinese history.
As for why Chinese dynasties have their own names, while the French Republic is classified numerically, it has to do with the concept of the nation-state and non-hereditary government.
Most of the Chinese dynasties are named after the land of dynastic Dragon Xing!
For example, Han Gaozu originated in Hanzhong, there was the Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty began in Guanzhong, Li Yuan was called the Duke of Tang, so it was called Tang Dynasty, as for the subsequent dynastic names, it is also related to the historical origin of the dynasty.
The French Republic, on the other hand, was born after the Revolution of 1789. France became the name of the nation, and there was no such suffix as the Bourbon dynasty and the Carolingian dynasty before it.
Based on this, republics, dynasties, and empires intertwined with each other and jointly contributed to the five french republics.
(French Parliament Building)
II: The First French Republic and the First Empire.
On July 14, 1789, the Bourbon dynasty in France, mired in an economic crisis and an international crisis, was in turmoil.
At the instigation of the big capitalists, in order to limit the power of the king, the freedom-loving people of Paris began to revolt, directly imprisoning the miserable Louis XVI.
After the imprisonment of Louis XVI, the big bourgeoisie took control of the country, stole power through the uprising, and forced Louis XVI to implement a more advanced constitutional monarchy, establishing bourgeois power in France.
In Europe at that time, in addition to Britain and the Netherlands, France was the third bourgeois state to establish a constitutional monarchy.
The constitutional monarchies of Britain and the Netherlands stemmed from the rise of the domestic bourgeoisie and the consequent political demands.
This is something that is in line with the trend of history.
Britain's national strength and remoteness from the European continent made it difficult for foreign intervention forces to interfere, and a constitutional monarchy was established early after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
The Dutch state is not very large, and even if a constitutional monarchy is established, its influence is limited.
But France is different, isn't it? As a long-standing hegemon of Europe and a model country of monarchy in Western Europe, France will undoubtedly shake the European monarchy if it becomes a bourgeois regime because of revolution.
Countless frightened European monarchies, fearing that the revolution would spread to their countries through the victory of France, gathered many armies into France to suppress the revolution. Even Britain, which had established a bourgeois system, feared that France would become stronger and stronger after grasping the institutional superiority, and in addition to the relationship between the original mortal enemies, it began to broker allies to launch a containment of France.
(Louis XVI)
The formation of a coalition of European countries into France, coupled with the already royalist forces in France, made Louis XVI, who was not willing to become a puppet, think of rectifying the chaos.
Louis XVI, who was eager to move, hoped that the inside and the outside should be combined to restore despotic rule.
Seeing that foreign intervention forces had entered, louis xvi and royalists were also demonizing at home, and the French big bourgeoisie and the people, in order to protect the fruits of the victory of the revolution, directly cut off the heads of Louis XVI and his wife, and proved their determination with the blood of the king.
After expressing his determination, the king was gone, and the constitutional monarchy could not be carried out.
The French petty bourgeoisie, which killed the king and led to the revolution, came to the forefront of history, expelled the cowardly big capitalists from the center of power, and established a kingdom with nothing to do with the old royalist forces and no monarch.
This is the First French Republic, a republic belonging to the petty bourgeoisie.
It's just that this republic didn't have a long lifespan, and after its establishment, it experienced a series of upheavals!
First the Jacobins replaced the Girondins who established the republic with riots, and then the Thermidorian uprising replaced the Jacobins.
(Smoke and smoke)
After three rounds of change, the French can't stand it!
The republic has its advanced nature, but the disadvantage is that it will swing left and right, one will be despotic and the other will be republican, which will overwhelm the French.
In this context, Napoleon, who relied on the rise of military merit, took advantage of the situation.
He ascended the throne in 1804 and became Emperor of the First French Empire, restoring the monarchy.
Subsequently, France, in the era of the First Empire, ushered in the intervention of countless European allies, and seven consecutive anti-French alliance wars achieved Napoleon's glory and doomed him to failure.
A French hero resisted all of Europe and made all of Europe submit, although it still could not rewrite its fate, but it never improved the morale and fighting spirit of the French people.
In 1815, Napoleon defeated Waterloo, and the First Empire and the subsequent Hundred Days Dynasty became the clouds of history.
After the Congress of Vienna, the Bourbon dynasty in France was restored, and louis xviii's younger brother became king, known in history as Louis XVIII.
