the main > Drilling > History of the French Revolutions. History of France (key dates) The events depicted took place in France

History of the French Revolutions. History of France (key dates) The events depicted took place in France

1789–1791
1791–1793
1793–1799
1799–1814
Napoleon's coup and the establishment of an empire
1814–1848
1848–1851
1851–1870
1870–1875
Revolution of 1870 and establishment of the Third Republic

In 1787, an economic recession began in France, which gradually turned into a crisis: production fell, the French market was flooded with cheaper English goods; to this were added crop failures and natural disasters that led to the death of crops and vineyards. In addition, France has spent a lot on failed wars and supporting the American Revolution. There was not enough income (by 1788 expenses exceeded income by 20%), and the treasury took out loans, the interest on which was unaffordable for it. The only way to increase revenues to the treasury was to deprive the first and second estate of tax privileges. Under the Old Order, French society was divided into three estates: the first was the clergy, the second was the nobility, and the third was all the rest. The first two estates enjoyed a number of privileges, including exemption from the need to pay taxes..

Attempts by the government to abolish the tax privileges of the first two estates failed, meeting the resistance of the noble parliaments Parliaments- before the revolution, the supreme courts of fourteen regions of France. Until the 15th century, only the Paris Parliament existed, then the other thirteen appeared.(that is, the highest courts of the Old Order period). Then the government announced the convening of the States General States general- a body that included representatives of the three estates and convened at the initiative of the king (as a rule, to resolve political crisis). Each estate sat separately and had one vote., which included representatives of all three estates. Unexpectedly for the crown, this caused a wide public upsurge: hundreds of pamphlets were published, voters drew up instructions to deputies: few aspired to revolution, but everyone hoped for change. The impoverished nobility demanded financial support from the crown, at the same time counting on the limitation of its power; the peasants protested against the rights of the lords and hoped to get the land as property; among the townspeople, the ideas of enlighteners about the equality of all before the law and about equal access to positions became popular (in January 1789, the widely known brochure of Abbot Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes "What is the third estate?" ? - Everything. 2. What has it been politically so far? - Nothing. 3. What does it require? - To become something "). Based on the ideas of the Enlightenment, many believed that the nation should have the supreme power in the country, not the king, that an absolute monarchy should be replaced by a limited one, and that traditional law should be replaced by a constitution - a collection of clearly written laws that are the same for all citizens.

Great French Revolution and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy

Taking of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. Painting by Jean Pierre Uel. 1789 year

Bibliothèque nationale de France

Chronology

The beginning of the work of the States General

Proclamation of the National Assembly

The taking of the Bastille

Adoption of the Declaration of Human and Citizen Rights

Adoption of the first French constitution

On May 5, 1789, a meeting of the States General was opened at Versailles. Traditionally, when voting, each estate had one vote. The deputies from the third estate, of whom there were twice as many as the deputies from the first and second, demanded an individual vote, but the government did not agree to this. In addition, contrary to the expectations of the deputies, the authorities submitted only financial reforms for discussion. On June 17, deputies from the third estate declared themselves the National Assembly, that is, representatives of the entire French nation. On June 20, they vowed not to disperse until a constitution was drawn up. Some time later, the National Assembly declared itself the Constituent Assembly, thus declaring its intention to establish a new state system in France.

Soon there was a rumor in Paris that the government was drawing up troops to Versailles and was planning to disperse the Constituent Assembly. An uprising began in Paris; On July 14, hoping to seize weapons, the people stormed the Bastille. This symbolic event is considered the beginning of the revolution.

After that, the Constituent Assembly gradually turned into the supreme power in the country: Louis XVI, who sought to avoid bloodshed at any cost, sooner or later approved any of his decrees. Thus, from 5 to 11 August, all peasants became personally free, and the privileges of the two estates and individual regions were canceled.

Overthrow of the absolute monarchy
On August 26, 1789, the Constituent Assembly approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. On October 5, the crowd went to Versailles, where Louis XVI was, and demanded that the king and his family move to Paris and approve the Declaration. Louis was forced to agree - and absolute monarchy ceased to exist in France. This was enshrined in the constitution adopted by the Constituent Assembly on September 3, 1791.

Having adopted a constitution, the Constituent Assembly dispersed. Laws were now approved by the Legislative Assembly. The executive power remained with the king, who turned into an official, obeying the will of the people. Officials and priests were no longer appointed, but elected; church property was nationalized and sold.

Symbols

"Freedom equality Brotherhood ". The formula "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité", which became the motto of the French Republic, first appeared on December 5, 1790 in an unspoken speech by Maximilian Robespierre, one of the most influential French revolutionaries, who was elected to the States General from the third estate in 1789.

Bastille. By July 14, there were only seven prisoners in the Bastille, the ancient royal prison, so its assault had a symbolic rather than pragmatic meaning, although they took it in the hope of finding weapons there. By the decision of the municipality, the taken Bastille was destroyed to the ground.

Declaration of the rights of man and citizen. The Declaration of Human Rights stated that “people are born and remain free and equal in rights” and declared the natural and inalienable human rights to freedom, property, security and resistance to oppression. In addition, it consolidated freedom of speech, press and religion and abolished estates and titles. As a preamble, it entered the first constitution (1791) and still forms the basis of French constitutional law, being a legally binding document.

Execution of the king and establishment of a republic

The last moments of the life of Louis XVI. An engraving based on a painting by Charles Benazech. 1793 year

Wellcome library

Chronology

The beginning of the war with Austria

Overthrow of Louis XVI

Start of the National Convention

The execution of Louis XVI

On August 27, 1791, in the Saxon castle of Pilnitz, the Prussian king Frederick William II and the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (brother of Louis XVI's wife Marie Antoinette), under pressure from aristocrats who emigrated from France, signed a document declaring their readiness to support the King of France, including military ... Girondins Girondins- a circle formed around the deputies from the Gironde department, advocating further transformations, but adhering to relatively moderate views. In 1792, many of them opposed the execution of the king., the supporters of the republic, took advantage of this to persuade the Legislative Assembly to war with Austria, which was declared on April 20, 1792. When French troops began to suffer defeat, the royal family was blamed for this.

Overthrow of the constitutional monarchy
On August 10, 1792, an uprising took place, as a result of which Louis was overthrown and imprisoned on charges of betraying national interests. The Legislative Assembly resigned: now, in the absence of the king, a new constitution had to be written. For these purposes, was assembled new law The organ is the elected National Convention, which first proclaimed France a republic.

In December, a trial began, which found the king guilty of misconduct against the freedom of the nation and sentenced him to death.

Symbols

Marseillaise. March, written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (military engineer, also poet and composer) on April 25, 1792. In 1795, the Marseillaise became the national anthem of France, lost this status under Napoleon, and finally returned it in 1879 under the Third Republic. By the second half of the 19th century, it had become an international song of leftist resistance.

Jacobin dictatorship, Thermidorian coup and establishment of the Consulate

The overthrow of Robespierre at the National Convention on July 27, 1794. Painting by Max Adamo. 1870 year

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin

Chronology

The Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal was established by a decree of the Convention, which will be renamed the Revolutionary Tribunal in October

Creation of the Public Safety Committee

Expulsion of the Girondins from the Convention

Adoption of the Constitution of the 1st year, or the Montagnar Constitution

Decree on the introduction of a new calendar

Thermidorian coup

Execution of Robespierre and his supporters

Adoption of the Constitution of the III year. Formation of the Directory

Coup 18 Brumaire. Change of Directory by the Consulate

Despite the execution of the king, France continued to fail in the war. Inside the country, monarchist revolts broke out. In March 1793, the Convention created the Revolutionary Tribunal, which was supposed to try "traitors, conspirators and counter-revolutionaries", and after it - the Committee of Public Safety, which was supposed to coordinate the domestic and foreign policy of the country.

Expulsion of the Girondins, Jacobin dictatorship

The Girondins gained great influence in the Committee of Public Safety. Many of them did not support the execution of the king and the imposition of emergency measures, some expressed indignation that Paris was imposing its will on the country. The Montagnards who competed with them Montagnards- a relatively radical group, relying, in particular, on the urban poor. The name comes from the French word montagne - mountain: at Legislative meetings, members of this group usually took seats in the upper rows on the left side of the hall. directed against the Girondins disgruntled urban poor.

On May 31, 1793, a crowd gathered at the Convention, demanding the exclusion of the Girondins, who were accused of treason. On June 2, the Girondins were placed under house arrest, and on October 31, many of them were guillotined by the Revolutionary Tribunal.

The expulsion of the Girondins led to a civil war. Despite the fact that at the same time France was at war with many European states, the constitution, adopted in 1793, did not come into force: before the onset of peace, the Convention introduced a "temporary revolutionary order of government." Virtually all power was now concentrated in his hands; to the places the Convention sent commissars with enormous powers. The Montagnards, who now had a huge advantage in the Convention, declared their opponents enemies of the people and sentenced them to guillotine. The Montagnards abolished all senior duties and began to sell the land of the emigrants to the peasants. In addition, they introduced a maximum to which the prices of the most essential goods, including bread, could rise; in order to avoid a shortage, they had to take grain from the peasants by force.

By the end of 1793, most of the revolts had been suppressed, and the situation at the front was reversed - the French army went on the offensive. Nevertheless, the number of victims of terror did not decrease. In September 1793, the Convention passed the "Suspicious Law", which ordered to keep under arrest all people who were not accused of any crime, but could commit it. From June 1794, the Revolutionary Tribunal abolished the interrogation of the defendants and their right to lawyers, as well as the obligatory interrogation of witnesses; for people found guilty by the tribunal, now only one punishment was provided - the death penalty.

Thermidorian coup  

In the spring of 1794, the robespierres started talking about the need for the last wave of executions, which would cleanse the Convention of the opponents of the revolution. Almost all members of the Convention felt that their lives were at stake. On July 27, 1794 (or 9 Thermidor II according to the revolutionary calendar), the leader of the Montagnards Maximilian Robespierre and many of his supporters were arrested by members of the Convention, who feared for their lives. They were executed on July 28.

After the coup, the terror quickly subsided, the Jacobin Club Jacobin Club- a political club, formed in 1789 and gathered in the Jacobin monastery. The official name is the Society of Friends of the Constitution. Many of its members were deputies of the Constituent and Legislative Assemblies, and then of the Convention; they played an important role in the ongoing policy of terror. was closed. The authority of the Committee for Public Safety has diminished. Thermidorians Thermidorians- members of the Convention who supported the Thermidorian coup. proclaimed a general amnesty, many of the surviving Girondins returned to the Convention.

Coup 18 Brumaire

A new conspiracy has matured within the Directory itself. On November 9, 1799 (or 18 Brumaire of the VIII year of the Republic), two of the five directors, together with Bonaparte, carried out a coup, dispersing the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Elders. The Directory was also stripped of power. Instead, the Consulate arose - a government that consisted of three consuls. They were all three conspirators.

Symbols

 Tricolor. In 1794, the tricolor became the official flag of France. The Bourbon white used on the pre-Revolutionary flag was supplemented with blue, the symbol of Paris, and red, the color of the National Guard.

Republican calendar. On October 5, 1793, a new calendar was introduced into circulation, the first year according to which was 1792. All months in the calendar received new names: the time from the revolution had to start anew. In 1806, the calendar was canceled.

Louvre Museum. Despite the fact that some parts of the Louvre were open to the public before the revolution, the palace turned into a full-fledged museum only in 1793.

The coup of Napoleon Bonaparte and the establishment of an empire

Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul. Detail of a painting by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. 1803-1804 years

Wikimedia Commons

Chronology

Adoption of the Constitution of the VIII year, establishing the dictatorship of the first consul

Adoption of the Constitution of X year, which made the powers of the first consul for life

Adoption of the Constitution of the XII year, the proclamation of Napoleon as emperor

On December 25, 1799, a new constitution (Constitution of the VIII year) was adopted, created with the participation of Napoleon Bonaparte. A government came to power, consisting of three consuls, named directly in the constitution by name, and elected for ten years (as a one-time exception, the third consul was then appointed for five years). The first of the three consuls was named Napoleon Bonaparte. Almost all real power was concentrated in his hands: only he had the right to propose new laws, appoint members of the State Council, ambassadors, ministers, senior military leaders and department prefects. The principles of separation of powers and popular sovereignty were virtually abolished.

In 1802, the Council of State put to a referendum the question of whether Bonaparte should be made consul for life. As a result, the consulate became life-long, and the first consul received the right to appoint a successor to himself.

In February 1804, a monarchist conspiracy was discovered, the purpose of which was the assassination of Napoleon. After that, proposals began to arise to make Napoleon's power hereditary, in order to exclude such a thing in the future.

Establishment of an empire
On May 18, 1804, the XII Constitution was adopted, approved by a referendum. The administration of the republic was now transferred to the "emperor of the French", whom Napoleon Bonaparte was declared to be. In December, the emperor was crowned by the Pope.

In 1804, the Civil Code, written with the participation of Napoleon, was adopted - a set of laws that governed the life of French citizens. The code affirmed, in particular, the equality of all before the law, inviolability of land property and secular marriage. Napoleon managed to normalize the French economy and finances: through constant recruits in the army both in the countryside and in the city, he managed to cope with the surplus of workers, which led to higher incomes. He harshly cracked down on the opposition and limited freedom of speech. The role of propaganda became enormous, glorifying the invincibility of French weapons and the greatness of France.

Symbols

Eagle. In 1804, Napoleon introduced a new imperial coat of arms, which depicted an eagle - a symbol of the Roman Empire, which was present on the coats of arms of other great powers.

Bee. This symbol, dating back to the Merovingians, became the personal emblem of Napoleon and replaced the lily flower in heraldic ornaments.

Napoleondor. Under Napoleon, a coin called Napoleon d'or (literally "golden Napoleon") received circulation: it showed the profile of Bonaparte.

Legion of Honor. Order, established by Bonaparte on May 19, 1802, following the example of the knightly orders. Belonging to the order testified to the official recognition of special services to France.

The Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy

Freedom leading the people. Painting by Eugene Delacroix. 1830 year

Musée du Louvre

Chronology

Napoleon's invasion of Russia

The capture of Moscow

Battle of Leipzig ("Battle of the Nations")

Abdication of Napoleon from the throne, proclamation of Louis XVIII as king

Proclamation of the Charter of 1814

Napoleon's escape from Elba

Taking Paris

Battle of Waterloo

Abdication of Napoleon

Accession to the throne of Charles X

Signing of the July ordinances

Mass riots

Abdication of Charles X from the throne

The Duke of Orleans' oath of allegiance to the new Charter. From that day on, he became King of the French Louis Philippe I

As a result of the Napoleonic wars, the French Empire became the most powerful European power with a stable state system and well-organized finances. In 1806, Napoleon forbade all European countries under his control to trade with England - as a result of the Industrial Revolution, England drove French goods out of the markets. The so-called continental blockade damaged the English economy, but by 1811 the resulting economic crisis had affected all of Europe, including France. The failures of the French forces in the Iberian Peninsula began to destroy the image of the invincible French army. Finally, in October 1812, the French had to begin their retreat from Moscow, which had been occupied in September.

Bourbon restoration
On October 16-19, 1813, the Battle of Leipzig took place, in which the Napoleonic army was defeated. In April 1814, Napoleon abdicated and went into exile on the island of Elba, and Louis XVIII, brother of the executed Louis XVI, ascended the throne.

Power returned to the Bourbon dynasty, but Louis XVIII was forced to grant the people a constitution - the so-called Charter of 1814, according to which each new law had to be approved by two houses of parliament. In France, a constitutional monarchy was re-established, but not all citizens and not even all adult men had the right to vote, but only those who had a certain level of wealth.

One Hundred Days of Napoleon

Taking advantage of the fact that Louis XVIII did not have popular support, Napoleon fled from Elba on February 26, 1815 and landed in France on March 1. A significant part of the army joined him, and in less than a month Napoleon occupied Paris without a fight. Attempts to negotiate peace with European countries failed, and he had to re-enter the war. On June 18, the French army was defeated by the Anglo-Prussian troops at the Battle of Waterloo, on June 22 Napoleon abdicated the throne again, and on July 15 surrendered to the British and went into exile on the island of St. Helena. Power returned to Louis XVIII.

July revolution

In 1824, Louis XVIII died and his brother Charles X ascended the throne. The new monarch took a more conservative course. In the summer of 1829, while the chambers of deputies were not working, Karl appointed the extremely unpopular prince Jules Auguste Armand Marie Polignac as foreign minister. On July 25, 1830, the king signed ordinances (decrees that had the force of state laws) - on the temporary abolition of freedom of the press, the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, an increase in the electoral qualification (now only landowners could vote) and the appointment of new elections to the lower house. Many newspapers were closed.

Charles X's Ordinances sparked widespread outrage. On July 27, riots broke out in Paris, and on July 29 the revolution was over, the main city centers were occupied by the rebels. On August 2, Charles X abdicated the throne and left for England.

The new king of France was the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe, a member of the younger branch of the Bourbons, with a relatively liberal reputation. During his coronation, he swore an oath on the Charter of 1830, drawn up by the deputies, and became not "king by the grace of God", like his predecessors, but "king of the French." The new constitution lowered not only property, but also the age limit for voters, deprived the king of legislative power, banned censorship and returned the tricolor flag.

Symbols

Lilies. After the overthrow of Napoleon, the coat of arms with the eagle was replaced by the coat of arms with three lilies, symbolizing royal power already in the Middle Ages.

"Freedom leading the people." The famous painting by Eugene Delacroix, in the center of which depicts Marianne (symbolizing the French Republic since 1792) with the French tricolor in hand as the personification of the struggle for freedom, was inspired by the July Revolution of 1830.

Revolution of 1848 and the establishment of the Second Republic

Lamartine in front of the Paris City Hall rejects the red flag on February 25, 1848. Painting by Henri Felix Emmanuel Filippoto

Musée du Petit-Palais, Paris

Chronology

The beginning of the riots

Resignation of the Guizot government

Approval of the new constitution, which consolidated the republican form of government

General Presidential Election, victory of Louis Bonaparte

By the end of the 1840s, the policies of Louis Philippe and his Prime Minister François Guizot, supporters of gradual and cautious development and opponents of universal suffrage, ceased to suit many: some demanded an expansion of suffrage, others - the return of the republic and the introduction of suffrage for all. There was a poor harvest in 1846 and 1847. Hunger began. Since rallies were banned, political banquets gained popularity in 1847, at which the monarchical power was actively criticized and toasts to the republic were proclaimed. Political banquets were also banned in February.

Revolution of 1848
The ban on political banquets sparked riots. Prime Minister François Guizot resigned on 23 February. A huge crowd awaited his exit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One of the soldiers guarding the ministry fired a shot - most likely by mistake, and this gave rise to a bloody clash. After that, the Parisians built barricades and moved towards the royal palace. The king abdicated the throne and fled to England. France proclaimed a republic and introduced universal suffrage for men over the age of 21. Parliament (which returned the name "National Assembly") became unicameral again.

On December 10-11, 1848, the first general presidential election was held, which was unexpectedly won by Napoleon's nephew, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who received about 75% of the votes. In the elections to the Legislative Assembly, Republicans won only 70 seats.

Symbols

 Barricades. Barricades were erected on the streets of Paris with every revolution, but it was during the revolution of 1848 that almost all of Paris was barricaded. The Parisian omnibuses launched in the late 1820s were also used as material for the barricades.

