Question

Discuss and debate how the historical development of the country affected contemporary French politics and the development of the French government.

Answer 1

It all started with the bread price and thousands of other variables in culture, politics and the economy. 1789 marked the beginning of the French Revolution, when women marched on Versailles, the Bastille was stormed by the people, and the monarchy was abolished. The First Republic was born out of the revolution, founded in 1792 with a National Convention composed of several political parties, including the Montagnards, who received support from the Parisian bourgeoisie, and the Girondins, who wanted a national government appointed by all French citizens, not just those in Paris. But there was violence and chaos plaguing the First Republic.

After several decades of Napoleonic rule, then governed by various Bourbon monarchs, French citizens conducted multiple demonstrations and uprisings, partly due to an economic crisis that continued to cause the lower class to decline in living conditions. After King Louis-Philippe's defeat, a coalition of politicians created a second constitution and a new republic in 1848. Yet Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, was elected president. He introduced numerous democratic reforms during his rule, including the abolition of slavery in all French territories, the granting of immense freedom of the press, the establishment of social programs for the unemployed, and the extension of universal suffrage.

The Algerian crisis was what drove the government to its breaking point. For several years, the war for independence had been brewing, and European colonists in Algeria— there were more than 1 million, and they controlled the government of the territory — were worried that France would abandon them if Algeria gained independence. In Algeria, the French Army slowly consolidated power and had full control over the territory by May 1958. Fearful of a cascade of military coups across the empire, the government in Paris conceded to the demands of the army. The government dissolved itself and took Charles de Gaulle into the Fifth Republic to draft a new constitution.