After coming to power, Louis XVIII, because of his long-term exile abroad and no political roots in France, helplessly declared that he would compromise with the bourgeoisie and exchange the stability of the Bourbon dynasty by ensuring all the economic rules and order established after the Revolution.
In short, the dynasty established by Louis XVIII was in fact a bourgeois state with a constitutional monarchy.
The purpose of the revolution is also achieved after this curve cycle.
The result was the killing of a king (Louis XVI), more than twenty years of fighting, and the exile of an emperor. (Napoleon)
(His Majesty the Emperor)
Three: The Second French Republic and the Second Empire.
In 1824, Louis XVIII died of illness, and was succeeded by his younger brother, Count Artois, known historically as Charles X.
This tragic Charles was the last emperor of the French Bourbon dynasty, and as for why he was tragic, it was related to ambition.
After coming to power, he was very dissatisfied with the compromise between his brother Louis XVIII and the French bourgeoisie, believing that France should be an absolute monarchy and that there should be no parliament of Rausch to limit the power of the king.
From the beginning of his term of office, he devoted himself to controlling parliament in a vain attempt to restore the pre-Revolution of 1789 in French rule.
This made the French bourgeoisie dissatisfied.
The king's perfidy and the restoration of despotism made the bourgeoisie and the people of Paris, who had suffered from revolution and war and struggled to gain power, feel deceived.
This has made the petty bourgeoisie and the masses dissatisfied!
In 1830, the disenfranchised petty bourgeoisie launched the July Revolution, demanding the abdication of Charles X.
Charles X was so excited to protect the dynasty that henry, earl of Chambord (1820-1883), was appointed as his heir before abdicating. Henry, Earl of Chambord, saw that the position of king of France was a hot potato, and it was dangerous to be in danger, and he was unwilling to succeed to the throne or be a puppet.
Seeing that the heirs were gone, the big bourgeoisie that dominated France was not interested in the republican system because they were all from the old aristocracy, and hoped to continue to make a constitutional monarchy. It was decided to support Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, as King of France and establish the French Orleans Dynasty.
For this Orleans dynasty guaranteed their privileged position without prejudice to the interests of the big bourgeoisie.
For more than a decade, with the promotion of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of countless proletariats, the French people became more and more dissatisfied with the constitutional monarchy. The monarchy's dynasties and the big bourgeoisie are in the same group, ruthlessly exploiting the French proletariat, and after many years of this situation, discontent and anger have grown.
In 1848, the people of Paris launched another uprising, overthrowing the French Orléans dynasty, which was supported by the big bourgeoisie, and establishing a new republic 44 years after the demise of the French Republic.
(Movement falls)
This republic is the Second French Republic.
After the birth of the Second French Republic, the pie can be described as very advanced!
Under the leadership of Lamartine, Ryder Loren and others, a provisional government was formed together with the workers' representatives.
The abolition of slavery, followed by the promulgation of universal suffrage for male citizens, promoted the democratization of France.
But this democratization lacks a popular foundation.
At that time in France, a large number of rural people were not very clear about what was happening in Paris, only that the country had once again experienced changes, there was no kingdom and more republics, as for the days, it was still the same, nothing had changed!
In their view, the republic is not necessarily advanced, and it is no different from the kingdom.
This general mentality of the masses deprived the French Second Republic of its mass base.
Looking at this situation, an ambitious man turned out to be the president of the French Second Republic with the great prestige of the family and the policy of actively promoting the people's livelihood.
This man was Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon.
Not long after becoming president, in order to restore the glory of his uncle, relying on Napoleon's prestige and his own ruling efforts, Napoleon III brazenly launched a coup d'état on December 2, 1851, dissolved the parliament, and restored the empire a year later!
(Changed government)
Declaring himself emperor, he established the Second French Empire.
Napoleon III, who claimed to be emperor, always reminded himself that power came from popular support and the people's thoughts about Napoleon the Great.
Giving the people a good life and restoring the glory of the Napoleonic Empire was the key to the stability of his power.
Napoleon III, who then became an enlightened monarch, promulgated a series of measures to improve people's livelihood and develop the economy internally, and was also very attentive and careful externally, committed to restoring France's prestige in Europe.