The coup of 1851 and the Second Empire

Portrait of Emperor Napoleon III. Fragment of a painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. 1855 year

Chronology

Dissolution of the National Assembly

The promulgation of a new constitution. The changes made to its text on December 25 of the same year created the Second Empire

The proclamation of Napoleon III as Emperor of the French

The Republicans no longer enjoyed the confidence of the president, parliament, or the people. In 1852, Louis Napoleon's term as president was drawing to a close. According to the constitution of 1848, he could be elected again only after the expiration of the next four-year term. In 1850 and 1851, supporters of Louis Napoleon several times demanded a revision of this article of the constitution, but the Legislative Assembly was opposed.

Coup of 1851
On December 2, 1851, President Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, relying on the support of the army, dissolved the National Assembly and arrested its opposition-minded members. The riots that broke out in Paris and in the provinces were brutally suppressed.

Under the leadership of Louis Napoleon, a new constitution was drafted, extending the presidency for ten years. In addition, the bicameral parliament was returned, and the deputies of its upper house were appointed by the president for life.

Rebuilding an empire
On November 7, 1852, the Senate appointed by Louis Napoleon proposed the restoration of the empire. As a result of a referendum, this decision was approved, and on December 2, 1852, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor Napoleon III.

Until the 1860s, parliament's powers were reduced and freedom of the press was limited, but the course changed from the 1860s. In order to strengthen his authority, Napoleon began new wars. He planned to reverse the decisions of the Vienna Congress and rebuild all of Europe, giving each nation its own state.

Proclamation of the Republic
On September 4, France was again proclaimed a republic. A provisional government was elected, headed by Adolphe Thiers.

On September 19, the Germans began a siege of Paris. There was famine in the city, the situation escalated. In February 1871, elections to the National Assembly were held, in which the monarchists won the majority. Adolphe Thiers became the head of the government. On February 26, the government was forced to sign a preliminary peace treaty, which was followed by a German parade on the Champs Elysees, which many townspeople perceived as treason.

In March, the government, without any means, refused to pay the salaries of the National Guard and tried to disarm it.

Paris commune

On March 18, 1871, an uprising broke out in Paris, as a result of which a group of left-wing radical politicians came to power. On March 26, they held elections for the Paris Commune, the council of the city of Paris. The government led by Thiers fled to Versailles. But the power of the commune did not last long: on May 21, government troops launched an offensive. By May 28, the uprising was brutally suppressed - the week of fighting between the troops and the Communards was called "Bloody Week".

After the fall of the commune, the position of the monarchists strengthened again, but since they all supported different dynasties, in the end the republic was preserved. In 1875, Constitutional Laws were passed, establishing the office of president and parliament, elected on the basis of universal male suffrage. The third republic lasted until 1940.

Since then, the form of government in France has remained republican, with executive power transferred from one president to another as a result of elections.

Symbols

Red flag. The traditional republican flag was the French tricolor, but members of the commune, among whom there were many socialists, preferred the one-color red. The attributes of the Paris Commune - one of the key events for the formation of the communist ideology - were taken over, among other things, by Russian revolutionaries.

Vendome Column. One of the important symbolic gestures of the Paris Commune was the demolition of the Vendome Column, erected in honor of Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz. In 1875, the column was re-installed.

Sacre Coeur. The neo-Byzantine basilica was founded in 1875 in memory of the victims of the Franco-Prussian War and became one of the important symbols of the Third Republic.

The editors would like to thank Dmitry Bovykin for his help in working on the material.

At first, they simply wandered peacefully through these lands with their herds of domestic animals. In 1200-900 BC. celts began to settle mainly in the east of modern France.

At the end of the 8th century BC, after they mastered the processing of iron, the stratification began in the Celtic tribes. The luxury items found during the excavations show how wealthy the Celtic aristocracy was. These items were made in different parts of the Mediterranean, including Egypt. Trade was already well developed in that era.

To strengthen their trade influence, the Phocian Greeks founded the city of Massalia (modern Marseille).

In the 6th century BC, during the period of the La Tène culture in the history of France, the Celts began to rapidly conquer and develop new lands. They now had a plow with an iron opener, which made it possible to cultivate the hard soil of central and northern parts of modern France.

At the beginning of the 3rd century BC. The Celts were greatly supplanted by the Belgian tribes, but at the same time, in the history of France, the Celtic civilization is experiencing its highest flowering. Money appears, fortress cities appear, between which there is an active circulation of money. In the III century BC. NS. the Celtic tribe of the Parisians settled on the island of the Seine River. It is from this name of the tribe that the name of the capital of France, Paris, originated. A tour to Paris will allow you to visit this Ile de la Cité - the place where the first inhabitants of Paris - the Celts of Paris - settled.

In the II century BC. in Europe, the Celtic tribe of the Averns dominated. At the same time, the Romans increased their influence in the south of France. It is to Rome that the inhabitants of Massalia (Marseille) are increasingly turning to for protection. The next step on the part of the Romans was the conquest of the lands of present-day France. At this turn of its history, France was called Gaul.

The Romans called Gauls Celts. Between Gauls and the Romans constantly flared up military conflicts. Proverb " Geese saved Rome"Appeared after the Gauls attack on this city in the IV century BC.

According to legend, the Gauls, approaching Rome, scattered the Roman army. Some of the Romans fortified themselves on the Capitol Hill. At night, the Gauls began an assault in complete silence. And no one would have noticed them if it had not been for the geese, which made a loud noise.

The Romans for a long time with difficulty resisted the attacks of the Gauls, spreading their influence further and further into their territory.

In the 1st century BC. governor in Gaul was sent Julius Caesar... The main headquarters of Julius Caesar was located on the Ile de la Cité, in the place where Paris later grew up. The Romans named their settlement Lutetia... A trip to Paris necessarily involves a visit to this island, from which the history of Paris begins.

Julius Caesar began actions to finally pacify the Gauls. The struggle continued for eight years. Caesar tried to win over the people of Gaul to his side. A third of its inhabitants received the right to be Roman allies or simply free citizens. The duties under Caesar were also rather mild.

It was in Gaul that Julius Caesar gained popularity among the legionnaires, which allowed him to enter the struggle for dominion over Rome. With the words "The die is cast," he crosses the Rubicon, taking the troops to Rome. For a long time, Gaul was under the rule of the Romans.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Gaul was ruled by a Roman governor who declared himself an independent ruler.

In the 5th century, they settled on the left bank of the Rhine francs... Initially, the Franks were not a single people, they were divided into Salic and Ripoir francs. These two large branches, in turn, were subdivided into smaller “kingdoms” ruled by their “kings, who in their essence are only military leaders.

The first royal dynasty in the Frankish state is considered Merovingians (late V century - 751)... The dynasty received this name after the semi-legendary founder of the family - Meroveya.

The most famous representative of the first dynasty in French history was Clovis (c. 481 - 511)... Having inherited in 481 rather small possessions of his father, he began active military operations against Gaul. In 486, at the Battle of Soissons, Clovis defeated the troops of the last Roman governor of central Gaul and significantly expanded his possessions. Thus, the rich region of Roman Gaul with Paris fell into the hands of the Franks.

Clovis did Paris the capital of his greatly grown state. He settled on the Isle of Cité, in the palace of the Roman governor. Although tours to Paris include a visit to this place in the program, practically nothing from the time of Clovis has survived to this day. Later, Clovis annexed the south of the country to these territories. The Franks also conquered many Germanic tribes east of the Rhine.

The most important event in the reign of Clovis was his baptism... Under Chlodwig, in his domain, the Franks adopted the Christian religion. This was an important stage in the history of France. Arising under Clovis Frankish state existed for about four centuries and became the immediate predecessor of the future France. In the V-VI centuries. all Gaul became part of the extensive Frankish monarchy.

The second dynasty in French history was Carolingians... They ruled the Frankish state with 751 of the year. The first king of this dynasty was Pepin Short... He bequeathed a huge state to his sons - Karl and Carloman. After the death of the latter, the entire Frankish state was in the hands of King Charles. His main goal was to create a solid Christian state, which, in addition to the Franks, would also include pagans.

Was a prominent figure in French history... Almost every year he organized military campaigns. The scope of the conquests was so great that the territory of the Frankish state doubled.

At this time, the Roman region was under the rule of Constantinople, and the popes were the governors of the Byzantine emperor. They turned to the ruler of the Franks for help, and Charles supported them. He defeated the king of the Lombards who threatened the Roman region. Having accepted the title of Lombard king, Charles began to introduce the Frankish system in Italy and united Gaul and Italy into one state. IN 800 was crowned in Rome by Pope Leo III with the imperial crown.

Charlemagne saw the support of royal power in the Catholic Church - he awarded its representatives with the highest positions, various privileges, encouraged the forced Christianization of the population of the conquered lands.

Karl's extensive activity in the field of education was devoted to the task of Christian education. He issued a decree establishing schools in monasteries and tried to introduce compulsory education for the children of free people. He invited the most enlightened people of Europe to the highest state and church positions. Interest in theology and Latin literature, which flourished at the court of Charlemagne, gives historians the right to name his era Carolingian revival.

The restoration and construction of roads and bridges, the settlement of abandoned lands and the development of new ones, the erection of palaces and churches, the introduction of rational methods of agriculture - all these are the merits of Charlemagne. It was after his name that the dynasty was named the Carolingians. The capital of the Carolingians was a city Aachen... Although the Carolingians moved the capital of their state from Paris, a monument to Charlemagne can now be seen on the Ile de la Cité in Paris. It is located in the square in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in the square named after him. Rest in Paris will allow you to see a monument to this man who left a bright mark in the history of France.

Died Charlemagne in Aachen 28 January 814 of the year. His body was transferred to the Aachen Cathedral built by him, and placed in a gilded copper sarcophagus.

The empire created by Charlemagne collapsed within the next century. By Treaty of Verdun 843 it was divided into three states, two of which - West Frankish and East Frankish - became the predecessors of today's France and Germany. But the union of the state and the church that he carried out largely predetermined the character of European society for centuries to come. Charlemagne's educational and ecclesiastical reforms remained important for a long time.

The image of Charles after his death became legendary. Numerous legends and legends about him have resulted in a cycle of novels about Charlemagne. According to the Latin form of the name of Charles - Carolus - the rulers of individual states began to be called "kings".

Under the successors of Charlemagne, a tendency towards the disintegration of the state immediately manifested itself. Son and successor Charles Louis I the Pious (814-840) did not possess the qualities of a father and could not cope with the heavy burden of running an empire.

After the death of Louis, his three sons began a power struggle. The eldest son - Lothar- was recognized by the emperor and received Italy. Second brother - Louis the German- ruled the East Franks, and the third, Karl the Bald, - Western Francs. The younger brothers contested the imperial crown from Lothair, in the end the three brothers signed the Treaty of Verdun in 843.

Lothair retained his imperial title and received lands stretching from Rome through Alsace and Lorraine to the mouth of the Rhine. Louis took possession of the East Frankish kingdom, and Charles took possession of the West Frankish kingdom. Since then, these three territories have developed independently, becoming the predecessors of France, Germany and Italy. A new stage began in the history of France: it was never again united with Germany in the Middle Ages. Both of these countries were ruled by different royal dynasties and turned into political and military opponents.

The most serious danger in the late 8th - early 10th centuries. were raids Vikings from Scandinavia. Sailing in their long, maneuverable ships along the northern and western coasts of France, the Vikings plundered the inhabitants of the coast, and then began to seize and populate lands in the north of France. In 885-886. the Viking army laid siege to Paris, and only thanks to the heroic defenders, who were led Count Odo and Bishop Goslin of Paris, the Vikings managed to be thrown away from the city walls. Charles the Bald, king of the Carolingian dynasty, could not help and lost his throne. New king in 887 became a count Odo Parisian.

The Viking leader Rollon managed to gain a foothold between the Somme and Brittany, and the king Karl Simple from the Carolingian dynasty was forced to recognize his rights to these lands, subject to the recognition of the supreme royal power. The area became known as the Duchy of Normandy, and the Vikings who settled here quickly adopted the Frankish culture and language.

The troubled period between 887 and 987 in the political history of France was marked by the struggle between the Carolingian dynasty and the family of Count Odo. In 987, the great feudal magnates gave preference to the Odo family and elected king Hugo capeta, Count of Paris. By his nickname, the dynasty began to be called Capetian... It was third royal dynasty in French history.

By this time, France was highly fragmented. The counties of Flanders, Toulouse, Champagne, Anjou, and smaller counties were strong enough. Tours, Blois, Chartres and Meaux. The duchies of Aquitaine, Burgundy, Normandy and Brittany were actually independent lands. The only thing that distinguished the Capetians from the rest of the rulers was that they were legally elected kings of France. They ruled only their ancestral lands in the Ile-de-France, stretching from Paris to Orleans. But even here in the Ile-de-France, they could not control their vassals.

Only during the period of 30 years of reign Louis VI Tolstoy (1108-1137) managed to curb rebellious vassals and consolidate royal power.

After that, Louis took up management affairs. He appointed only loyal and capable officials, who were called provosts. The Prevost carried out the royal will and were always under the supervision of the king, who constantly traveled around the country.

A critical stage in the history of France and the Capetian dynasty falls on the years 1137-1214. Also in 1066 Duke of Normandy Wilgelm the conqueror defeated the army of the king of the Anglo-Saxons Harold and annexed his rich kingdom to his duchy. He became king of England and at the same time had possessions on the mainland in France. During the reign Louis VII (1137-1180) English kings captured almost half of France. King Henry of England created a vast feudal state that almost surrounded the Ile-de-France.

If Louis VII were succeeded on the throne by another equally indecisive king, France could have suffered catastrophe.

But his son became the heir of Louis Philip II August (1180-1223), one of the greatest kings in the history of medieval France. He began a decisive struggle against Henry II, inciting rebellion against the English king and encouraging his internecine struggle with the sons who ruled the lands on the mainland. Thus, Philip was able to prevent encroachments on his power. Gradually, he deprived the successors of Henry II of all possessions in France, with the exception of Gascony.

So Philip II Augustus established the hegemony of France in Western Europe for the next century. In Paris, this king is building the Louvre. Then it was just a castle-fortress. For almost all of us, a tour to Paris includes a visit to the Louvre.

Philip's most progressive innovation was the appointment of officials to govern the newly formed judicial districts in the annexed territories. These new officials, receiving salaries from the royal treasury, faithfully carried out the orders of the king and helped to unite the newly conquered territories. Philip himself stimulated the development of cities in France, giving them broad rights of self-government.

Philip cared a lot about the beautification and safety of cities. He fortified the city walls by surrounding them with moats. The king paved roads, paved streets with cobblestones, often at his own expense. Philippe contributed to the founding and development of the University of Paris, attracting renowned professors with awards and privileges. At the same time, the king continued the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral, a visit to which includes almost every tour to Paris. Rest in Paris usually involves a visit to the Louvre, the construction of which began under Philip Augustus.

During the reign of Philip's son Louis VIII (1223-1226) the county of Toulouse was annexed to the kingdom. France now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea... He was succeeded by a son Louis IX (1226-1270) who was later named Saint Louis... He was able to resolve territorial disputes through negotiations and treaties, while displaying a sense of ethics and tolerance unprecedented in the medieval era. As a result, during the long reign of Louis IX, France almost always lived in peace.

To the board Philip III (1270-1285) an attempt to expand the kingdom ended in failure. A significant achievement of Philippe in the history of France was the agreement on the marriage of his son to the heiress of the County of Champagne, which guaranteed the annexation of these lands to the royal possessions.

Philip IV the Handsome.

Philip IV the Handsome (1285-1314) played a significant role in the history of France, in the transformation of France into a modern state. Philip laid the foundations for an absolute monarchy.

To weaken the power of large feudal lords, he used the norms of Roman law as opposed to church and customary law, which in one way or another limited the sovereignty of the crown to biblical commandments or tradition. It was under Philip that the highest authorities - Paris Parliament, Supreme Court and the Accounts Chamber (Treasury)- from more or less regular meetings of the highest nobility, they turned into permanent institutions, in which mainly legists served - connoisseurs of Roman law, descendants from the midst of small knights or wealthy townspeople.

Standing guard over the interests of his country, Philip IV the Handsome expanded the territory of the kingdom.

Philip the Fair led a decisive policy to limit the power of the popes over France. The popes sought to free the church from state power and give it a special supranational and supranational status, and Philip IV demanded that all subjects of the kingdom be subject to a single royal court.

The popes also sought the opportunity for the church to not pay taxes to secular authorities. Philip IV believed that all estates, including the clergy, should help their country.

In the fight against such a powerful force as the papacy, Philip decided to rely on the nation and convened in April 1302 the first States General in the history of France - a legislative assembly of representatives of the three estates of the country: the clergy, nobility and the third estate, who supported the king's position in relation to the papacy ... A fierce struggle began between Philip and Pope Boniface VIII. And in this struggle, Philip IV the Handsome won.

In 1305, the Frenchman Bertrand de Gault was elevated to the papal throne, who took the name Clement V. This Pope was obedient to Philip in everything. In 1308, at the request of Philip, Clement V transferred the papal throne from Rome to Avignon. This is how it began " The Avignon Captivity of the Popes”When the Roman high priests became French court bishops. Now Philip felt strong enough to destroy the ancient knightly order of the Templars - a very strong and influential religious organization. Philip decided to appropriate the wealth of the order and thus eliminate the debts of the monarchy. He put forward charges against the Templars of heresy, unnatural vices, money-grubbing and alliance with Muslims. In the course of rigged trials, brutal torture and persecution, which lasted for seven years, the Templars were completely ruined, and their property went to the crown.

Philip IV the Handsome did a lot for France. But his subjects did not like him. The violence against the Pope aroused the indignation of all Christians, the large feudal lords could not forgive him for the restriction of their rights, in particular, the right to mint their own coins, as well as the preferences given by the king to rootless officials. The taxation class was outraged by the financial policy of the king. Even people close to the king were afraid of the cold, rational cruelty of this man, this unusually beautiful and surprisingly dispassionate person. With all this, his marriage to Jeanne of Navarre was happy. His wife brought him the kingdom of Navarre and the County of Champagne as a dowry. They had four children, all three sons one after another were kings of France: Louis X the Grumpy (1314-1316), Philip V Long (1316-1322), Charles IV (1322-1328)... Daughter Isabel was married to Edward II, King of England from 1307 to 1327.

Philip IV the Handsome left behind a centralized state. After Philip's death, the nobles demanded the return of traditional feudal rights. Although the actions of the feudal lords were suppressed, they contributed to the weakening of the Capetian dynasty. All three sons of Philip the Handsome did not have direct heirs, after the death of Charles IV, the crown passed to his closest male relative, a cousin Philippe Valois- to the founder dynasty of Valois – fourth royal dynasty in French history.

Philip VI of Valois (1328-1350) got the most powerful state in Europe. Almost all of France recognized him as a ruler, the popes obeyed him in Avignon.

Only a few years have passed and the situation has changed.

England sought to reclaim the vast territories in France that had previously belonged to her. King of england Edward III (1327-1377) laid claim to the French throne as the maternal grandson of Philip IV the Fair. But the French feudal lords did not want to see an Englishman as their ruler, even if the native grandson of Philip the Fair. Then Edward III changed his coat of arms, on which tender French lilies appeared next to a bared English leopard. This meant that Edward was now subordinate not only to England, but also to France, for which he would now fight.

