The historical development of France is interesting for its turbulent past. The people's struggle for their rights led to constant revolutions and frequent changes in power. As a result, France can boast of having a history of five republics alone.
The revolution
The end of the 18th century was a turning point in history for France. The Great French Revolution, which began with the capture of the Bastille fortress in 1789, laid the foundation for the republican development of the country.
The revolution itself occurred due to the unstable monarchical regime, which was built on a series of compromises between the government and individual estates. The interests of the bourgeoisie and privileged groups were protected by the state, and peasant labor was overexploited. As a result, this led to the fact that France began to lag behind other countries in development. The intelligentsia could not fail to notice this: rumors began to circulate in society, and confidence in the authorities began to be lost.
The reforms carried out by Louis XVI led to the collapse of the centuries-old system. The revolution and future republics came out under the slogan: "Freedom, equality, brotherhood", which clearly demonstrated how the people had time to suffer under the monarchical system.
Republic of France
The first French republic was proclaimed during the revolution and officially lasted 12 years from 1792 until Napoleon Bonaparte came to power. During this time, three constitutions were adopted, which changed the order and name of the authorities, but confirmed the decision of the Decree of the National Convention on the unitarianism of the state.
Since 1804, when Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor, the republican regime quickly became authoritarian. And only by 1848 France briefly managed to return to the republican form of government. The period from 1848 to 1852 is called the "Second Republic" of France, whose president was Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who eventually did the same as his uncle Napoleon I, proclaiming himself emperor.
The "Third Republic" was more successful than the previous ones and existed for 70 years, starting in 1870. The constitutions that were adopted during this time occupied an intermediate state between the monarchy and the republic, but nevertheless, it was during these years that France entered the Entente alliance.
The "Fourth Republic" was formed after the Second World War in 1946. The constitution of this republic was characterized by an already well-formed parliamentary system and weak presidential power.
Fifth Republic of France
From 1958 until today in France, the period of the "fifth republic". The new constitution differs significantly from its predecessors. Now the president has expanded powers (he has the right to dissolve parliament) and is elected for a five-year term by popular vote.
The reason for the emergence of the "fifth republic" was the crisis in Algeria. France for 24 years could not cope with the situation that arose, since the state army joined the national uprising. As a result, the Algerian crisis led to the modern regime in France.