But this moment of caution, it is still difficult to hide his lack of ability, napoleon III did a good job in internal affairs, but in foreign strategy and war, because of the strong rise of Prussia, as well as the containment and suppression of Britain, he encountered Bismarck's teasing and became the laughing stock of Europe.
In 1870, Napoleon III, who could not stand Bismarck's provocation, took the initiative to launch the Franco-Prussian War.
In the fierce battle, the soldiers were defeated, and they became prisoners.
Watching the news of the defeat on the front line, the Parisians were angry, and no one could lose to the Germans?
So they rebelled again, and only three days after their defeat, the Paris Commune was born, and the Second French Empire became a thing of the past.
A war buried the Second French Empire.
(Captured Napoleon III and Bismarck)
Four: the chaotic French Third Republic.
The birth of the Paris Commune was undoubtedly a groundbreaking feat, and a group of proletariats became the leaders of the revolution, which made the French bourgeoisie very dissatisfied. You are in charge, where are our good days?
Subsequently, the French capitalists, together with their enemy Prussia, suppressed the Paris Commune.
Looking at the actions of the French, Bismarck at that time also felt that France needed a stable country for peace talks, and then demanded reparations and simply agreed to the request of the French capitalists.
With the help of the Prussian Legion, the Paris Commune failed, the uprising was suppressed, and the French bourgeoisie began to prepare for a new government.
During the preparations for the government, the French capitalists felt that the chaos and turmoil of the past were due to the royalists and the Restorationists.
After thinking about it, they decided that the nascent republic would implement a parliamentary republic, but the former royals and royals could not participate in the election of the French parliament.
This rule ruled out the possibility of a new government for families such as the Napoleonic family, the Bourbon family, and the Orleans family, and also deprived the French royalists and the Restoration of the opportunity to revive.
Beginning with the French Third Republic, France was completely and absolutely monarchical, with a constitutional monarchy, and there were no more kings and emperors.
But would France be better without kings and emperors? The answer is no, because the republic is still immature.
(Third Republic era)
This is evident in the 70 years of the existence of the French Third Republic.
In just 70 years, the republic has experienced 107 cabinets before and after, and all day long is the news of the collapse, reorganization, and re-election of the cabinet. The domestic political factions are constantly fighting, the left, the center and the right take turns, the country is constantly scandalatic, and the people are overwhelmed.
The French people have also become the most popular people who like to march in the streets in this chaos.
Of course, there have been highlight moments in these seventy years.
In addition to the birth of the colonial empire and the prestige of usury imperialism, this highlight moment also completed the revenge of the old enemy Germany through the great sacrifice of the First World War.
After the war, France dominated the League of Nations and became the world's second largest power after Britain and the United States.
However, this still cannot hide the collapse of the Republic.
France, which seems to be strong, but the foreign power, after experiencing various diplomatic games, still has not saved the situation, and then suffered humiliation in World War II!
In May 1940, Germany launched a blitzkrieg that knocked France to its knees.
The strong Marchejo Line did not defend the Germans, and just over a month later, Paris fell.
Once again, the German army passed through the Arc de Triomphe, the humiliating contract in the train carriages, and the lost back of Pétain, announcing the demise of the French Third Republic.
Subsequently, France ushered in the era of the coexistence of "Vichy France" and "Free France".
"Vichy France" was a German puppet, and "Free France" was a government-in-exile formed by de Gaulle, who was not willing to let France sink.
(Germans)
Five: The French Fourth Republic, born in ruins.
In June 1944, after four years of sinking, Paris was restored with the help of the Allies, and the Vichy government in France fell.
But after the war, France was still in chaos.
The free French said that France had contributed a lot to recover me, but the anti-Nazi forces in the country also said that I had contributed a lot.
The two groups had a protracted dispute over the rebuilding of the French government after the war and their interests.
This debate was debated for five years.
That is to say, from June 1944 until 1949, France had no solid government institutions, only a "Provisional Government of the French Republic". (This incident is also algorithmic for the Fourth Republic of Lancy)
Temporary, temporary, the most tormented is de Gaulle, who loves France deeply!
After a period of silence after the liberation of France, he delivered a Bayeux speech on June 16, 1946, expounding his founding concept by stating the draft constitution, emphasizing the separation of powers and responsibilities, and strengthening administrative rights.
(World War II Shadow)
Unfortunately, this concept was not adopted in the future!