Edward invaded France with an army that was small in number, but included a mass of skilled archers. In 1337, the British launched a victorious offensive in northern France. This was the beginning Hundred Years War (1337-1453)... In the battle of Crecy in 1346 Edward utterly defeated the French.

This victory allowed the British to take an important strategic point - fortress-port of Calais, breaking the eleven-month heroic resistance of his defenders.

In the early 50s, the British launched an offensive from the sea to the southwest of France. They captured Guillain and Gascony without much difficulty. In these areas Edward III appointed his son Prince Edward, named for the color of his armor, as governor Black Prince... The British army, led by the Black Prince, inflicted a brutal defeat on the French in 1356 at the battle of Poitiers... New French king John the Good (1350-1364) was taken prisoner and released for a huge ransom.

France was devastated by troops and bands of mercenary bandits, and in 1348-1350 an epidemic of plague began. The discontent of the people resulted in uprisings, which for several years shook the already devastated country. The largest uprising was Jacquerie in 1358... She was brutally suppressed, as well as the uprising of the Parisians, led by the merchant foreman Etienne Marcel.

John the Good was succeeded on the throne by his son Charles V (1364-1380), which changed the course of the war and won back almost all of the lost possessions, except for a small area around Calais.

For 35 years after the death of Charles V, both sides - both French and English - were too weak to conduct major military operations. The next king Charles VI (1380-1422), was insane for most of his life. Taking advantage of the weakness of royalty, the English king Henry V in 1415 inflicted a crushing defeat on the French army in battle of Agincourt and then began to conquer Northern France. Duke of Burgundy, becoming a virtually independent ruler on his lands, entered into an alliance with the British. With the help of the Burgundians, the English king Henry V achieved great success and in 1420 forced France to sign a difficult and shameful peace in the city of Troyes. Under this treaty, the country lost its independence and became part of the united Anglo-French kingdom. But not at once. Under the terms of the treaty, Henry V was supposed to marry the daughter of the French king Catherine and, after the death of Charles VI, become king of France. However, in 1422, death overtook both Henry V and Charles VI, and the one-year-old son of Henry V and Catherine, Henry VI, was proclaimed king of France.

In 1422, the British held most of France north of the Loire River. They launched attacks on the fortified cities that defended the southern lands that still belonged to the son of Charles VI, the Dauphin Charles.

IN 1428 British troops besieged Orleans... It was a strategically very important fortress. The capture of Orleans opened the way to the south of France. To the aid of the besieged Orleans, an army headed by Jeanne d'Arc... Word spread about the girl being guided by God.

Orleans, besieged by the British for six months, was in a difficult situation. The blockade ring was tightening. The townspeople were eager to fight, but the local military garrison showed complete indifference.

In the spring 1429 army led Jeanne d'Arc, managed to drive out the British, and the siege of the city was lifted. Strikingly, after 200 days of siege, Olean was released 9 days after the arrival of Jeanne d'Arc, nicknamed Maid of Orleans.

Peasants, artisans, impoverished knights flocked from all over the country under the banner of the Maid of Orleans. Having liberated the fortresses on the Loire, Jeanne insisted that the Dauphin Charles go to Reims, where the French kings had been crowned from time immemorial. After the solemn coronation Charles VII became the only legitimate ruler of France. During the celebrations, the king wanted to reward Jeanne for the first time. For herself, she did not want anything, only asked Karl to exempt the peasants of her native from taxes the village of Domréme in Lorraine... None of the subsequent rulers of France dared to take this privilege from the inhabitants of Domrémie.

IN 1430 Jeanne d'Arc was taken prisoner. In May 1431, nineteen-year-old Jeanne was burned at the stake in the central square of Rouen. The site of the burning is still marked with a white cross on the stones of the square.

In the next 20 years, the French army liberated almost the entire country from the British, and in 1453 after the capture of Bordeaux, only the port of Calais remained under the rule of England. Ended up Hundred Years War and France regained former greatness... In the second half of the 15th century, France once again became the most powerful state in its history. Western Europe.

This went to France Louis XI (1461-1483)... This king despised the ideals of chivalry, even feudal traditions irritated him. He continued to fight the powerful feudal lords. In this struggle, he relied on the forces of cities and the help of their most prosperous inhabitants, who were attracted to public service. Through years of intrigue and diplomacy, he undermined the power of the Dukes of Burgundy, his most serious rivals in the struggle for political dominance. Louis XI managed to annex Burgundy, Franche-Comte and Artois.

Simultaneously, Louis XI began the transformation of the French army. Cities were freed from military service, vassals were allowed to pay off military service. The bulk of the infantry were Swiss. The number of troops exceeded 50 thousand. In the early 80s of the 15th century, Provence (with an important trade center on the Mediterranean - Marseille) and Maine were annexed to France. Of the large lands, only Brittany remained unconquered.

Louis XI took a significant step towards absolute monarchy. Under him, the States General met only once and lost their real significance. The prerequisites were created for the rise of the economy and culture of France, the foundations for a relatively peaceful development in the following decades were laid.

In 1483, a 13-year-old prince ascends the throne Charles VIII (1483-1498).

From his father Louis XI, Charles VIII inherited a country in which order was restored, and the royal treasury was significantly replenished.

At this time, the male line of the sovereign house of Brittany ceased, having married the Duchess Anne of Breton, Charles VIII incorporated the previously independent Brittany into France.

Charles VIII organized a triumphal campaign in Italy and reached Naples, declaring it his possession. He could not hold Naples, but this expedition made it possible to get acquainted with the wealth and culture of Renaissance Italy.

Louis XII (1498-1515) also led the French nobles on an Italian campaign, this time claiming Milan and Naples. It was Louis XII who introduced the royal loan, which played a fatal role in the history of France 300 years later. And before the French kings borrowed money. But the royal loan meant the introduction of a regular banking procedure, under which tax proceeds from Paris became the guarantee of the loan. The royal loan system provided investment opportunities for wealthy French citizens and even bankers in Geneva and Northern Italy. It was now possible to have money without resorting to excessive taxation and without resorting to the States-General.

Louis XII was succeeded by his cousin and son-in-law, Count of Angoulême, who became king Francis I (1515-1547).

Francis was the embodiment of a new Renaissance spirit in French history. He was one of the main political figures in Europe for over a quarter of a century. During his reign, the country enjoyed peace and prosperity.

His reign began with a lightning invasion of Northern Italy, crowned with a victorious battle at Marignano, in 1516 Francis I concluded a special treaty with the pope (the so-called Bologna Concordat), according to which the king began to partially dispose of the property of the French church. In 1519, Francis's attempt to proclaim himself emperor ended in failure. And in 1525, he undertakes a second campaign in Italy, which ended in the defeat of the French army at the Battle of Pavia. Francis himself was then taken prisoner. After paying a huge ransom, he returned to France and continued to rule the country, abandoning grandiose foreign policy plans.

Civil wars in France. Henry II (1547-1559) who succeeded his father on the throne must have seemed like a strange anachronism in Renaissance France. He recaptured Calais from the British and established control over such dioceses as Metz, Tul and Verdun, which had previously belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. This king had a long-term love affair with the beauty of the court Diane de Poitiers. In 1559 he died fighting in a tournament with one of the nobles.

Henry's wife, Catherine de Medici, who came from a family of famous Italian bankers, after the death of the king for a quarter of a century, played a decisive role in French politics. At the same time, her three sons, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III, officially ruled.

The first one, painful Francis II, as a child, was engaged to Mary Stuart (Scottish)... A year after accession to the throne, Francis died, and the throne was taken by his ten-year-old brother Charles IX. This boy-king was completely under the influence of his mother.

At this time, the power of the French monarchy suddenly reeled. Even Francis I began a policy of persecution of non-Protestants. But Calvinism continued to spread widely across France. French Calvinists were called Huguenots... The policy of persecution of the Huguenots, which had intensified under Charles, has ceased to justify itself. The Huguenots were predominantly townspeople and nobles, often wealthy and powerful.

The country has split into two opposing camps.

All the contradictions and conflicts in the country - and disobedience to the king of the local feudal nobility, and the dissatisfaction of the townspeople with the heavy extortion of royal officials, and the protests of the peasants against taxes and church land tenure, and the desire for independence of the bourgeoisie - all this took the usual religious slogans of that time, led to the beginning Huguenot Wars... At the same time, the struggle for power and influence in the country intensified between two side branches of the old Capetian dynasty - Gizami(Catholics) and Bourbon(Huguenots).

The Guise family, ardent defenders of the Catholic faith, were opposed by moderate Catholics like Montmorency and Huguenots like Condé and Coligny. The struggle was interspersed with periods of truces and agreements, according to which the Huguenots were given a limited right to be in certain areas and create their own fortifications.

The condition of the third agreement between Catholics and Huguenots was the marriage of the king's sister Margaritas with Heinrich Bourbon, the young king of Navarre and the main leader of the Huguenots. Many Huguenot nobles attended the wedding of Heinrich Bourbon and Marguerite in August 1572. On the night of the feast of St. Bartholomew (August 24) Charles IX organized a terrible massacre of his opponents. Catholics initiated into the cause marked in advance the houses where their future victims were. It is characteristic that among the murderers there were mostly foreign mercenaries. After the first alarm, a terrible massacre began. Many were killed right in their beds. The murders spread to other cities. Henry of Navarre managed to escape, but thousands of his companions were killed

Charles IX died two years later, and was succeeded by a childless brother Henry III... There were other contenders for the royal throne. The greatest chances were with Henry of Navarre, but being the leader of the Huguenots, he did not suit most of the country's population. Catholics sought to enthrone their leader Heinrich of Giese... Fearing for his power, Henry III treacherously killed both Giza and his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine. This act caused general outrage. Henry III went over to the camp of his other rival, Henry of Navarre, but was soon killed by a fanatical Catholic monk.

Although Henry of Navarre was now the only contender for the throne, in order to become king, he had to convert to Catholicism. Only then did he return to Paris and was crowned at Chartres in 1594 year. He became the first king the Bourbon dynasty - the fifth royal dynasty in French history.

Great merit of Henry IV was the adoption of 1598 year Edict of Nantes- the law on religious tolerance. Catholicism remained the dominant religion, but the Huguenots were officially recognized as a minority with the right to work and self-defense in some areas and cities. This edict stopped the devastation of the country and the flight of the French Huguenots to England and the Netherlands. The Edict of Nantes was drawn up very cunningly: with a change in the balance of power between Catholics and Huguenots, it could be revised (which Richelieu later used).

During the reign Henry IV (1594-1610) order was restored in the country and prosperity was achieved. The king supports high-ranking officials, judges, lawyers, financiers. He allows these people to buy positions for themselves and pass them on to their sons. A powerful apparatus of power is in the hands of the king, allowing him to rule without regard to the whims and whims of the nobles. Henry attracts large traders to himself, he strongly supports the development of large-scale production and trade, founds French colonies in overseas lands. Henry IV was the first of the French kings to begin to be guided in his policy by the national interests of France, and not only by the class interests of the French nobility.

In 1610, the country plunged into deep mourning when it learned that its king had been killed by the Jesuit monk François Ravallac. His death threw France back into a state close to the anarchy of the regency, since the young Louis XIII (1610-1643) was only nine years old.

The central political figure in the history of France at this time was his mother the Queen Maria de Medici, which then enlisted the support of the bishop of Luzon, Armand Jean du Plessis (who is better known to us as Cardinal Richelieu). IN 1 624 Richelieu became a mentor and representative of the king and actually ruled France until the end of his life in 1642 ... The name of Richelieu is associated with the beginning of the triumph of absolutism. In the person of Richelieu, the French crown found not only an outstanding statesman, but also one of the prominent theoreticians of absolute monarchy. In its " Political testament"Richelieu named two main goals that he set for himself at the time of coming to power:" My first goal was the greatness of the king, my second goal was the might of the kingdom". The first minister of Louis XIII directed all his activities towards the implementation of this program. Its main milestones were the attack on the political rights of the Huguenots, who, according to Richelieu, shared power and state with the king. Richelieu considered his task to be the liquidation of the Huguenot state, the deprivation of power from rebellious governors and the strengthening of the institution of general governors-intendants.

Military operations against the Huguenots lasted from 1621 to 1629. In 1628, the Huguenot stronghold of the seaport of La Rochelle was besieged. The fall of La Rochelle and the loss of self-government privileges by the cities weakened the resistance of the Huguenots, in 1629 they capitulated. Adopted in 1629 " Edict of mercy"Confirmed the main text of the Edict of Nantes concerning the right to freely practice Calvinism. All articles related to the political rights of the Huguenots were abolished. The Huguenots lost their fortresses and the right to keep their garrisons.

Richelieu began to strengthen the state apparatus of the absolute monarchy. The main event in solving this problem was the final approval of the institute of intendants.

On the ground, governors and provincial states interfered with the king's policy. Acting as representatives of both royal and local authorities, the governors became virtually independent rulers. The quartermasters became the tool for changing this order. They became plenipotentiary representatives of the royal power in the field. At first, the mission of the quartermasters was of a temporary nature, then gradually it becomes permanent. All the threads of the provincial administration are concentrated in the hands of the intendants. Only the army remains outside their competence.

The first minister is speeding up the economic development of the state. From 1629 to 1642, 22 trading companies were formed in France. The beginning of French colonial policy dates back to the reign of Richelieu.

In foreign policy, Richelieu consistently defended the national interests of France. Beginning in 1635, France under his leadership participated in the Thirty Years' War. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 helped France to acquire a leading role in international relations in Western Europe.

But 1648 was not the end of the war for France. Spain refused to sign peace with the French monarch. The Franco-Spanish war lasted until 1659 ended with the victory of France, which received Roussillon and the province of Artois in the Iberian peace. Thus, the long-standing border dispute between France and Spain was resolved.

Richelieu died in 1642, and Louis XIII died a year later.

To the heir to the throne Louis XIV (1643-1715) then only five years old. The Queen Mother assumed custody Anna of Austria... The government was concentrated in her hands and the hands of the Italian protege Richelieu Cardinal Mazarin... Mazarin was an active conductor of the king's policy until his death in 1661. He continued Richelieu's foreign policy until the successful conclusion of the Westphalian (1648) and Pyrenean (1659) peace treaties. He was able to solve the problem of preserving the monarchy, especially during the uprisings of the nobility, known as Fronda (1648-1653)... The name Fronde comes from the French - sling. Tossing from a sling in a figurative sense is to act in defiance of the authorities. In the turbulent events of the Fronde, antifeudal actions of the masses and part of the bourgeoisie, the conflict of the judicial aristocracy with absolutism, and opposition of the feudal nobility were contradictory intertwined. Having coped with these movements, absolutism emerged stronger from the political crisis of the Fronde period.

Louis XIV.

After Mazarin's death, Louis XIV (1643-1715), who had reached 23 by that time, took control of the state into his own hands. Prolonged for 54 years " century of Louis XIV"Is both the apogee of French absolutism and the beginning of its decline. The king plunged headlong into the affairs of state. He skillfully selected active and intelligent companions for himself. Among them are the Minister of Finance Jean Baptiste Colbert, the Minister of War, the Marquis de Louvois, the Minister of Defense fortifications Sebastian de Vauban and such brilliant generals as the Viscount de Turenne and the Prince of Condé.

Louis formed a large and well-trained army, which, thanks to Vauban, had the best fortresses. A clear hierarchy of ranks was introduced in the army, a uniform military uniform, and a quartermaster service. The fuse muskets were replaced by a trigger gun with a bayonet. All this increased the discipline and combat capability of the army. The instrument of foreign policy - the army, along with the police created at that time, was widely used as an instrument of "internal order".

With the help of this army, Louis pursued his strategic line during the four wars. The most difficult was the last war - the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) - a desperate attempt to resist all of Europe. An attempt to win back the Spanish crown for his grandson ended with the invasion of enemy troops into French soil, impoverishment of the people and depletion of the treasury. The country lost all previous conquests. Only a split among the enemy forces and a few of the most recent victories saved France from complete defeat. At the end of his life, Louis was accused of "being too fond of war." The 32 war years of the 54 years of Louis' reign became a heavy burden for France.

In the economic life of the country, a policy of mercantilism was pursued. It was especially actively pursued by Colbert, Minister of Finance in the years 1665-1683. A major organizer and indefatigable administrator, he tried to put into practice the mercantilist doctrine of "active trade balance". Colbert sought to minimize the import of foreign goods and raise the export of French, thus increasing the amount of taxable monetary wealth in the country. Absolutism introduced protectionist duties, subsidized the creation of large manufactories, and provided them with various privileges ("royal manufactories"). The production of luxury goods (for example, tapestries, i.e., carpets-paintings at the famous royal tapestry manufactory), weapons, equipment, uniforms for the army and navy was especially encouraged.

For active overseas and colonial trade, monopoly trading companies were created with the participation of the state - the East Indies, West Indies, Levantine, the construction of the fleet was subsidized.

In North America, the vast territory of the Mississippi basin, called Louisiana, became the possession of France along with Canada. The importance of the French West Indies (San Domingo, Guadeloupe, Martinique) increased, where plantations of sugar cane, tobacco, cotton, indigo, coffee, based on the labor of black slaves, began to be created. France took possession of a number of trading posts in India.

Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which established religious tolerance. Prisons and galleys were filled with Huguenots. Dragonnads fell on Protestant areas (dragoons were stationed in the houses of the Huguenots, under which dragoons were allowed "necessary atrocities"). As a result, tens of thousands of Protestants fled the country, including many skilled artisans and wealthy merchants.

The king chose the place of his residence Versailles, where a grandiose palace and park ensemble was created. Louis strove to make Versailles the cultural center of all of Europe. The monarchy sought to guide the development of the arts and sciences, to use them to maintain the prestige of absolutism. Under him, an opera house, the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Painting, the Academy of Architecture, the Academy of Music, and an observatory were founded. Pensions were paid to scientists and artists.

Under him, absolutism in the history of France reached its climax. " The state is me».

By the end of the reign of Louis XIV, France was devastated by exhausting wars, the goals of which exceeded the capabilities of France, the costs of maintaining a huge army at that time (300-500 thousand people at the beginning of the XVIII century against 30 thousand in the middle of the XVII), heavy taxes. Agricultural production fell, industrial production and trade decreased. The population of France has declined significantly.

All these results of the "century of Louis XIV" testified to the fact that French absolutism had exhausted its historical progressive possibilities. The feudal-absolutist system entered the stage of decay and decline.

Decline of the monarchy.

In 1715, Louis XIV, already decrepit and old, died.

His five-year-old great-grandson became the heir to the French throne Louis XV (1715-1774)... While he was a child, the country was ruled by a self-appointed regent, the ambitious Duke of Orleans.

Louis XV tried to imitate his brilliant predecessor, but in almost all respects the reign of Louis XV was a pitiful parody of the reign of the "sun king."

The army fostered by Louvois and Vauban was led by aristocratic officers who sought their posts for the sake of a court career. This negatively affected the morale of the troops, although Louis XV himself paid great attention to the army. French troops fought in Spain, participated in two large campaigns against Prussia: the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the Seven Years' War (1756-1763).

The royal administration controlled the sphere of trade and did not consider its own interests in this sphere. After the humiliating Paris Peace (1763), France had to give up most of its colonies and abandon its claims to India and Canada. But even then the port cities of Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Nantes and Le Havre continued to prosper and enrich themselves.

Louis XV belongs to the saying: “ After me - even a flood". He was little concerned with the situation in the country. Louis devoted time to hunting and his favorites, allowing the latter to interfere in the affairs of the country.

After the death of Louis XV in 1774, the French crown went to his twenty-year-old Louis XVI. At this time in French history, the need for reform was obvious to many.

Louis XVI appointed Turgot as Comptroller General of Finance. Extraordinary statesman and a prominent economic theorist, Turgot tried to implement a program of bourgeois reform. In 1774-1776. he abolished the regulation of the grain trade, abolished shop corporations, freed the peasants from the state road corvee and replaced it with a monetary land tax, which fell on all classes. Turgot hatched plans for new reforms, including the abolition of feudal duties for the ransom. But under the onslaught of the reactionary forces, Turgot was dismissed, his reforms were canceled. Reform "from above" within the framework of absolutism was impossible to solve the urgent problems of the country's further development.

In 1787-1789. the commercial and industrial crisis unfolded. Its emergence was facilitated by the treaty concluded by French absolutism 4 in 1786 with England, which opened the French market for cheaper English products. The decline and stagnation of production swept the cities and industrialized rural areas. The national debt increased from 1.5 billion livres in 1774 to 4.5 billion in 1788. The monarchy was on the verge of financial bankruptcy. Bankers refused new loans.

The life of the kingdom seemed peaceful and calm. In search of a way out, the government again turned to attempts at reform, in particular to Turgot's plans to impose part of the taxes on the privileged estates. A draft of a non-estate land direct tax was developed. Hoping to gain the support of the privileged estates themselves, the monarchy convened a meeting in 1787 “ notables"- the eminent representatives of the estates elected by the king. However, the notables categorically refused to approve the proposed reforms. They demanded to convene States general, not assembled since 1614. At the same time, they wanted to preserve the traditional word-by-word voting procedure in the states, which made it possible to carry out decisions that were beneficial to them. The privileged leaders hoped to occupy a dominant position in the States-General and to achieve the limitation of royal power in their own interests.

But these calculations did not come true. The slogan of convening the States General was taken up by wide circles of the third estate, led by the bourgeoisie, which came out with its own political program.

The convening of the States General was scheduled for the spring of 1789. The number of deputies of the third estate doubled, but the important question of the voting procedure remained open.

The deputies of the third estate, feeling popular support and being pushed by it, went on the offensive. They rejected the class principle of representation and on June 17 proclaimed themselves The National Assembly, i.e. the plenipotentiary representative of the whole nation. On June 20, gathered in a large ballroom (the usual courtroom was closed by order of the king and was guarded by soldiers), the deputies of the national assembly vowed not to disperse until a constitution was drawn up.

In response to this, on June 23, Louis XVI announced the cancellation of the decisions of the third estate. However, the deputies of the third estate refused to obey the orders of the king. They were joined by some of the deputies of the nobility and clergy. The king was forced to order the rest of the deputies of the privileged estates to join the National Assembly. On July 9, 1789, the Assembly proclaimed itself By the Constituent Assembly.

The court circles and Louis XVI himself decided to suppress the incipient revolution by force. Troops were drawn to Paris.

Alarmed by the introduction of troops, the Parisians understood that the dispersal of the National Assembly was being prepared. On July 13, the alarm was sounded, the city was engulfed in an uprising. By the morning of July 14, the city was in the hands of the rebels. The culmination and final act of the uprising was the assault and taking of the Bastille- a powerful eight-tower fortress with high 30-meter walls. Since the time of Louis XIV, it has served as a political prison and has become a symbol of arbitrariness and despotism.

The capture of the Bastille was the beginning in the history of France French Revolution and her first victory.

The onslaught of peasant uprisings prompted the Constituent Assembly to solve the agrarian problem - the main socio-economic issue of the French Revolution. By decrees of August 4-11, church tithes, the right of senior hunting on peasant lands, etc. were canceled free of charge. The main land-related "real" duties - qualifications, champars, etc. were declared the property of the lords and were subject to redemption. The meeting promised to establish the terms of the ransom later.

On August 26, the Meeting adopted “ Declaration of human and civil rights"- an introduction to the future constitution. The influence of this document on the minds of contemporaries was extremely great. 17 articles of the Declaration in capacious formulas proclaimed the ideas of the Enlightenment as the principles of the revolution. " People are born and remain free and equal in rights"- read her first article. " Natural and inalienable»Security and resistance to oppression were also recognized as human rights. The declaration proclaimed the equality of all before the law and the right to hold any office, freedom of speech and press, religious tolerance.

Immediately after the capture of the Bastille, the emigration of aristocratic counterrevolutionaries began. Louis XVI, announcing his adherence to the revolution, in fact refused to approve the Declaration of Rights, did not approve the decrees of August 4-11. He declared: " Never will I agree to rob my clergy and my nobility».

Military units loyal to the king were gathered in Versailles. Anxiety about the fate of the revolution was growing among the masses of Paris. The continuing economic crisis, food shortages, and high prices increased the discontent of the Parisians. On October 5, about 20 thousand residents of the city moved to Versailles - the seat of the royal family and the National Assembly. Parisians from the working class played an active role - about 6 thousand women, participants in the campaign, were the first to go to Versailles.

The people were followed by the Paris National Guard, capturing their commander, Marshal Lafayette. At Versailles, people broke into the palace, pushed back the royal guards, demanded bread and the king's move to the capital.

On October 6, yielding to popular demand, the royal family moved from Versailles to Paris, where they were under the supervision of the revolutionary capital. The National Assembly also settled in Paris. Louis XVI was forced to unconditionally approve the Declaration of Rights and authorized the decrees on August 4-11, 1789.

Having strengthened its position, the Constituent Assembly energetically continued the bourgeois reconstruction of the country. Following the principle of civil equality, the Assembly abolished class privileges, abolished the institution of hereditary nobility, titles of nobility and coats of arms. By asserting free enterprise, it destroyed government regulations and the guild system. The abolition of internal customs, a trade agreement of 1786 with England contributed to the formation of the national market and its protection from foreign competition.

By a decree of November 2, 1789, the Constituent Assembly confiscated the church estates. Declared as national property, they were put on sale to cover the national debt.

In September 1791, the Constituent Assembly completed the drafting of a constitution, which established a bourgeois constitutional monarchy in France. Legislative power was vested in a unicameral The Legislature, executive - to the hereditary monarch and the ministers appointed by him. The king could temporarily reject the laws approved by the Assembly, having the right of "delaying veto". France was divided into 83 departments in which power was exercised by elected councils and directories, in cities and villages - by elected municipalities. The new unified judicial system was based on the election of judges and the participation of juries.

The electoral system introduced by the Assembly was census and two-tier. “Passive” citizens who did not meet the qualification requirements did not receive political rights. Only "active" citizens - men from 25 years old, paying a direct tax of at least 1.5-3 livres, had the right to vote, were part of the National Guard, created in cities and villages. Their number was just over half of adult men.

At this time, the importance of political clubs was great - in fact, they played the role of political parties that had not yet emerged in France. Created in 1789 had a great influence Jacobin Club, who sat in the hall of the former monastery of St. Jacob. He united supporters of the revolution of different orientations (including Mirabeau, and Robespierre), but in the early years it was dominated by the influence of moderate monarchist constitutionalists.

More democratic was cordelier club... It allowed "passive" citizens, women. Supporters of universal suffrage had a great influence in it. Danton, Desmoulins, Marat, Hebert.

On the night June 21, 1791 Years, the royal family secretly left Paris and moved to the eastern border. Relying on the army stationed here, on the detachments of emigrants and the support of Austria, Louis hoped to disperse the National Assembly and restore his unlimited power. Identified on the way and detained in the town of Varennes, the fugitives were returned to Paris under the protection of the National Guard and many thousands of armed peasants raised by the alarm.

Now the democratic movement took on a republican character: the monarchist illusions of the people were dispelled. The center of the republican movement in Paris was the Cordelier Club. However, moderate monarchist constitutionalists strongly opposed these demands. " It's time to end the revolution now, - said one of their leaders in the Assembly Barnav, - she reached her extreme limit».

On July 17, 1791, the National Guard, using the "martial law" law, opened fire on unarmed demonstrators who, at the call of the cordeliers, gathered on the Champ de Mars to adopt a republican petition. 50 of them were killed, several hundred were injured.

The political demarcation in the former third estate also caused a split in the Jacobin Club. More radical bourgeois leaders remained in the club, who wanted to continue the revolution together with the people. From it came the moderate liberal monarchists, supporters of Lafayette and Barnave, who wanted to end the revolution and consolidate the constitutional monarchy. They founded their own club in the building of the former convent of the Feuillants.

In September 1791, the Assembly approved the final text of the constitution adopted by Louis XVI. Having exhausted its functions, the Constituent Assembly dispersed. It was replaced by the Legislative Assembly elected on the basis of the census system, the first meeting of which took place on October 1, 1791.

The right wing of the assembly was made up of feuillans, the left one consisted mainly of members of the Jacobins' Club. Deputies from the department then prevailed among the Jacobins. The gironde... Hence the name of this political group - girondins.

On the basis of hostility to the revolution, the contradictions between France's neighbors in the east, Austria and Prussia, seemed to be smoothed out. On August 27, 1791, the Austrian emperor Leopold II and the Prussian king Frederick William II signed a declaration at the Saxon castle of Pillnitz, in which they declared their readiness to provide military assistance to Louis XVI and called on other monarchs of Europe to do so. On February 7, 1792, Austria and Prussia entered into a military alliance against France. The threat of foreign intervention looms over France.

In France itself, since the end of 1791, the question of war has become one of the main ones. Louis XVI and his court wanted wars - they counted on intervention and the fall of the revolution as a result of the military defeat of France. The Girondins aspired to war - they hoped that the war would consolidate the decisive victory of the bourgeoisie over the nobility and at the same time push aside the social problems posed by the popular movement. Erroneously assessing the strength of France and the situation in the countries of Europe, the Girondins hoped for an easy victory and that the peoples would rise up against their "tyrants" when the French troops appeared.

Robespierre, supported by part of the Jacobins, including Marat, opposed the militant agitation of the Girondins. Realizing the inevitability of a war with European monarchies, he considered it reckless to hasten its beginning. Robespierre disputed and contention Brissot about an immediate uprising in countries where French troops will enter; " Nobody likes armed missionaries ».

The majority of the Feuillants were also against the war, fearing that in any case, the war would overturn the regime of the constitutional monarchy they had created.

The influence of the supporters of the war prevailed. On April 20, France declared war on Austria. The start of the war was unfortunate for France. The old army was disorganized, half of the officers emigrated, the soldiers did not trust the commanders. The volunteers who came to the troops were poorly armed and not trained. On July 6, Prussia entered the war. The invasion of enemy troops into the territory of France was inexorably approaching, the enemies of the revolution awaited it, their center was the royal court. Queen Marie Antoinette, who was the sister of the Austrian emperor, sent the French military plans to the Austrians.

Danger looms over France. The revolutionary people were engulfed in patriotic enthusiasm. Volunteer battalions were hastily formed. 15 thousand people signed up in Paris during the week. From the provinces, despite the king's veto, detachments of federates arrived. These days, for the first time, it sounded wide Marseillaise- patriotic song of the revolution, written back in April Rouge de Liele m and brought to Paris by the battalion of the Federates of Marseilles.

In Paris, preparations began for an uprising with the aim of removing Louis XVI from power and developing a new constitution. On the night of August 10, 1792, the alarm sounded over Paris - an uprising began. The commissioners chosen by the Parisians gathered on their own in the town hall. They formed the Paris Commune, which took over the capital. The rebels took possession of the royal Tuileries palace. The meeting deprived Louis XVI of the throne, the Commune, by its power, imprisoned the royal family in the Temple of the Temple.

The political privileges of the upper bourgeoisie, enshrined in the constitution of 1791, also fell. All men from the age of 21 who were not in personal service were admitted to the elections to the Convention. Lafayette and many other leaders of the Feuillants fled abroad. The Girondins became the leading force in the Assembly and in the new government.

The National Convention began its work on September 20; On September 21, he passed a decree on the abolition of royal power; September 22 France was proclaimed a republic... Its constitution was to be worked out by the Convention. However, from the very first steps of his activity, a fierce political struggle flared up in him.

On the upper benches of the Convention sat the deputies who made up its left wing. They were called the Mountain or Montagnards (from the French montagne - mountain). The most prominent leaders of the Mountain were Robespierre, Marat, Danton, Saint-Just. Most of the Montagnards were members of the Jacobin Club. Many Jacobins adhered to egalitarian ideas and strove for a democratic republic.

The right wing of the Convention was formed by the Girondins deputies. The Girondins opposed the further deepening of the revolution.

About 500 deputies, which made up the center of the Convention, were not part of any group, they were called "plain" or "swamp". In the early months of the Convention, the Plains strongly supported the Gironde.

By the end of 1792, the fate of the king was at the center of the political struggle. Delivered to trial by the Convention, Louis XVI was found "guilty" of treason, connections with emigrants and foreign courts, in an act against the freedom of the nation and the general security of the state. January 21, 1793 year he was guillotined.

In the spring of 1793, the revolution entered a period of a new acute crisis. In March, a peasant revolt broke out in northwestern France, reaching unprecedented strength in the Vendée. The royalists took over the leadership of the uprising. The Vendée revolt, which aroused tens of thousands of peasants, caused bloody excesses and for several years became an unhealed wound of the republic.

In the spring of 1793, the country's martial law deteriorated sharply. After the execution of Louis XVI, France found itself in a state of war not only with Austria and Prussia, but also with Holland, Spain, Portugal, Germanic and Italian states.

The danger looming over the republic again demanded the mobilization of all the forces of the people, for which the Gironde was unable.

May 31 - June 2 an uprising broke out in Paris. Forced to submit to the insurgent people, the Convention decided to arrest Brissot, Vergniot and other leaders of the Gironde. (31 people in total). They came to the political leadership in the republic Jacobins.

On June 24, 1793, the Convention adopted a new constitution for France. It provided for a republic with a unicameral Legislative Assembly, direct elections and universal suffrage for men from the age of 21, and proclaimed democratic rights and freedoms. Article 119 declared non-interference in the internal affairs of other peoples as the principle of French foreign policy. Later, on February 4, 1794, the Convention adopted a decree on the abolition of slavery in the colonies.

The leading wing of the ruling Jacobin party was made up of robespierres. Their ideal was a republic of small and medium-sized producers, in which state-backed strict morality tempered "private interest" and prevented the extremes of inequality in wealth.

In the fall and winter of 1793, a moderate trend took shape among the Jacobins. Georges Jacques Danton became the leader of this movement, and Camille Desmoulins became his talented publicist. One of the most prominent Montagnards, the tribune of the first years of the revolution, Danton considered it natural to increase wealth and freely use its benefits, his fortune increased 10 times during the revolution.

On the opposite flank were the "extreme" revolutionaries - Chaumette, Hebert and others. They sought further equalization measures, confiscation and division of property of the enemies of the revolution.

The struggle between the currents became more and more fierce. In March 1794, Ebert and his closest associates were brought before a revolutionary tribunal and were guillotined. Soon their fate was shared by the ardent defender of the poor, the Prosecutor of the Commune Chaumette.

In early April, the blow fell on the leaders of the moderates - Danton, Desmoulins and several of their like-minded people. They all died on the guillotine.

The robespierres saw that the positions of the Jacobin government were weakening, but they could not put forward a program capable of receiving broad public support.

In May-June 1794, the Robespierres tried to unite the people around a civil religion in the spirit of Rousseau. At the insistence of Robespierre, the Convention established a "cult of the Supreme Being", which included the veneration of republican virtues, justice, equality, freedom, love for the fatherland. The new cult was not needed by the bourgeoisie, and the masses of the people remained indifferent to it.

Trying to strengthen their position, the Robespierres passed a law on the tightening of terror on June 10. This multiplied the number of disaffected and accelerated the formation of a conspiracy in the Convention to overthrow Robespierre and his supporters. On July 28 (10 Thermidor) outlawed Robespierre, Saint-Just and their associates (22 people in total) were guillotined. On 11-12 Thermidor their fate was shared by another 83 people, most of them members of the Commune. Jacobin dictatorship fell.

In August 1795, the Thermidorian Convention adopted a new French constitution to replace the Jacobin one, which was never implemented. While preserving the republic, the new constitution introduced a bicameral legislative body ( Council of five hundred and Council of Elders of 250 members at least 40 years old), two-stage elections, age and property qualifications. The executive power was handed over to a directory of five elected by the Legislative Corps. The Constitution confirmed the confiscation of emigrant possessions, guaranteed the ownership of buyers of foreign property.

Four years Directory mode in the history of France were a time of socio-economic and political instability. France was going through a difficult period of adaptation to new conditions (in the long term, deeply favorable for its progress). The war, the British blockade and the decline of the maritime colonial trade that flourished until 1789, the acute financial crisis complicated this process.

The owners wanted stability and order, a strong power that would protect them both from the revolutionary actions of the people and from the claims of the supporters of the Bourbon restoration and the old order.

The most suitable person for carrying out a military coup was Napoleon Bonaparte. Influential financiers supplied him with money.

The coup has taken place 18 Brumaire(November 9, 1799). Power passed to three temporary consuls, in fact, headed by Bonaparte. The coup of 18 Brumaire in French history paved the way for a regime of personal power - military dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Consulate (1799-1804)

Already in December 1799 a new French constitution... Formally, France remained a republic with a very complex ramified power structure. The executive power, the rights and powers of which were significantly expanded, was handed over to three consuls. The first consul - and that was Napoleon Bonaparte - was elected for 10 years. He concentrated in his hands virtually all of the executive power. The second and third consuls had an advisory vote. Consuls for the first time were identified by name in the text of the constitution.

All men over the age of 21 enjoyed the right to vote, but they did not elect deputies, but candidates for deputies. From among them, the government selected members of the local administration and the highest legislative bodies. Legislative power was distributed among several bodies - By the State Council, By the Tribunate, by the Legislative Corps - and made dependent on the executive branch. All bills, having passed these instances, went to the Senate, whose members were approved by Napoleon himself, and then went to the first consul for signature.

The government also owned the legislative initiative. In addition, the constitution provided the first consul with the right to submit bills directly to the Senate, bypassing the legislature. All ministers were subordinate directly to Napoleon.

In fact, it was the regime of Napoleon's personal power, but it was possible to impose the dictatorship only by preserving the main gains of the revolutionary years: the destruction of feudal relations, the redistribution of land ownership and a change in its nature.

The new constitution in the history of France was approved by a plebiscite (popular vote). The results of the plebiscite were predetermined in advance. The voting took place publicly, in front of the representatives of the new government; many then voted not for the constitution, but for Napoleon, who gained considerable popularity.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 -1821)- an outstanding statesman and military leader of the time when the bourgeoisie was still a young, rising class and sought to consolidate its gains. He was a man with an unyielding will and an extraordinary mind. Under Napoleon, a whole galaxy of talented military leaders ( Murat, Lann, Davout,Her and many others).

The new plebiscite of 1802 secured the post of first consul to Napoleon Bonaparte for life. He was given the right to appoint a successor to himself, to dissolve the Legislative Corps, to single-handedly approve peace treaties.

Strengthening the power of Napoleon Bonaparte was facilitated by the incessant, successful wars for France. In 1802, Napoleon's birthday was declared a national holiday, and since 1803 his image has appeared on coins.