In 1949, the protracted debate finally came to an end, considering that the French Third Republic was a thing of the past, and many of the Third Republics were still serving in the Vichy puppet regime.
The arrogant French decided to form a republic that had nothing to do with the Vichy puppet regime or the Third Republic.
This republic was the Fourth French Republic, and the form of government was still parliamentary.
The nascent French Fourth Republic still had the shortcomings of the Third Republic.
That is, there are many parties, there are many factions, and the Fourth Republic under the parliamentary republic has very poor execution, and everything must be discussed in parliament for many years, so that the French government can hardly do anything big.
In just 14 years, the French Fourth Republic has changed its cabinet for 22 years, and the government affairs are also a mess.
The Vietnam War was a mess, and the colonies were constantly in trouble.
The extreme instability of the cabinet, as well as the successive Suez Canal crises of 1956 and the Algerian crisis of 1958, caused the French government to suffer a crisis of confidence.
(Algerian crisis)
VI: The French Fifth Republic.
On 13 May 1958, seeing the Algerian crisis intensify, the National Salvation Committee headed by Salan appeared, and on 15 May they called on de Gaulle to come out and stabilize France.
Seeing that the scale of the violent movement is getting bigger and bigger, there is a possibility that it will turn into a civil war.
Although de Gaulle was anxious, he still refused, because if the French political system did not change, the problem would not be solved, and he would not be able to return to heaven when he went out of the mountains.
Seeing de Gaulle's writhing, the French military and various factions further invited and invited de Gaulle after agreeing to de Gaulle's request to amend the Constitution and strengthen the power of the president.
On 19 May, de Gaulle said he was "ready to accept the mandate of the Republic", and on 29 May, French President René Coty appealed to de Gaulle, and on 1 June, 329 of the 533 members of parliament voted for de Gaulle's new government.
De Gaulle, who had been wandering for years, became the last prime minister of the French Fourth Republic and was granted the right to amend the Constitution.
Subsequently, de Gaulle used his own way to modify many stubborn diseases in the French parliamentary republic, and the key point of this round of revision is!
First of all, the division of powers: weakening the legislative power of parliament and the control of the president, and strengthening the power of the president.
Secondly, in terms of electoral system: the president changed from a direct election to an electoral election, and the parliament lost the right to control the president.
Finally, crucially, the French president has the power of suspension and veto, and the parliament must accept it unconditionally, and if necessary, the president can also bypass the parliament by executive order, hold a referendum, or even dissolve the parliament.
This round of factions is de Gaulle's reflection on the political shortcomings of the Third and Fourth Republics, and france has regained its cohesion by strengthening presidential power and strengthening its ruling power.
(French man Charles de Gaulle)
Without a strong president, free romantic France would always be chaotic.
De Gaulle's suspension of the Constitution was supported by the French people, who were deeply disappointed in the Third and Fourth Republics, and in the september 1958 referendum on the new constitution, de Gaulle won the support of 70% of the French.
In this way, the political system of the French Republic changed from a parliamentary system to a semi-presidential system, and de Gaulle became the first president of the government.
Because the political system was completely different from the original republic, the French called the republic after 1958 the Fifth Republic.
This is today's French Republic.
After becoming president, de Gaulle was finally able to lead the revival of France in his own way.
Pursuing an independent foreign policy, not following in the footsteps of the United States, we are working with Germany to unite Europe, release France's political influence, develop nuclear weapons and two-in-one nuclear forces, and build a French shield.
After a round of measures, France finally recovered its vitality and became the most complete industrial system in Europe and the most autonomous defense and military power.
(Defense Autonomy de Gaulle's insistence)
End:
Throughout the 233 years of France, five republics, two empires, three dynasties, and ten eras of ups and downs.
We may understand that national stability is the greatest element of development.
What stability requires is not all kinds of chaotic movements, but the people who are united in their hearts can really dedicate themselves to this country and change the face of the country with actions.
From another point of view, the Third Republic with 105 cabinets in 70 years and the Fourth Republic with 22 cabinets in 14 years is undoubtedly a disaster for national governance!
Fortunately, in the chaotic era, the French man de Gaulle appeared, and with one play to retreat, the French voluntarily accepted their strong president, and then let the semi-president form a French form of government, and France finally did not have to endure the endless struggle for freedom.