First Empire (1804-1814)

The power of the first consul increasingly assumed the character of a one-man dictatorship. The logical result was the proclamation of Napoleon Bonaparte in May 1804 Emperor of France under the name Napoleon I... It was solemnly crowned by the Pope himself.

In 1807, the Tribunate was abolished - the only organ where there was opposition to the Bonapartist regime. A magnificent courtyard was created, court titles were restored, and the title of marshal of the empire was introduced. The furnishings, customs, and everyday life of the French court imitated the old pre-revolutionary royal court. The address "citizen" has disappeared from everyday life, but the words "sovereign", "your imperial majesty" have appeared.

In 1802, an amnesty law for the emigrant nobles was passed. Returning from emigration, the old aristocracy gradually consolidated its positions. More than half of the prefects appointed in Napoleon's time belonged to the old nobility by origin.

Along with this, the French emperor, striving to strengthen his regime, created a new elite, she received titles of nobility from him and was obliged to everything to him.

From 1808 to 1814, 3,600 titles of nobility were bestowed; land was distributed both in France and abroad - land ownership was an indicator of wealth and social status.

However, the revival of titles did not mean a return to the old feudal structure of society. Estates' privileges were not restored, Napoleon's legislation enshrined legal equality.

Napoleon made all his brothers kings in the countries of Europe conquered by France. In 1805 he declared himself king of Italy. In the prime of his power in 1810, Napoleon I, due to the childlessness of the Empress Josephine, began searching for a new wife in one of the reigning houses of feudal Europe. He was denied marriage to a Russian princess.

But the Austrian court agreed to the marriage of Napoleon I with the Austrian princess Marie-Louise. With this marriage, Napoleon hoped to join the family of "legitimate" monarchs in Europe and found his own dynasty.

Napoleon sought to solve the most acute internal political problem since the beginning of the revolution - the relationship between the bourgeois state and the church. In 1801, a concordat was concluded with Pope Pius VII. Catholicism was declared the religion of the majority of the French. The separation of the church from the state was destroyed, the state again undertook to provide maintenance for the ministers of the cult, and to restore religious holidays.

The Pope, in turn, recognized the sold-out church lands as the property of the new owners and agreed that the highest church ranks were appointed by the government. The church introduced a special prayer for the health of the consul and then the emperor. Thus, the church became the mainstay of the Bonapartist regime.

During the years of the Consulate and the Empire in the history of France, the democratic gains of the revolution were mostly eliminated. Elections and plebiscites were formal, and declarations of political freedom became a convenient demagogy to cover up the despotic nature of government.

At the time of Napoleon's coming to power, the financial situation of the country was extremely difficult: the treasury was empty, civil servants had not received salaries for a long time. Streamlining finances has become one of the government's top priorities. By increasing indirect taxes, the government managed to stabilize the financial system. Direct taxes (on capital) were cut, which was in the interests of the big bourgeoisie.

Successful wars and protectionist policies have boosted exports. Napoleon imposed on the European states favorable terms of trade for France. All markets in Europe, as a result of the victorious march of the French army, were open to French goods. The protectionist customs policy protected French entrepreneurs from the competition of British goods.

In general, the time of the Consulate and the Empire was favorable for the industrial development of France.

The regime established in France under Napoleon Bonaparte was named “ bonapartism". The dictatorship of Napoleon was a special form of the bourgeois state, in which the bourgeoisie itself was removed from direct participation in political power. Maneuvering between various social forces, relying on the powerful apparatus of state administration, Napoleon's power gained a certain independence in relation to social classes.

In an effort to unite the majority of the nation around the regime, to present himself as the spokesman for national interests, Napoleon adopted the idea of the unity of the nation, born of the French Revolution. However, this was no longer the defense of the principles of national sovereignty, but the propaganda of the national exclusivity of the French, the hegemony of France in the international arena. Therefore, in the field of foreign policy, Bonapartism is characterized by a pronounced nationalism. The years of the Consulate and the First Empire were marked by the almost continuous bloody wars that Napoleonic France waged with the states of Europe. In the conquered countries and states vassal from France, Napoleon pursued a policy that was aimed at turning them into a market for French goods and a source of raw materials for French industry. Napoleon said more than once: “ My principle is France first". In the dependent states, in the interests of the French bourgeoisie, economic development was hampered by the imposition of unprofitable trade deals and the establishment of monopoly prices for French goods. Huge contributions were siphoned out of these states.

Already by 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte had formed a huge empire, reminiscent of the times of Charlemagne. In 1806 Austria and Prussia were defeated. At the end of October 1806, Napoleon entered Berlin. Here, on November 21, 1806, he signed a decree on the continental blockade, which played an important role in the fate of European countries.

According to the decree, trade with the British Isles was strictly prohibited throughout the French Empire and its dependent countries. Violation of this decree, smuggling of English goods was punishable by brutal repression up to the death penalty. With this blockade, France sought to crush the economic potential of England, to bring her to her knees.

However, Napoleon did not achieve his goal - the economic destruction of England. Although the economy of England experienced difficulties during these years, they were not catastrophic: England possessed vast colonies, had well-established contact with the American continent and, despite all the prohibitions, widely used the smuggled trade in English goods in Europe.

The blockade for the economies of European countries turned out to be difficult. French industry could not replace the cheaper and better quality goods of British enterprises. The break with England gave rise to economic crises in European countries, which led to the restriction of the sale of French goods in them. The blockade to a certain extent contributed to the growth of French industry, but it soon became clear that French industry could not do without British industrial products and raw materials.

The blockade paralyzed the life of such large port cities of France as Marseille, Le Havre, Nantes, Toulon for a long time. In 1810, a system of licenses for the right to limited trade in English goods was introduced, but the cost of these licenses was high. Napoleon used the blockade as a means of safeguarding the growing French economy and as a source of treasury revenue.

At the end of the first decade of the 19th century, the crisis of the First Empire in France began. Its manifestation was periodic economic recessions, the growing fatigue of the general population from continuous wars. In 1810-1811, a severe economic crisis began in France. Affected by the negative consequences of the continental blockade: there was a shortage of raw materials, industrial products, and the high cost of living. The bourgeoisie went over to opposition to the Bonapartist regime. The last blow to Napoleonic France was inflicted by the military defeats of 1812-1814.

On October 16-19, 1813, near Leipzig, a decisive battle took place between the army of Napoleon and the united army of the allied states of Europe. The Battle of Leipzig was called the Battle of the Nations. Napoleon's army was defeated.

On March 31, 1814, the allied army entered Paris. Napoleon abdicated in favor of his son. However, the Senate, under pressure from the European powers, decided to re-establish the Bourbon dynasty, Count of Provence, brother of the executed Louis XVI, to the French throne. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba for life.

On May 30, 1814, a peace treaty was signed in Paris: France was deprived of all territorial acquisitions and returned to the borders of 1792. The treaty provided for the convening of an international congress in Vienna for the final solution of all issues related to the collapse of the Napoleonic empire.

10 months of the Bourbon rule was enough to revive pro-Napoleonic sentiments again. Louis XVIII in May 1814 published a constitutional charter. By " Charters of 1814»The king's power was limited to parliament, which consisted of two chambers. The upper house was appointed by the king, and the lower one was elected on the basis of a high property qualification.

This provided power to the large landowners, the nobles, and partly to the upper strata of the bourgeoisie. However, the old French aristocracy and clergy demanded from the government the complete restoration of feudal rights and privileges, the return of land holdings.

The threat of the restoration of the feudal order, the dismissal of more than 20 thousand Napoleonic officers and officials caused an explosion of discontent with the Bourbons.

Napoleon took advantage of this situation. He also took into account the fact that the negotiations at the Congress of Vienna were progressing with difficulty: acute disagreements between the recent allies in the struggle against Napoleonic France came to light.

On March 1, 1815, with a thousand guards, Napoleon landed in the south of France and undertook a victorious campaign against Paris. All the way, the French military units went over to his side. On March 20, he entered Paris. The empire was rebuilt. However, Napoleon could not resist the huge forces of England, Russia, Prussia and Austria.

The Allies had a huge superiority of forces, and on June 18, 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo (near Brussels), the Napoleonic army was finally defeated. Napoleon abdicated the throne, surrendered to the British and was soon exiled to the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, where he died in 1821.

The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte's army Battle of Waterloo led to the second restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France. Louis XVIII was returned to the throne. According to the Paris Peace of 1815, France had to pay an indemnity of 700 million francs, maintain the occupying troops (they were withdrawn in 1818 after the payment of the indemnity).

Restoration marked by a political reaction in the country. Returning with the Bourbons, thousands of emigrant nobles demanded reprisals against political leaders during the revolution and the Napoleonic regime, the restoration of their feudal rights and privileges.

The "white terror" unfolded in the country, it took especially cruel forms in the south, where royalist gangs killed and persecuted people who were reputed to be Jacobins and liberals.

However, a full return to the past was no longer possible. The Restoration regime did not encroach on those changes in the distribution of land ownership that occurred as a result of the French Revolution and were consolidated during the years of the First Empire. At the same time, the titles (but not class privileges) of the old nobility were restored, which to a large extent managed to preserve their land ownership. The émigré nobles were returned to the lands confiscated by the revolution, but not sold out in 1815. The titles of nobility given out under Napoleon I were also recognized.

From the beginning of the 1820s, the influence on state policy of the most reactionary part of the nobility and clergy increased, who did not want to adapt to the conditions of post-revolutionary France and thought about the fullest possible return to the old order. In 1820, the heir to the throne, the Duke of Berry, was assassinated by the artisan Louvel. This event was used by the reaction to attack the constitutional principles. Censorship was restored, education was placed under the control of the Catholic Church.

Louis XVIII died in 1824. Under the name Charles X his brother, Count d'Artois, ascended the throne. He was called the king of emigrants. Charles X began to pursue an openly pro-nobility policy and thereby finally upset the balance that had developed in the first years of the Restoration between the top bourgeoisie and the nobility in favor of the latter.

In 1825, a law was issued on monetary compensation to emigrant nobles for the lands they lost during the revolution (25 thousand people, mainly representatives of the old nobility, received compensation in the amount of 1 billion francs). At the same time, a "law of sacrilege" was issued, which provided for severe punishment for actions against religion and the church, up to the death penalty by quartering and wheeling.

In August 1829, a personal friend of the king, one of the inspirers of the "white terror" of 1815-1817, became the head of government. Polignac... Polignac's ministry was one of the most reactionary in all the years of the Restoration regime. All its members belonged to ultra-royalists. The very fact of the formation of such a ministry aroused indignation in the country. The Chamber of Deputies demanded the resignation of the ministry. In response, the king interrupted the meeting of the House.

Public discontent was intensified by the industrial depression that followed the economic crisis of 1826 and the high cost of bread.

In such a situation, Charles X decided on a coup d'état. On July 25, 1830, the king signed ordinances (decrees) that were in direct violation of the "Charter of 1814". The Chamber of Deputies was dissolved, and from now on, only large landowners were granted the right to vote. The Ordinances abolished press freedom by introducing a system of prior authorizations for periodicals.

The Restoration regime was clearly going to restore the absolutist system in the country. In the face of such a danger, the bourgeoisie had to decide to fight.

July bourgeois revolution of 1830. "Three Glorious Days".

On July 26, 1830, the ordinances of Charles X were published in the newspapers. Paris responded to them with violent demonstrations. The very next day, an armed uprising began in Paris: the streets of the city were covered with barricades. Almost every tenth resident of Paris took part in the battles. Part of the government forces went over to the side of the rebels. July 29 was taken with a fight Royal Palace Tuileries. The revolution has won. Charles X fled to England.

Power passed into the hands of the Provisional Government, created by the deputies of the liberal bourgeoisie; it was led by the leaders of the liberals - banker Laffitte and General Lafayette... The big bourgeoisie did not want and was afraid of a republic, it stood for the preservation of the monarchy, led by the Orleans dynasty, traditionally close to bourgeois circles. 31 july Louis Philippe d'Orléans was declared the governor of the kingdom, and on August 7 - the king of France.

The July Revolution finally resolved the dispute over which social class should have political dominance in France - the nobility or the bourgeoisie - in favor of the latter. A bourgeois monarchy was established in the country; the new king Louis Philippe, the largest forest owner and financier, was not accidentally called the "bourgeois king."

Unlike the constitution of 1814, which was declared as a royalty, the new constitution - “ Charter of 1830"- was declared the inalienable property of the people. The king, the new charter declared, did not rule by virtue of divine right, but at the invitation of the French people; from now on, he could not abolish or suspend laws, lost the right to initiate legislation, being the head of the executive branch. The members of the House of Peers were to be elected, as were the members of the Lower House.

The "Charter of 1830" proclaimed freedom of the press and assembly. The age and property qualifications were reduced. Under Louis Philippe, the financial bourgeoisie and the big bankers dominated. The financial aristocracy received high positions in the state apparatus. She enjoyed huge government subsidies, various benefits and privileges that were provided to railway and commercial companies. All this exacerbated the budget deficit, which became a chronic phenomenon under the July monarchy. Its consequence was a steady increase in the state debt.

Both were in the interests of the financial bourgeoisie: state loans, which the government went to to cover the deficit, were given at high interest rates and were a sure source of its enrichment. The growth of public debt increased the political influence of the financial aristocracy and the government's dependence on it.

The July monarchy resumed the conquest of Algeria begun under Charles X. The population of Algeria put up stubborn resistance, many "Algerian" generals of the French army, including Cavaignac, "became famous" for their cruelties in this war.

In 1847, Algeria was conquered and became one of the largest colonies in France.

In the same 1847, a cyclical economic crisis broke out in France, which caused a sharp decline in production, a shock to the entire monetary system and an acute financial crisis (the gold reserves of the Bank of France fell from 320 million francs in 1845 to 42 million at the beginning of 1848), a huge increase in government deficits, and a wide wave of bankruptcies. The banquet company launched by the opposition swept the whole country: in September-October 1847, about 70 banquets were held with 17 thousand participants.

The country was on the eve of the revolution - the third in a row since the end of the 18th century.

On December 28, the legislative session of the parliament opened. It took place in an extremely stormy atmosphere. Domestic and foreign policy was sharply criticized by opposition leaders. However, their demands were rejected, and the next banquet of supporters of the electoral reform, scheduled for February 22, 1848, was prohibited.

Nevertheless, on February 22, thousands of Parisians took to the streets and squares of the city, which became the gathering points of the demonstration prohibited by the government. Clashes with the police began, the first barricades appeared, and their number grew rapidly. On February 24, all of Paris was covered with barricades, all important strategic points were in the hands of the rebels. Louis-Philippe abdicated in favor of his young grandson, Count of Paris, and fled to England. The Tuileries Palace was captured by the rebels, the royal throne was dragged to the Place de la Bastille and burned.

An attempt was made to preserve the monarchy by establishing the regency of the Duchess of Orleans, mother of the Count of Paris. The Chamber of Deputies defended the regency of the Duchess of Orleans. However, these plans were thwarted by the rebels. They burst into the meeting room of the Chamber of Deputies, shouting: “No regency, no king! Long live the republic! " The deputies were forced to agree to the election of the Provisional Government. The February revolution was victorious.

The actual head of the Provisional Government was a moderate liberal, a famous French romantic poet A. Lamartin, who took the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. The composition of the Provisional Government was included as ministers without a portfolio of workers Alexander Albert, a member of secret republican societies, and a popular petty bourgeois socialist Louis Blanc... The provisional government was of a coalition nature.

February 25, 1848 year, the Provisional Government proclaimed France a republic. And a few days later, a decree was issued introducing universal suffrage for men over 21 years of age.

The Constituent Assembly opened on May 4. On November 4, 1948, the Constituent Assembly adopted the constitution of the Second Republic. Legislature was vested in a unicameral Legislature, elected for 3 years on the basis of universal suffrage for men over 21 years of age. The executive power represented by the president, who was elected not by parliament, but by popular vote for 4 years (without the right to re-election) and was endowed with tremendous power: he formed the government, appointed and removed officials, led the armed forces of the state. The President was independent from the Legislative Assembly, but he could not dissolve it and cancel the decisions adopted by the Assembly.

The presidential election was scheduled for December 10, 1848. The nephew of Napoleon I won - Louis Napoleon Bonaparte... He had already tried twice before to seize power in the country.

Louis Napoleon waged a frank struggle to transfer from the presidency to the imperial throne. On December 2, 1851, Louis Napoleon staged a coup d'état. The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, a state of siege was introduced in Paris. All power in the country was transferred into the hands of the president, who was elected for 10 years. As a result of the coup d'état of 1851, a Bonapartist dictatorship was established in France. A year after the usurpation of power by Louis Napoleon, on December 2, 1852, he was proclaimed emperor under the name Napoleon III.

The time of the empire is a chain of wars, aggression, seizures and colonial expeditions of French troops in Africa and Europe, Asia, America, Oceania in order to establish French hegemony in Europe and strengthen its colonial power. Hostilities continued in Algeria. The Algerian question played an increasing role in the life of France. In 1853 it became the colony of New Caledonia. Since 1854, military expansion was carried out in Senegal. French troops, together with the British, fought in China. France actively participated in the "opening" in 1858 of Japan for foreign capital. In 1858, the French invasion of South Vietnam began. The French company began construction of the Suez Canal in 1859 (opened in 1869).

Franco-Prussian War.

The ruling court circles of Napoleon III decided to raise the prestige of the dynasty through a victorious war with Prussia. Under the auspices of Prussia, the unification of the German states took place successfully. On the eastern borders of France, a powerful militaristic state grew up - the North German Union, whose ruling circles openly sought to seize the rich and strategically important regions of France - Alsace and Lorraine.

Napoleon III, by the war with Prussia, decided to prevent the final creation of a unified German state. O. Bismarck, Chancellor of the North German Union, prepared intensively for the final stage of the reunification of Germany. The saber rattling in Paris only made it easier for Bismarck to implement his plan to create a unified German empire through a war with France. Unlike France, where the Bonapartist commanders made a lot of noise, but cared little about the combat capability of the army, in Berlin they secretly but purposefully prepared for war, rearmed the army and carefully developed strategic plans for the upcoming military operations.

On July 19, 1870, France declared war on Prussia. Napoleon III, starting the war, poorly calculated his forces. “We are ready, we are completely ready,” the French Minister of War assured the members of the Legislative Corps. It was bragging. Disorder and confusion reigned everywhere. The army had no general leadership, there was no definite plan for the conduct of the war. Not only soldiers, but also officers needed the bare essentials. The officers were given 60 francs each so that they could purchase revolvers from merchants. There were not even maps of the theater of military operations in France, since it was assumed that the war would be fought on the territory of Prussia.

From the very first days of the war, the overwhelming superiority of Prussia was revealed. She was ahead of the French in mobilizing troops and concentrating them near the border. The Prussians had almost double the numerical superiority. Their command persistently carried out a pre-developed war plan.

The Prussians almost immediately cut the French army into two parts: one part under the command of Marshal Bazin, retreated to the Metz fortress and was besieged there, the other, under the command of Marshal MacMahon and the emperor himself, was thrown back to Sedan under the onslaught of a large Prussian army. Near Sedan, near the Belgian border, a battle took place on September 2, 1870, which decided the outcome of the war. The Prussian army defeated the French. Three thousand Frenchmen fell in the battle of Sedan. The 80,000-strong army of MacMahon and Napoleon III himself were taken prisoner.

The news of the capture of the emperor rocked Paris. On September 4, crowds of people filled the streets of the capital. At their request, France was proclaimed a republic. Power passed to the Provisional National Defense Government, which represented a broad bloc of political forces in opposition to the empire, from monarchists to radical republicans. In response, Prussia made openly aggressive demands.

The Republicans who came to power considered it dishonorable to accept the Prussian terms. After all, the republic had earned the reputation of a patriotic regime even during the revolution of the end of the 18th century, and the republicans feared that the republic would be suspected of betraying national interests. But the scale of the losses suffered by France in this war did not leave hopes for a quick victory. On September 16, Prussian troops appeared in the vicinity of Paris. For a short time, they occupied the entire northeast of France. For some time France remained defenseless against the enemy. The government's efforts to rebuild military capabilities did not bring results until the end of 1870, when the Army of Loire was formed south of Paris.

In a similar situation, the revolutionaries of 1792 called on France for a nationwide war of liberation. But the fear of the threat of the national liberation war growing into a civil war kept the government from taking such a step. It came to the conclusion about the inevitability of the conclusion of peace on the conditions that Prussia proposed, but was expecting a favorable moment for this, and for now imitated national defense.

As soon as it became known of a new attempt by the government to enter into negotiations for peace, an uprising broke out in Paris. On October 31, 1870, National Guard soldiers arrested and held the ministers hostage for several hours until they were rescued by troops loyal to the government.

The government was now more concerned with how to calm the restless Parisians than national defense... The uprising on October 31 thwarted Adolphe Thiers' armistice plan. French troops tried unsuccessfully to break the blockade of Paris. By early 1871, the position of the besieged capital seemed hopeless. The government decided that it was impossible to hesitate further with the conclusion of peace.

On January 18, 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles of the French kings, the Prussian king William I was proclaimed German emperor, and on January 28, an armistice was signed between France and the united Germany. Under its terms, the forts of Paris and the army's stocks of weapons were transferred to the Germans. The final peace was signed in Frankfurt on May 10, 1873. Under its terms, France ceded Alsace and Lorraine to Germany, and also had to pay 5 billion francs in indemnity.

The Parisians were extremely indignant at the conditions of peace, but for all the seriousness of the disagreements with the government, no one in Paris thought of an uprising, much less preparing for it. The uprising was provoked by the actions of the authorities. After the lifting of the blockade, the payment of remuneration to the soldiers of the National Guard was stopped. In the city, whose economy has not yet recovered from the effects of the blockade, thousands of residents were left without a livelihood. The pride of the inhabitants of Paris was offended by the decision of the National Assembly to choose Versailles as its place of residence.

Paris Commune

On March 18, 1871, by order of the government, troops attempted to seize the artillery of the National Guard. The soldiers were stopped by the inhabitants and retreated without a fight. But the guards seized Generals Lecomte and Tom, who commanded the government forces, and shot them on the same day.

Thiers ordered the evacuation of government offices to Versailles.

On March 26, elections were held for the Paris Commune (this is how the city government of Paris was traditionally called). Of the 85 members of the Council of the Commune, most were workers or their recognized representatives.

The commune announced its intention to carry out profound reforms in many areas.

First of all, they took a number of measures to alleviate the plight of low-income residents of Paris. But many global plans were not implemented. The main concern of the Commune at that moment was war. In early April, clashes began between the federates, as the fighters of the Commune's armed detachments called themselves against the Versailles troops. The forces were obviously not equal.

The opponents seemed to be competing in cruelty and atrocities. The streets of Paris were covered in blood. There was unparalleled vandalism by the Communards during street fighting. In Paris, they deliberately set fire to the city hall, the Palais de Justice, the Tuileries Palace, the Ministry of Finance, the Thiers house. Countless cultural and artistic treasures were destroyed in the fire. The arsonists also attempted the Louvre's treasures.

"Bloody week" on May 21-28 completed the short history of the Commune. On May 28, the last barricade fell on Rue Rampono. The Paris Commune lasted only 72 days. Very few Communards managed to escape the ensuing massacre by leaving France. Among the Communard emigrants there was also a French worker, poet, author of the proletarian anthem "Internationale" - Eugene Potier.

A troubled time began in the history of France, when three dynasties at once claimed the French throne: Bourbons, Orleans, Bonaparte... Although September 4, 1870 of the year as a result of a popular uprising in France, a republic was proclaimed, in the National Assembly the majority belonged to the monarchists, the minority was made up of republicans, among whom there were several trends. There was a "republic without republicans" in the country.

However, the plan to restore the monarchy in France failed. The bulk of the French population was in favor of establishing a republic. The question of determining the political system of France was not resolved for a long time. Only in 1875 year, the National Assembly, by a majority of one vote, adopted an amendment to the basic law, which recognized France as a republic. But even after that, France several times was on the verge of a monarchical coup.

May 24, 1873 an ardent monarchist was elected president of the republic McMahon, on whose name the three monarchist parties who hated each other converged when they were looking for a successor to Thiers. Under the auspices of the president, the intrigues of the monarchists were carried out to restore the monarchy.

In November 1873, McMahon's powers were extended for seven years. IN 1875 g. McMahon was a staunch opponent of the republican constitution, which was nevertheless passed by the National Assembly.

The Constitution of the Third Republic was a compromise between monarchists and republicans. Forced to recognize the republic, the monarchists tried to give it a conservative, undemocratic character. Legislative power was transferred to Parliament, which consisted of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Senate was elected for 9 years and was renewed in three years by one third. The age limit for senators was set at 40 years. The Chamber of Deputies was elected for a 4-year term only by men who had reached the age of 21 and had lived for at least 6 months in the given community. Women, military personnel, youth, seasonal workers did not receive voting rights.

Executive power was handed over to the president, who was elected by the National Assembly for a 7-year term. He was given the right to declare war, conclude peace, as well as the right to initiate legislation and appoint to senior civil and military posts. Thus, the power of the president was great.

The first parliamentary elections, held on the basis of the new constitution, brought victory to the Republicans. IN 1879 year McMahon is forced to resign. Moderate Republicans came to power. The new president was elected Jules Grevy, and the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Leon Gambetta.

Jules Grevy is the first French president who was a staunch republican and actively opposed the restoration of the monarchy.

The removal of Marshal McMahon was greeted in the country with a sense of relief. With the election of Jules Grevy, the conviction took root that the republic had entered a period of even, calm and fruitful development. Indeed, the years of Grevy's rule were marked by colossal successes in strengthening the republic. December 28th 1885 Mr. he was re-elected president Third republic... The second period of Jules Grevy's presidency was very short. In the end 1887 g. he was forced to resign from the title of President of the Republic under the influence of public outrage caused by revelations about the reprehensible actions of Grevy's son-in-law, Deputy Wilson, who traded the highest state award - the Order of the Legion of Honor. Personally, Grevy was not compromised.

From 1887 to 1894 the president of France was Sadi Carnot.

The seven years of Carnot's presidency figured prominently in the history of the Third Republic. This was the period of consolidation of the republican system. His ultimate failure Boulanger and Boulangism (1888-89) made the republic even more popular in the eyes of the population. The strength of the republic was not in the least shaken even by such unfavorable events as Panama scandals (1892-93) and sharp manifestations anarchism (1893).

During the presidencies of Grevy and Carnot, moderate Republicans held the majority in the House of Deputies. On their initiative, France was actively conquering new colonies. IN 1881 year was established a protectorate of France over Tunisia, in 1885 year was secured the right of France to Annam and Tonkin. In 1894, the war for Madagascar began. After two years of bloody war, the island became a French colony. At the same time, France was leading the conquest of West and Central Africa. IN late XIX centuries of French rule in Africa was 17 times larger than the metropolis itself. France became the second (after England) colonial power in the world.

Colonial wars demanded large sums of money, and taxes increased. The authority of the moderate republicans, who expressed the interests of only the big financial and industrial bourgeoisie, was declining.

This led to the strengthening in the ranks of the Republican Party of the radical left wing, led by Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929).

Georges Clemenceau - the son of a doctor, owner of a small estate, Father Clemenceau and he himself opposed the Second Empire, were persecuted. During the Paris Commune, Georges Clemenceau served as one of the Paris mayors, trying to be an intermediary between the Commune and Versailles. Becoming the leader of the radicals, Clemenceau sharply criticized the domestic and foreign policies of moderate Republicans, sought their resignation, having received the nickname "the overthrower of ministers."

In 1881, the radicals broke away from the Republicans and formed an independent party. They demanded the democratization of the state system, the separation of the church from the state, the introduction of a progressive income tax, and the implementation of social transformations. In the parliamentary elections of 1881, the radicals already spoke independently and won 46 seats. However, the majority in the House of Deputies remained with the moderate Republicans.

The political positions of the monarchists, clerics, moderate republicans increasingly converged on a common anti-democratic platform. This was clearly manifested in connection with the so-called Dreyfus case, around which a sharp political struggle unfolded.

The Dreyfus affair.

In 1884 it was discovered that secret documents of a military nature had been sold to the German military attaché in Paris. This could only be done by one of the officers of the General Staff. Suspicion fell on the captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew by nationality. Despite the fact that no serious evidence of his guilt was established, Dreyfus was arrested and put on trial. Anti-Semitic sentiments were strong among French officers, mostly from noble families who were educated in Catholic educational institutions. The Dreyfus affair sparked an explosion of anti-Semitism in the country.

The military commanders did their best to support Dreyfus's espionage charges, and he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The movement unfolding in France to reconsider the Dreyfus case was not limited to the protection of an innocent officer, it turned into a struggle of the forces of democracy against reaction. The Dreyfus affair excited the general public and attracted the attention of the press. Supporters of the revision of the sentence included writers Emile Zola, Anatole France, Octave Mirabeau and others. Zola published an open letter entitled “I blame” addressed to President Foru, who opposed the revision of the Dreyfus case. The famous writer accused him of trying to save the real criminal by falsifying evidence. Zola was prosecuted for his speech, and only emigration to England saved him from imprisonment.

Zola's letter excited the whole of France, it was read and discussed everywhere. The country has split into two camps: Dreyfusars and Anti-Dreyfusars.

It was clear to the most far-sighted politicians that it was necessary to end the Dreyfus affair as soon as possible - France was on the brink of civil war. The verdict in the Dreyfus case was revised, he was not acquitted, but then the president pardoned him. The government in this way tried to hide the truth: the innocence of Dreyfus and the name of the real spy - Esterhazy. Only in 1906 was Dreyfus pardoned.

At the turn of the century.

The French people could not forget the national humiliation experienced in connection with the defeat of France in the war with Prussia. The country struggled to heal the wounds inflicted by the war. The original French lands of Alsace and Lorraine were incorporated into the territory of Germany. France badly needed an ally for a future war with Germany. Russia could become such an ally, which, in turn, did not want to remain isolated in the face of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy), which had a clearly anti-Russian orientation. IN 1892 a military convention was signed between France and Russia, and in 1893 a military alliance was concluded.

From 1895 to 1899 President of the Third Republic was Felix Fore.

He introduced in the Elysee Palace the etiquette of almost royal courts, unusual until then in France, and demanded strict adherence to it; he considered himself unworthy to appear at various celebrations next to the prime minister or presidents of the chambers, everywhere trying to emphasize his special importance as head of state.

These features began to manifest themselves especially sharply after the visit to Paris by Emperor Nicholas II and Empress in 1896. This visit was the result of the rapprochement between France and Russia, on which governments worked before and under Faure; he himself was an active advocate of rapprochement. In 1897, the Russian imperial couple paid a second visit.

Industrialization took place in France more slowly than in Germany, the USA, and England. If in terms of concentration of production France lagged significantly behind other capitalist countries, then in terms of concentration of banks it was ahead of others and took first place.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, there has been a general leftward movement in the mood of the French. This was clearly manifested during the parliamentary elections in 1902, when the left parties - socialists and radicals - won the majority of votes. After the elections, the radicals became the masters of the country. The radical government of Komba (1902-1905) launched an attack on the Catholic Church. The government ordered the closure of schools run by priests. The clergy resisted fiercely. Several thousand schools of religious orders were turned into fortresses. The unrest in Brittany was especially strong. But “Papa Komba,” as the new prime minister was called, stubbornly pursued his line. The matter reached the point of breaking off diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Friction intensified with the top army leadership, dissatisfied with the government's attempts to carry out army reform. At the end of 1904, information was leaked to the press that the government was keeping a secret dossier on the highest military ranks. A loud scandal erupted, as a result of which the Komba government was forced to resign.

In 1904, France entered into an agreement with England. Creation of the Anglo-French Union - The Entente- was an event of international importance.

In December 1905, the cabinet of the right-wing radical Rouvier, which replaced Combe's cabinet, passed a law separating church and state. At the same time, the property of the church was not confiscated, and the clergy received the right to state pensions.

By the middle of the first decade of the 20th century, France ranked first in Europe in terms of the number of strikers. The strike of miners in the spring of 1906 caused a great resonance. It was caused by one of the largest mine disasters in French history, which killed 1200 miners. There is a threat of escalation of traditional labor conflicts into street clashes.

This was taken advantage of by the party of radicals, which sought to present itself as the wisest political force, capable of simultaneously carrying out the necessary reforms and ready to manifest cruelty in order to preserve civil peace.

In the parliamentary elections in 1906, the Radical Party became even stronger. Georges Clemenceau (1906-1909) became the head of the Council of Ministers. The figure is bright, extraordinary, he initially tried to emphasize that it was his government that would begin to really carry out work on reforming society. It turned out to be much easier to declare this idea than to implement it. True, one of the first steps of the new government was the re-establishment of the Ministry of Labor, the leadership of which was entrusted to the "independent socialist" Viviani. This, however, did not solve the problem of stabilizing labor relations. Throughout the country, acute labor conflicts periodically flared up, more than once escalating into open clashes with the forces of law and order. Unable to cope with the task of normalizing the social situation, Clemenceau resigned in 1909.

The new government was headed by “the independent socialist A. Briand. He passed the law on workers 'and peasants' pensions from the age of 65, but this did not strengthen the position of his government.

There was a certain instability in the political life of France: none of the parties represented in parliament could single-handedly carry out their political line. Hence the constant search for allies, the formation of various party combinations, which disintegrated at the very first test of strength. This situation continued until 1913, when Raymond Poincaré, marching towards success under the slogan of creating "a great and strong France." He clearly sought to shift the center of the political struggle from social problems towards foreign policy and thus consolidate society.

World War I.

IN 191 3 year was elected President of France Raymond Poincaré... Preparing for war has become the main task of the new president. France wanted in this war to return Alsace and Lorraine, taken from her by Germany in 1871, and seize the Saar Basin. The last months before the outbreak of the First World War were filled with an acute internal political struggle, and only France's entry into the war removed from the agenda the question of which course it should take.

World War I began on July 28, 1914. France entered the war on August 3. The German command planned to defeat France as soon as possible, and only then focus on the fight against Russia. German troops launched massive offensives in the West. In the so-called "border battle" they broke through the front and launched an offensive deep into France. In September 1914, a grandiose battle on the marne, on the outcome of which the fate of the entire campaign on the Western Front depended. In the fiercest battles, the Germans were stopped and then driven back from Paris. The plan for a swift defeat of the French army failed. The war on the Western Front became protracted.

In February 1916 the German command launched the largest-scale offensive operation, trying to capture the strategically important French fortress Verdun... However, despite colossal efforts and huge losses, German troops were never able to take Verdun. The Anglo-French command tried to use the current situation, which undertook a major offensive in the summer of 1916. Somme operation, where they first tried to seize the initiative from the Germans.

However, in April 1917, when the United States entered the war on the side of the Entente, the situation became more favorable for Germany's opponents. The involvement of the United States in the military efforts of the Entente guaranteed that troops a reliable advantage in terms of material and technical supplies. Realizing that time was working against them, the Germans in March-July 1918 made several desperate attempts to bring about a turning point in the course of hostilities on the Western Front. At the cost of huge losses that completely depleted the German army, she managed to approach Paris at a distance of about 70 km.

On July 18, 1918, the Allies launched a powerful counteroffensive. November 11, 1918 Germany surrendered. Peace treaty was signed at the Palace of Versailles June 28, 1919... Under the terms of the treaty, France received Alsace, Lorraine, Saar coal basin.

Interwar period.

France was at the height of its power. She completely defeated her mortal enemy, she had no serious opponents on the continent, and in those days hardly anyone could have imagined that after just over two decades the Third Republic would collapse like a house of cards. What happened, why France not only failed to consolidate its very real success, but as a result suffered the largest national catastrophe in the history of France?

Yes, France won a victory in the war, but this success cost the French people dearly. Every fifth inhabitant of the country (8.5 million people) was mobilized into the army, 1 million 300 thousand French were killed, 2.8 million people were injured, of which 600 thousand were disabled.

A third of France, where the fighting took place, was seriously destroyed, and it was there that the main industrial potential of the country was concentrated. The franc has depreciated 5 times, and France itself owes the United States a huge amount - more than $ 4 billion.

In society, there were fierce disputes between a wide range of leftist forces and the nationalists in power, led by Prime Minister Clemenceau, about how and how to solve the numerous internal problems... The socialists believed that it was necessary to move towards building a more just society, only in this case all the sacrifices that were brought on the altar of victory would be justified. To do this, it is necessary to more evenly distribute the hardships of the recovery period, alleviate the situation of the poor, take control of the state key sectors of the economy so that they work for the whole of society, and not to enrich a narrow clan of the financial oligarchy.

Nationalists of the most varied colors were united by a common idea - Germany must pay for everything! The implementation of this directive does not require reforms, which will inevitably split society, but its consolidation around the idea of a strong France.

In January 1922, the government was headed by Raymond Poincaré, who had established himself as a fierce enemy of Germany even before the war. Poincaré said that the main task of the current moment is to collect reparations from Germany in full. However, it was impossible to put this slogan into practice. Poincaré himself became convinced of this after a few months. Then, after some hesitation, he decided to occupy the Ruhr area, which was done in January 1923.

However, the consequences of this step turned out to be very different than Pankare expected. There was no money coming from Germany - they got used to it, but now coal also stopped coming, which hurt French industry. Inflation has intensified. Under pressure from the United States and Britain, France was forced to withdraw its troops from Germany. The failure of this adventure caused a regrouping of political forces in France.

Parliamentary elections in May 1924 brought success to the Left Bloc. The leader of the radicals became the head of government E. Errio... First of all, he sharply changed the country's foreign policy. France established diplomatic relations with the USSR and began to establish contacts with the country in various fields. But the implementation of the internal political program of the Left Bloc provoked active resistance from conservative forces. An attempt to introduce a progressive income tax was failed, which threatened the entire financial policy of the government. The largest banks in France also entered into confrontation with the prime minister. In the most radical party, he had many opponents. As a result, on April 10, 1925, the Senate condemned the government's financial policy. Herriot resigned.

This was followed by a period of government leapfrog - five governments were replaced in a year. Under such conditions, the implementation of the Left Bloc's program proved to be impossible. In the summer of 1926, the Left Bloc disintegrated.

The new "government of national unity", which included both representatives of the right-wing parties and radicals, was headed by Raymond Poincaré.

Poincaré declared the fight against inflation as his main task.

State expenditures were significantly reduced by reducing the bureaucratic apparatus, new taxes were introduced and at the same time large benefits were provided to entrepreneurs. From 1926 to 1929 France had a deficit-free budget. The Poincare government managed to bring down inflation, stabilize the franc, and stop the rise in the cost of living. The social activity of the state intensified, benefits for the unemployed were introduced (1926), old-age pensions, as well as benefits for sickness, disability, pregnancy (1928). Not surprisingly, the prestige of Poincaré and the parties supporting him has grown.

In this situation, the next parliamentary elections were held in 1928. As expected, the right-wing parties won the majority of the seats in the new parliament. The successes of the right-wingers were largely based on Poincaré's personal prestige, but in the summer of 1929 he fell seriously ill and was forced to leave his post and politics in general.

The third republic was again seriously feverish: from 1929 to 1932. 8 governments were replaced. All were dominated by right-wing parties, which had new leaders - A. Tardieu and P. Laval. However, none of these governments could stop the slide of the French economy downhill.

In such an environment, France approached the next parliamentary elections in May 1932, which was won by the newly re-established Left Bloc. The government was headed by E. Errio. He immediately faced a complex of problems generated by the global economic crisis. Every day the budget deficit increased, and the government faced the question more and more acutely: where to get the money? Herriot was against the plans of the nationalization of a number of industries and the introduction of additional taxes on big business, advocated by the communists and socialists. In December 1932, the Chamber of Deputies withdrew his proposal to continue paying war debts. Herriot's government fell, and the ministerial leapfrog began again, from which France was not only seriously tired, but also seriously suffered.

The positions of those political forces began to strengthen in the country, which believed that democratic institutions had exhausted their capabilities and should be abandoned. In France, these ideas were promoted by a number of pro-fascist organizations, the largest of which were "Action Francaise" and "Battle Crosses". The influence of these organizations among the masses grew rapidly; they had many adherents in the ruling elite, in the army, and in the police. As the crisis intensified, they declared louder and more decisively about the incapacity of the Third Republic and about their readiness to take power.

By the end of January 1932, the fascist organizations achieved the resignation of the government of K. Shotan. However, the government was headed by the hated socialist radical E. Daladier. One of his first steps was to dismiss Chiappa police prefect, known for his fascist sympathies.

The patience of the latter came to an end. On February 6, 1934, more than 40 thousand fascist activists marched to storm the Bourbon Palace, where parliament sat, intending to disperse it. Clashes began with the police, during which 17 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured. They could not capture the palace, but the government they disliked fell. Daladier was replaced by the right-wing radical G. Doumergue. There was a serious shift of forces in favor of the right. The threat of the establishment of a fascist regime really looms over the country.

All this forced the anti-fascist forces, forgetting about their differences, to fight against the fascisation of the country. July 1935 year arose Popular Front, which included communists, socialists, radicals, trade unions and a number of anti-fascist organizations of the French intelligentsia. A test of the effectiveness of the new association was the parliamentary elections held in the spring of 1936 - the Popular Front candidates received 57% of all votes. The formation of the government was entrusted to the leader of the parliamentary faction of socialists L. Blum. Under his chairmanship, negotiations began between trade union representatives and the General Confederation of Employers. Under the terms of the agreements reached, wages increased by an average of 7-15%, collective agreements became binding on all enterprises where it was demanded by trade unions, and, finally, the government pledged to submit to parliament a number of laws on social protection of workers.

In the summer of 1936, parliament with unprecedented speed passed 133 laws that embodied the main provisions of the Popular Front. Among the most important are the law banning the activities of fascist leagues, as well as a series of socio-economic legislation: on a 40-hour working week, on paid vacations, on an increase in the minimum wage, on the organization of public works, on the deferral of payments on debt obligations for small entrepreneurs and about their preferential lending, about the creation of the National Grain Bureau for the purchase of grain from peasants at fixed prices.

In 1937, a tax reform was carried out and additional loans were allocated for the development of science, education, and culture. The French bank was put under state control, the National Society of Railways was created with a mixed capital, in which 51% of the shares belonged to the state, and, finally, a number of military factories were nationalized.

These measures have significantly increased the state budget deficit. Large entrepreneurs sabotaged tax payments and transferred capital abroad. The total amount of capital withdrawn from the French economy was, according to some estimates, 60 billion francs.

By law, only the militarized were prohibited, but not political organizations fascist. Supporters of the fascist idea immediately took advantage of this. "Battle Crosses" were renamed into the French Social Party, "Patriotic Youth" began to be called the Republican National and Social Party, and so on.

Using democratic freedoms, the pro-fascist press launched a campaign of persecution against the Minister of the Interior, the socialist Salangro, who was driven to suicide.

In the summer of 1937, Blum presented to parliament a "financial recovery plan" that would increase indirect taxes, taxes on corporate income and introduce government control over foreign exchange transactions.

After the Senate rejected the plan, Blum decided to resign.

The right-wingers managed to establish in the public consciousness the idea that the deterioration of the situation in the country is directly related to the "irresponsible social experiments" of the Popular Front. The rightists argued that the Popular Front was preparing for the "Bolshevization" of France. Only a sharp turn to the right, a reorientation towards Germany, could save the country from this, the rightists argued. Right-wing leader P. Laval said: "Better Hitler than the Popular Front." This slogan was adopted in 1938 by most of the political establishment of the Third Republic. In the end, it killed her.

In the fall of 1938, the Daladier government, together with England, sanctioned the Munich Agreement, which gave Czechoslovakia to be torn apart by Nazi Germany. Anti-communist sentiments outweighed even the traditional fear of Germany in the eyes of a significant part of French society. In essence, the Munich Agreement opened the way for unleashing a new world war.

One of the first victims of this war was the Third Republic itself. June 14, 1940 German troops entered Paris. Today we can safely say: the path of the German army to Paris began in Munich. The Third Republic paid a terrible price for the short-sighted policies of its leaders.

The insight came too late. Hitler had already completed preparations for a decisive strike on the Western Front. On May 10, 1940, the Germans, bypassing the Maginot defensive line built along the Franco-German border, invaded Belgium and Holland, and from there into Northern France. On the very first day of the offensive, German aviation bombarded the most important airfields on the territory of these countries. The main forces of the French aviation were destroyed. In the Dunkirk area, the 400,000-strong Anglo-French group was surrounded. Only with great difficulty and huge losses was it possible to evacuate its remnants to England. The Germans, meanwhile, were rapidly advancing towards Paris. On June 10, the government fled from Paris to Bordeaux. Paris, declared an "open city", was occupied by the Germans on June 14 without a fight. A few days later, the government was headed Marshal Pétain, who immediately turned to Germany with a request for peace.

Only a few representatives of the bourgeoisie and senior officers opposed the capitulatory policy of the government. Among them was General Charles de Gaulle, who was negotiating military cooperation with Britain at that time in London. In response to his radio address to French servicemen outside the metropolis, many patriots united in the Free France movement to fight for the national revival of their homeland.

June 22, 1940 in the Compiegne forest the act of surrender of France was signed. In order to humiliate France, the Nazis forced her delegates to sign this act in the same carriage in which, in November 1918, Marshal Foch dictated the terms of the armistice to the German delegation. The third republic fell.

Under the terms of the armistice, Germany occupied 2/3 of the territory of France, including Paris. The southern part of France remained formally independent. The small town of Vichy was chosen as the seat of the Peten government, which began to closely cooperate with Germany.

The question arises: why did Hitler decide to at least formally retain a part of France's sovereignty? There was a very pragmatic calculation behind this.

First, in this way he avoided raising the question of the fate of the French colonial empire and the French navy. In the event of the complete elimination of French independence, the Germans would hardly have been able to prevent the sailors from leaving for England and would certainly not have been able to prevent the transfer of the huge French colonial empire and the troops located there under British control.

And so the French Marshal Pétain categorically forbade the fleet and colonial troops to leave their bases.

In addition, the presence of a formally independent France hampered the development of Resistance movement that in the conditions of Hitler's preparation for the jump across the English Channel was very relevant for him.

Petain was proclaimed the sole head of the French state. The French authorities pledged to supply Germany with raw materials, food and labor. The economy of the entire country was brought under German control. The French armed forces were subject to disarmament and demobilization. The Nazis got a huge amount of weapons and military materials.

Hitler later ordered the occupation of southern France, after the French colonial army at its core, contrary to Pétain's orders, went over to the side of the Allies.

The Resistance movement unfolded on the territory of France. On August 19, 1944, French patriots revolted in Paris. When the allied forces approached Paris on August 25, most of the city had already been liberated.

Four years of occupation, aerial bombardment and hostilities caused great damage to France. The economic situation in the country was extremely difficult. The government was headed by General Charles de Gaulle, whom most of the French considered a national hero. One of the most important demands of the majority of the French was to punish the traitor collaborators. Laval was shot, but Petain's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and many lower-ranking traitors eluded retribution.

In October 1945, elections were held to the Constituent Assembly, which was to draft a new constitution. They brought victory to the left-wing forces: the PCF (French Communist Party) received the largest number of votes, the SFIO (French Socialist Party) was slightly inferior to it.

The government is again headed de Gaulle, became his deputy Maurice Torez... The communists also received portfolios of ministers of economy, industrial production, weapons and labor. On the initiative of the communist ministers in 1944-1945. power plants, gas factories, coal mines, aviation and insurance companies, the largest banks, Renault car factories were nationalized. The owners of these factories received a large material reward, with the exception of Louis Renault, who collaborated with the Nazis, who committed suicide. But while Paris was starving, three quarters of the population was malnourished.

A sharp struggle unfolded in the Constituent Assembly over the nature of the future state system. De Gaulle insisted on concentrating power in the hands of the president of the republic and reducing the prerogatives of parliament; bourgeois parties advocated a simple restoration of the 1875 constitution; the communists believed that the new republic should be truly democratic, with a sovereign parliament that expresses the will of the people.

Convinced that with the existing composition of the Constituent Assembly, the adoption of its constitutional draft was impossible, de Gaulle resigned in January 1946. A new three-party government was formed.

After an intense struggle (the first draft of the constitution was rejected in a referendum), the Constituent Assembly developed a second draft, which was approved by popular vote, and the constitution came into force at the end of 1946. France was declared "a single and indivisible secular democratic and social republic" in which the sovereignty belonged to the people.

The preamble contained a number of progressive provisions on the equality of women, on the right of persons persecuted in their homeland for their activities in defense of freedom, to political asylum in France, on the right of all citizens to get work and material security in old age. The Constitution proclaimed the obligation not to wage wars of conquest and not to use force against the freedom of any people, declared the need to nationalize key industries, planning the economy, and participation of workers in the management of enterprises.

Legislative power belonged to the parliament, which consisted of two chambers - the National Assembly and the Council of the Republic. The right to approve the budget, declare war, conclude peace, express confidence or distrust in the government was given to the National Assembly, and the Council of the Republic could only postpone the entry into force of the law.

The President of the Republic was elected for 7 years by both chambers. The president appoints one of the leaders of the party with the largest number of seats in parliament as head of government. The composition and program of the government are approved by the National Assembly.

The Constitution declared the transformation of the French colonial empire into the French Union and proclaimed the equality of all its territories.

The Constitution of the Fourth Republic was progressive, its adoption meant the victory of the democratic forces. However, in the future, many of the freedoms and obligations proclaimed in it turned out to be unfulfilled or were violated.

IN 1946 year began war in Indochina which lasted almost eight years. The French rightfully dubbed the Vietnam War "the dirty war." A movement of supporters of peace developed, which took on a particularly wide scale in France. Workers refused to load weapons to be sent to Vietnam, and 14 million French people signed up to the Stockholm Appeal demanding the prohibition of atomic weapons.

IN 1949 year France joined NATO.

May 1954 France suffered a crushing defeat during Vietnam: surrounded in the area of Dien Bien Phu, the French garrison capitulated. 6 thousand soldiers and officers surrendered. On July 20, 1954, agreements were signed to restore peace in Indochina. The "dirty war" on which France spent an astronomical sum of 3,000 billion francs, having lost several tens of thousands of lives, is over. France also pledged to withdraw its troops from Laos and Cambodia.

On November 1, 1954, France launched a new colonial war - this time against Algeria. Algerians have repeatedly appealed to the French government with a request to grant Algeria at least autonomy, but they invariably received a refusal under the pretext that Algeria was allegedly not a colony, but an organic part of France, its "overseas departments", and therefore could not claim autonomy. Since peaceful methods did not give results, the Algerians rose to an armed struggle.

The uprising grew and soon covered the whole country, the French government was unable to suppress it. Violent rallies and demonstrations that unfolded in Algeria spread to Corsica, the metropolis was under the threat of a civil war or a military coup. June 1, 1958 the National Assembly elected Charles de Gaulle head of government and gave him emergency powers.

De Gaulle began with what he failed to achieve in 1946 - the proclamation of a constitution that would correspond to his political views. The president of the republic gained tremendous power by reducing the prerogatives of parliament. Thus, the president determines the main directions of the country's domestic and foreign policy, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, appoints to all senior positions, starting with the prime minister, can early dissolve the National Assembly and delay the entry into force of laws adopted by parliament. In extraordinary circumstances, the president has the right to take full power into his hands.

Parliament still consists of two chambers - the National Assembly, elected by universal suffrage, and the Senate, which replaced the Council of the Republic. The role of the National Assembly has significantly diminished: the agenda of its sessions is set by the government, their duration is reduced, when discussing the budget, deputies cannot make proposals that would reduce revenues or increase government spending.

The expression of no confidence in the government by the National Assembly is hampered by a number of restrictions. The deputy mandate is incompatible with responsible posts in the government, state apparatus, trade unions and other national organizations.

In a referendum held on September 28, 1958, this constitution was adopted. The Fourth Republic was replaced by the Fifth. Most of the participants in the referendum voted not for the constitution, which many did not even read, but for de Gaulle, hoping that he would be able to revive the greatness of France, end the war in Algeria, government leapfrog, financial crisis, dependence on the United States and parliamentary intrigues.

After MPs and a special electoral college were elected president in December 1958 Fifth Republic General de Gaulle, the process of constitution of the Fifth Republic is over.

The pro-fascist elements hoped that de Gaulle would ban the Communist Party, establish totalitarian regime and, having brought down the military might of France on the Algerian rebels, he will achieve their pacification on the basis of the slogan: "Algeria was and always will be French!"

However, possessing the qualities of a large-scale politician and taking into account the existing balance of power, the president chose a different political course and, in particular, did not go to ban the Communist Party. De Gaulle hoped that he would be able to win over all the French to his side.

The Algerian policy of the Fifth Republic went through several stages. At first, the new government tried to achieve a solution to the Algerian problem from a position of strength, but soon became convinced that these attempts would lead nowhere. The resistance of the Algerians is only growing, the French troops are suffering defeat after defeat, the campaign for granting independence to Algeria is growing in the metropolis, and in the international arena, a broad movement of solidarity with the struggle of the Algerian people entails the isolation of France. Since the continuation of the war could only lead to the complete loss of Algeria, and with it the oil, the French monopolies began to advocate the search for an acceptable compromise. A reflection of this turn was the recognition by de Gaulle of the right of Algeria to self-determination, which gave rise to a number of speeches and terrorist acts on the part of ultra-colonists.

And yet, on March 18, 1962, an agreement was signed in the city of Evian to grant independence to Algeria. In order to avoid new wars, the French government had to grant independence to a number of states in Equatorial and West Africa.

In the fall of 1962, de Gaulle put forward to a referendum a proposal to change the procedure for electing the president of the republic. According to this bill, the president would henceforth be elected not by the electoral college, but by universal suffrage. The reform was aimed at further understanding the authority of the president of the republic and eliminating the last remnants of his dependence on parliament, whose deputies until then had participated in his election.

De Gaulle's proposal was opposed by many parties that had previously supported him. The National Assembly expressed its lack of confidence in the government, which was headed by one of the president's closest associates, Georges Pompidou. In response, de Gaulle dissolved the meeting and called new elections, threatening to resign if his project was rejected.

The referendum supported the president's proposal After the elections, the majority in the National Assembly was retained by the supporters of General de Gaulle. The government was again headed by Georges Pompidou.

In December 1965, elections were held for the president of the republic, who was elected for the first time by universal suffrage. The left-wing forces managed to agree on the nomination of a common candidate. It was the leader of a small left-bourgeois party, François Mitterrand, a member of the Resistance movement, one of the few non-communists who opposed the regime of personal power. In the second round of voting, 75-year-old General de Gaulle was re-elected as president of the republic for the next seven years by a majority of 55% of votes, 45% of voters voted for Mitterrand.

In the field of foreign policy, General de Gaulle sought to ensure the growing role of France in modern world, its transformation into an independent great power, capable of withstanding the competition of other powers in world markets. For this, de Gaulle considered it necessary, first of all, to free himself from American tutelage and to unite continental Western Europe under French hegemony, opposing it to the United States.

At first, he staked on cooperation between France and Germany within the framework of the European Economic Community (EEC, Common Market), hoping that in exchange for political support from France, West Germany would agree to give her a leading role in this organization. It was on this perspective that the rapprochement between France and the FRG, which began in 1958 and was called the Bonn-Paris "axis", was based.

Soon, however, it became obvious that the FRG was not going to cede the first violin in the EEC to France and prefers not to spoil relations with the United States, considering their support to be more significant than from France. The contradictions between the countries intensified. Thus, the FRG advocated the admission of England to the EEC, and de Gaulle vetoed this decision, calling England the "Trojan horse of the United States" (January 1963). There were other contradictions that led to the gradual weakening of the Bonn-Paris axis. Franco-German "friendship", as de Gaulle put it, "faded like a rose," and he began to look for other ways to strengthen France's foreign policy positions. These new paths were expressed in rapprochement with the countries of Eastern Europe, above all with the Soviet Union, and in supporting the course of easing international tension, which de Gaulle had previously disapproved of.

In February 1966, de Gaulle decided to withdraw France from the military organization of the North Atlantic bloc. This meant the withdrawal of French troops from NATO command, the evacuation from French territory of all foreign troops, NATO headquarters, warehouses, air bases, etc., the refusal to finance NATO military activities. By April 1, 1967, all these measures were implemented, despite protests and pressure from the United States, France remained only a member of the political union.

In the internal life of the country, contradictions were brewing for many years, which resulted in May-June 1968 in one of the most massive popular movements in the entire history of the country.

The first to speak were students demanding a radical restructuring of the higher education system. The fact is that during the 1950s and 1960s there was a rapid growth in the number of students, but higher education turned out to be unprepared for such an increase. There was a shortage of teachers, classrooms, dormitories, libraries, funds for higher education were scanty, only a fifth of the students received scholarships, so about half of university students were forced to work.

The teaching system has hardly changed since the 19th century - often professors read not what life and the level of science demanded, but what they knew.

On May 3, 1968, the police summoned by the rector of the Sorbonne broke up a student rally and arrested large group its participants. In response, the students went on strike. On May 7, a massive demonstration demanding the immediate release of those arrested, the removal of the police from the university and the resumption of classes was attacked by large police forces - on that day more than 800 people were injured and about 500 were arrested. The Sorbonne was closed, in protest, students began to erect barricades in the Latin Quarter. On May 11, there was a new skirmish with the police. Students barricaded themselves in the university building.

The massacre of students sparked outrage throughout the country. On May 13, a general strike of solidarity with the student movement began. From that day on, although student unrest continued for a long time, the initiative of the movement passed into the hands of the workers. The one-day strike developed into a long strike lasting almost four weeks that spread throughout the country. Solidarity with the students was only a pretext for the action of the workers, who had long-standing and much more serious claims to the regime. The strike movement included engineers, technicians, office workers; radio and television workers, employees of some ministries, department store sellers, communications workers, and bank officials were on strike. The total number of strikers has reached 10 million.

As a result, by mid-June, the strikers had achieved almost all of their demands: the minimum wage was doubled, the working week was reduced, benefits and pensions were increased, collective agreements with employers were revised in the interests of workers, the rights of trade unions at enterprises were recognized, student self-government was introduced. in higher educational institutions, etc.

Contrary to the hopes of the government and businessmen, the 1968 concessions did not diminish the class struggle. From May 1968 to March 1969, the cost of living increased by 6%, which greatly depreciated the gains of the working people. In this regard, workers continued to fight for tax cuts, wage increases, and the introduction of a flexible wage scale that would automatically increase as prices rose. On March 11, 1969, a mass general strike took place, and anti-government demonstrations took place in Paris and other cities.

In this situation, Chal de Gaulle called for a referendum on April 27 on two bills - on the reform of the administrative structure of France and the reorganization of the Senate. The government had the opportunity to put them into effect without a referendum, through a parliamentary majority obedient to his will, but de Gaulle decided to test the strength of his power, threatening that in the event of a negative outcome of the referendum, he would resign.

As a result, 52.4% of the referendum participants spoke out against the draft laws. On the same day, General Charles de Gaulle resigned, no longer took any part in political life, and on November 9, 1970, he died at the age of 80.

General de Gaulle was undoubtedly an outstanding political figure and had many services to France. He played an important role in the fight against fascism during the Second World War, contributed to the revival of France in the first post-war years, and after his second coming to power in 1958, he achieved the strengthening of the country's independence and increasing its international prestige.

But over the years the number of the French supporting him steadily fell, de Gaulle could not come to terms with this. He understood that the results of the April 1969 referendum were a direct consequence of the May-June events of 1968, and he had the courage to step down as President of the French Republic, in which he had the right to remain until December 1972.

The election of a new president was set for July 1. During the second round, won Georges Pompidou, candidate from the parties of the government coalition.

The new president of the republic basically kept de Gaulle's course. Foreign policy has hardly changed. Pompidou rejected US attempts to return France to NATO and actively opposed many aspects of American policy. However, Pompidou removed his objections to the admission of England to the Common Market.

In April 1974, the president of the republic, Georges Pompidou, suddenly died, and early presidential elections were held in May. The leader of the government party "Federation of Independent Republicans" won the second round Valerie Giscard d'Estaing... This was the first non-Gaullist president of the Fifth Republic, but since the majority in the National Assembly belonged to the Gaullists, he had to appoint a representative of this party as prime minister. Jacques Chirac.

Valerie Giscard d'Estaing's reforms include: lowering the voting age to 18, decentralizing radio and television management, raising pensions for the elderly, and easing the divorce procedure.

In relation to the United States, the President insistently emphasized that France is a reliable ally of the United States. France stopped opposing the prospect of political unification of Western Europe, agreed to participate in the 1978 elections to the European Parliament, giving it supranational prerogatives. For the sake of rapprochement with the FRG, it was decided to abandon the celebration of Victory Day over Nazi Germany, which caused violent public protests. However, this decision did not weaken the Franco-German contradictions.

From the Carolinian Empire in the Middle Ages, the "Kingdom of France" stands out. The Middle Ages brought decentralization to the country. The power of princes in the XI century reaches its climax. In 987, the Capetian dynasty was founded by Hugo Capet. Capetian rule opens the gates for religious wars. The king's vassals seize territories outside France. The most significant was the Norman conquest of England by William I the Conqueror. The Battle of Hastings was immortalized in the Bayeux tapestry.

Philip II Augustus (1180-1223) does a lot for his country. Thanks to Philip II, the University of Paris is founded, the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral continues. He begins the construction of the Louvre. At the time of Philip, it was a fortress castle.

At the end of the 12th century, the French economy slowly began to rise, industry was developing, and power was being centralized, which allowed the country to defeat England and complete the unification of its lands. In the 12-13th centuries, a number of architectural structures were built that became national monuments of France. One of them, Reims Cathedral, is a prime example of Gothic architecture. In 1239, Saint Louis brought the Crown of Thorns from Venice. The Saint-Chapelle chapel is being built to store this relic.

With the death of the last descendant of the Capetian, a conflict ensued between the houses of Valois and the Plantagenets for succession to the throne.

The family of Valois enthroned of the French Empire (1328-1589)

During this period, the country's military operations took center stage. The Hundred Years War begins. After the death of Charles IV, King Edward III of England decides to seize the French throne by force. France is a loser: the battle of Poitiers deprives the country of the color of chivalry, King John the Good is taken prisoner.

France has reached a dead end: there is no army, no king, no money. The entire burden of the situation that has arisen falls on the shoulders of ordinary Frenchmen. The people revolted: Paris, Jacqueria is revolting. The outrage was suppressed. The British decide to take Orleans to open the way to the south of France.

The Virgin of Orleans, Jeanne D'Arc, leads the French army and defeats the English at Orleans in 1429. She persuaded the Dauphin to undergo the coronation ceremony in the cathedral in the Rhine under the name of Charles VII. After 2 years in Rouen, Jeanne dies at the stake in torment. not one architectural structure of this courageous girl. For example, the statue of Jeanne is located in the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, which is located on the hill of Montmartre.

Only in 1453 did the confrontation of the dynasties end with the victory of Valois, which strengthened the French monarchy. The struggle between the two powers for territory and the throne lasted for a long and painful 116 years. France becomes a colonial empire, powerful and powerful. In the second half of the 18th century, the country will lose its positions on all counts.

From Louis to Louis

Until then, in XV - XVII centuries kings replace each other, ruling the country according to their capabilities and abilities. Under Louis XI (1461-1483), the country expanded its territory, science and art flourished, medicine developed, and the post office started working again. It is he who makes the famous and formidable dungeon out of the fortress - the Bastille.

He was replaced by Louis XII (1498-1515), then Francis I (1515-1547) held the reins of government. Under him, a beautiful Renaissance palace was built in the vicinity of Fonteblo. Soon the palace was overgrown with structures around it, and a whole city was formed. The palace is decorated with three gardens: the Great Parterre, the English Garden and Diana's Garden.

The next ruler of the country was Henry II (1547-1559), famous for increasing taxes. His life ended in the Place des Vosges during a tournament in 1559.

Under his son, Francis II, the Huguenots are protesting against taxation. The reign of Charles IX (1560-1574) plunges the country into religious wars. In fact, power was in the hands of Catherine de Medici (it was she who became one of the mistresses of the "Ladies' Castle" - the Chenonceau castle on the Cher River), under which Catholics and Protestants had already openly expressed their intransigence towards each other.

Ten wars have passed in three decades. The most terrible page in them was St. Bartholomew's night from 23 to 24 August 1572, the mass extermination of the Huguenots on the day of St. Bartholomew. One of the best historical television series is “Queen Margot”, which shows these events in a colorful and authentic way.

Geography

During the years of the Great French Revolution, the borders of the territory of the French state almost reached the size of modern France. The process of territorial expansion was completed later in the 19th century after the annexation Duchy of Savoy and County of Nice(originally, in the era First Empire, and then finally, in 1860), as well as some small papal regions (for example, Avignon) and foreign possessions. Of course, the territory of France was significantly expanded during the military campaigns of Napoleon I, but following the results of the Congress of Vienna, the borders of European states were restored again. France, after its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, ceded its province to Germany Alsace and part of the province Lorraine(see Alsace-Lorraine); these lost regions will return to France only after the end of the First World War.

Originality

Thanks to the military, social and educational policies pursued during the period Third republic, by 1914 the French people had transformed (in the words of the historian Eugene Weber) from "provincial peasants into the French nation". (Weber, E., 1979) By 1914, most French people read in French, and regional languages were aggressively suppressed; the role of the Catholic Church in public life has changed radically; awareness and pride in national identity was actively cultivated. The anticlericalism inherent in the Third Republic fundamentally changed the religious lifestyle of the French: in a case study regarding the city of Limoges, when comparing indicators for 1899 and 1914, it was found that the number of citizens who passed sacrament of baptism decreased from 98% to 60%, and the number of families living in civil marriage before him official registration, increased from 14% to 60%. However, the extermination of regional characteristics and anti-clerical character Third republic, will have negative consequences for France in the second half of the 20th century.

Historical periods

Great French Revolution (1789-1792)

First French Republic (1792-1799)

The execution of Louis XVI on the Place de la Concorde in front of the pedestal where the statue of his grandfather Louis XV used to be.

On January 17, 1793, the king was accused of conspiracy against "freedom of the nation and an attempt on the security of the state", was found guilty and sentenced to death by a small majority of votes in the Convention. On January 21, 1793, the king was beheaded. This event caused a hostile reaction from Great Britain and France declared war on her and the Netherlands.

The first half of 1793 brought a series of setbacks - French troops were driven out of Germany and the Austrian Netherlands. In such a situation, prices began to rise in France, riots of sansculottes (poor laborers and radical Jacobins) began; counterrevolutionary protests began in some regions. The Jacobins, inspired by these events, seized power through a parliamentary coup; their actions against the Girondins faction were supported by force thanks to the mobilization of society, in addition to this, they had the Parisian sansculottes... The current center of the new government was formed by an alliance of the Jacobins and sansculottes... Their policies have become much more radical. The new government announced a "universal mobilization" - all physically fit men over 18 years of age were drafted into military service. Thanks to this, the number of the French army far exceeded the number of the rival armies and, soon, a turning point came during the war.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1792)

According to the new constitution, a new executive body was established - Directory and for the first time in the history of France a bicameral parliament was formed. The new government was noticeably more conservative, it was dominated by the bourgeoisie, which sought to restore order and eliminate the sans-culottes and other lower classes of the population from political life. In 1795, France again took possession of the Austrian Netherlands and the left bank of the Rhine, incorporating them into French territory. Spain and the Republic of the Netherlands were defeated and became satellites of France. At sea, however, the French navy could not resist the British and in June 1794 suffered a crushing defeat off the coast of Ireland.

Restoration of the monarchy (1814-1830)

Louis XVIII was reinstated a second time on the French throne by the allied countries in 1815, and after that two decades of wars in Europe ended. The king was forced to approve at least the most important principles French revolution and ruled like a constitutionally limited monarch. The peace treaty after the 100-day rule of Napoleon was much more severe for France this time. France, under its terms, returned to the borders of 1789 and was obliged to pay an indemnity. Allied troops remained in France until the end of all payments. A very large-scale purge was undertaken in the government and the military with the aim of expelling Bonapartists and a short period white terror led to 300 victims in the south of France.

Despite the return to power of the Bourbon dynasty, France has changed a lot compared to the era Of the old order... Politics equality and liberalism the revolutionary period remained a significant force and the restoration of the unlimited monarchy and hierarchy of the past era was no longer possible in full. The economic changes that began long before the revolution and continued during the years of riots were firmly consolidated in 1815. These changes contributed to the transfer of leadership from titled landowners on the city dwellers... Administrative reform of Napoleon, such as the Napoleonic Code, as well as an efficient bureaucratic apparatus, also remained in place. These changes led to the emergence of a uniform central government, which was not corrupted from a financial point of view and held much stronger control over all areas of French life; and this is a significant difference from the situation in which the Bourbons faced the revolution.

Nevertheless, in the early years of his reign, Louis-Philippe made an attempt at a comprehensive and reasonable reform of his government. The legal foundations for his government were laid in the Charter of 1830, written by reformist-minded deputies in the lower house of parliament. The main principles laid down in the charter were the equality of religions, the restoration of the National Guard to protect the civilian population, reform of the electoral system, reform of the peerage system and the weakening of royal powers. And in fact, Louis-Philippe and his ministers pursued a policy of strengthening the basic provisions of the constitution. However, most of these political measures were veiled attempts to strengthen the power of the government and the bourgeoisie, instead of legitimately strengthening equality and expanding the rights of the broad mass of the French people. Therefore, despite the apparent movement of the July Monarchy in the direction of reform, such a movement was for the most part deceptive and feigned.

During the July Monarchy, the number of citizens with an electoral vote roughly doubled, from 94,000 under Charles X to over 200,000 in 1848. However, this number was only about 1% of the country's population, and only the wealthiest citizens who pay taxes to the treasury were vested with the right to vote. In addition to simply increasing the presence of the bourgeoisie in the House of Representatives of Parliament, this development of the electoral system made it possible for the bourgeoisie to oppose the aristocracy at the legislative level. Thus, while maintaining a visible commitment to his public vow to increase public participation in elections, Louis-Philippe actually increased the influence of his followers and increased their control over the French parliament. Including only the wealthiest citizens in the process, among other things, weakened any opportunity for radical factions in parliament to grow.

Updated Charter of 1830 limited the power of the king - depriving him of the opportunity to submit and approve bills, and also limited his executive powers. but King of the french sincerely believed that the king, even in the new monarchy, is something more than a nominal head in an elected parliament, and therefore he was quite active in the political life of the country. One of the first decisions of Louis Philippe in the process of forming his cabinet was the appointment of the Conservative Prime Minister Casimir Perier. Perrier, who was a banker, made a decisive contribution to the end of the work of many secret societies Republicans and trade unions that were formed in the early years of the regime. In addition, he supervised the section National Guard after she began to support radical political movements. Of course, all these steps were taken by him with the approval of the king. He once said that many believed that the suffering of the French was caused by the past revolution. "No monsieur," he said to another minister, "there was no revolution: there was just a change of head of state."

Francois Guizot

In the future, the conservative direction of politics strengthened even more, first under the leadership of Perrier, and then the Minister of the Interior François Guizot. The ruling regime quite early realized the threat to its policy of non-interference from radicalists and republicans. Therefore, already in 1834, the monarchy outlawed the republicans. Guizot ended the Republican clubs and closed the Republican publications. Perrier, along with his conservative supporters, removed the Republicans, such as the banker Dupont, from the government. Not trusting National Guard, Louis-Philippe increased the size of the army and carried out military reform to ensure the loyalty of the military.

Despite the fact that there have always been two factions in the cabinet - liberal conservatives to which Guizot belonged ( Resistance Party(fr. le parti de la Résistance)), and liberal reformers, to which the journalist Louis Adolphe Thiers ( Party movement(fr. le parti du Mouvement)) - the latter have never been widely known. It is the Guizot leadership that is marked by the massive crackdown on Republicans and dissidents, as well as the connivance policy pursued in the interests of the business community. Among these measures were preferential customs tariffs that protected French businessmen. The Guizot government ceded contracts for the construction of railways and mines to those bourgeois who supported the government and, moreover, made certain initial contributions to these projects. In such a political system, workers did not have the right to meet, organize, or petition the government for higher wages or lower hours. Period July Monarchy under the governments of Perier, Molay and Guizot, it was an unfavorable period for the lower strata of society. Moreover, Guizot advised those who did not have the right to vote under the current legislation, just get rich... The king himself was not particularly popular by the mid-1840s, due to his appearance he was often called crowned pear... During this era, there was a cult of Napoleon's personality and in 1841 his body was transported from Saint Helena islands to France, where he was reburied with great honors.

Louis Philippe pursued a pacifist foreign policy. Shortly after his coming to power in 1830, Belgium rebelled against Dutch rule and declared its independence. The king abandoned plans to invade there, as well as any kind of military action outside France. The only exception was the war in Algeria, started by Charles X a few weeks before his overthrow under the pretext of fighting pirates in the Mediterranean. The government of Louis Philippe decided to continue the conquest of this country, which took almost 10 years. By 1848, Algeria was declared an integral part of France.

Revolution of 1848

The revolution in France brought together classes of society with diametrically opposed interests: the bourgeoisie strove for reform electoral system(democratic republic), the leaders of the socialists (for example, Louis Blanc, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, as well as the left radical Louis Auguste Blanqui) sought labor rights and creating National workshops(a republic with social security) and for France to contribute to the liberation of the oppressed peoples of Europe (Poles and Italians), while the centrists (for example, the aristocrat Alphonse de Lamartine) sought a compromise position. Tensions grew between these factions and, beginning in June 1848, a working-class uprising in Paris claimed 1,500 lives and dispelled the dream of a social security constitution once and for all.

Second Republic (1848-1852)

The Constitution of the Second Republic, adopted in 1848, turned out to be extremely imperfect, since it did not allow effectively resolving differences between President of the Republic and The National Assembly... In December 1848, Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected President of the Republic, who later, in 1851, carried out a coup d'état, justifying his actions by the existing dead-end legislation. Ultimately, in 1852, he proclaimed himself Emperor of the Second Empire by Napoleon III.

Second Empire (1852-1870)

Emperor Napoleon III ruled France from 1852 to 1870. In the early years, his reign was authoritarian, and freedom of speech and assembly was severely restricted. During this period in France there was a significant development of industry, a general economic upturn and an increase in urbanization (noteworthy is the grandiose reconstruction of Paris, carried out by Baron Haussmann), but the foreign policy of Napoleon III had disastrous consequences.

As the French became fed up with the oppressive, authoritarian style of government of the 1860s, public opinion became the dominant force. Napoleon III, who had expressed certain liberal ideas before his coronation, at first weakened censorship, laws on public meetings and strikes. As a result, the growth of radical sentiments among the proletariat began to be observed. Dissatisfaction with the high rate of expansion grew Second Empire as the economy began to feel downturn. The happy time of the 1850s is over. The adventurous policies of Napoleon increasingly served as a pretext for criticism. Hoping to appease the liberals, Napoleon proposed a full parliamentary regime in 1870, a proposal that won widespread support among the French. However, the Emperor of France did not have the opportunity to implement this proposal - by the end of the same year Second empire fell apart in disgrace.

Napoleon was overwhelmingly preoccupied with the campaign in Mexico, and this prevented him from entering the Danish War of 1864 and the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866. Both of these conflicts have made Prussia the most powerful force in Germany. After that, tensions began to grow between France and Prussia, especially after in 1868 Prussia tried to erect a prince from the Hohenzollern dynasty on Spanish throne who became free after the revolutionary events.

Third Republic (1870-1940) before 1920

The commune began with an uprising by the Parisians shortly after the blockade of Paris in September 1870; it existed from March 18, 1871 to May 28, 1871. Adolphe Thiers angered the townspeople by allowing the Prussian army to stage a military parade in Paris on February 17, 1871, and on March 18, hoping to strengthen the influence of his government and weaken the position of the command of the National Guard, he ordered French regular troops to seize the artillery stationed in Montmartre. Many French soldiers supported National Guard and refused to obey the order, joining with the guards in the uprising. Seeing that he was losing control of the situation, Thiers withdrew from Paris regular troops, police forces and officials to Versailles and left the city himself, accompanied by his loyal supporters.

The flag of the Paris Commune became Red flag socialists instead of tricolor moderate republicans (in the era of the Second Republic in 1848, radical movements that supported the socialists who opposed the government of moderate republicans already raised the red flag). In only three months of its existence Commune approved the adoption of many social laws, among which:

exemption of city dwellers from rent for the entire period of the siege of Paris (after the start of the blockade, many homeowners significantly raised its size)
the abolition of work at night in the bakeries of Paris, of which there were hundreds
abolition of guillotine executions
payment of pension lonely companions members of the National Guard killed in the fighting, as well as their children
free return by state pawnshops of any tools of labor pledged by workers during the siege of the city
deferral of payment

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