Political Struggles in France

Political Struggles in France

Mr. McLaughlin

Congress of Vienna

• Places Louis XVIII on the throne• Ultra royalist- conservatives

aristocrats who wanted the establish the old order

• ABSOLUTE RULE

Revolt in France

• Charles X becomes King after Louis XVIII• He tries to pass an act to repay Aristocrats

for lands lost in the French Revolution• This is an unpopular act

The legislative assembly becomes more liberal due to elections

The July Ordinances

• Charles issues in response to the legislative assembly

• The ordinances abolish freedom of the press

• Restricts voting rights

The Papers call for a Rebellion

• July 27th, 1830—Angry Parisians storm the streets

• By July 29th—”3 Glorious Days”• Revolutionaries force Charles X to give up

his rights as monarch and abdicate the throne

• He flees to Great Britain

Louis Philippe

• Cousin of Charles accepts the throne• Becomes known as the Citizen-King• He dressed and acted like a middle-class

person• He supported the wealthy• People began to demand political reforms

– Especially in voting rights

Citizen-King

• Louis Philippe refused• People appealed to the Prime Minister

Francois Guizot (Gee-Zoh)

Revolt of 1848

• In 1848 a political banquet was held• Guizot tries to cancel it—too late• Louis Philippe calls in the troops• The troops sympathized w/the rebels and

join them• Louis Philippe fearing—abdicates and flees

to Great Britain

The Second Empire

• France is now claiming to be a Republic• Now want a President• Extend Voting Rights to all males• Only briefly do the French enjoy the

freedoms of the 1848 Revolt

The Rise of Louis Napoleon

Presidential Elections of 1848• Louis Napoleon is the nephew of Napoleon

Bonaparte• Won overwhelmingly• Presented himself as a reformer but really

wants to establish himself as Emperor• Gained the confidence of the Army,

Church, middle class and peasants

• Support of Catholics created an uproar in Paris

• Louis Napoleon uses this to show that the Republic doesn’t work

• National Assembly restricted people due to the violence in Paris

• Louis Napoleon uses this to his advantage• Revoked voting Rts. Of 1/3rd of the people

Coup d’etat

• Dec. 2, 1851 Louis Napoleon quickly seizes power

• He dissolves the National Assembly• Arrest 70 of his opponents• He reestablishes voting Rts. For all French

men (This makes him popular)• He calls for a plebiscite (National Vote)

• This gives him the right to create a new Constitution

• 2nd Plebiscite vote on the constitution• 95% in favor of the new constitution

that turns France from a Republic to a Heritary Empire

• 1852-----Louis Napoleon becomes Napoleon III of France

Results

• He does have successful economic programs

• Built new railroads and roads• Restricted press and civil liberties

The Crimean War

France and Britainvs

Russia

• Fighting over the Ottoman Empire• Over who would protect Christians

visiting the Holy sites in the Ottoman Empire

• Ottoman’s pick the French• Czar Nicholas I upset—tries to

extend Russian territories by expanding on the Ottoman’s land in the Balkans

The Balkans

• France/G. Britain want to protect their trading resources in the Ottoman Empire—Middle East

• Ottoman’s declare war on Russia in 1854• France, G.B. and Sardinia (small Italian

kingdom)• Most fighting takes place on the Crimean

Peninsula (just into the Black Sea from the Southern Ukraine)

• 1854-1855 Winter Hits• Armies battled: cold, violent storms,

cholera, frostbite and other diseases• Diseases caused more deaths than actual

fighting• 1855 British troops capture Sebastopol (port

town)• Russia is forced to make peace• 1856 Crimean War Ends

Crimean Peninsula

End of an Empire

• Napoleon III declares war on Prussia (July 19, 1870)

• He fears their growing power• Known as the Franco-Prussian War• French defeated in just over 6 weeks• Prussia wins at Sedan and take Napoleon III

as a prisoner (Sept. 2)

• The Empire collapses (Why?)• Prussia occupies France for 4

months before a truce is signed.

Peace with Prussia

• French elected a new National Assembly• Surrendered the provinces of Alsace and

Lorraine• Pay 5 billion francs (1billion U.S. dollars)• Prussia staged a victory march through

Paris---humiliating to the French

The New National Assembly

• Reinstated the rents of Parisian (suspended due to Prussian occupation)

• Stop paying the National Guard—Many Parisians are in

• This leads to Civil Unrest

The Commune of Paris

• During the revolt the workers established a Socialist Government known as The Commune of Paris

• Refuse to recognize the National Assembly• Called for France to become a decentralized

federation of independent cities• Declared war on propertied owning class

and church

• Introduced a new 10 hour workday• National Assembly fought back with the

army—in Paris• The commune burned public buildings

Bloody Week

• May 1871• During the week, the military arrested over

40,000 people• More than 20,000 killed• The Commune falls

The Third Republic

• 1875—New Constitution makes France a Republic again

• Provides for a 2 house legislature• The 2 houses elect a president• Every official act needed the support of

both houses• Cabinet of Ministers were responsible for

gov’t policy

• A new post is made• Premier• He was to handle all the executive

business

Threats to the Republic

• General Georges Boulanger (Boo-lahn-ZHAY)

• Hero-wanted France to seek revenge against Prussia

• Elections held in 1888 – prevailing attitude: Royalist support him and oppose the Republic

• He is urged (1889) to overthrow the Republic—Coup de’tat

• Gov’t tries to arrest him for treason• He flees to Belgium• The movement collapses w/o its leader

Panama Canal

• 1890’s France is trying to build the canal• The project fails—thousands of French

stockholders lost money• Scandals of dishonesty and poor

management practices• Gov’t officials are implicated---bribes are

given

Results of the failure of the Canal

• Elections of 1893• Nearly 50 socialists won seats in the

national convention• Socialism is growing in France

The Dreyfus Affair

• Alfred Dreyfus—Jewish military officer was arrested and charged with selling military secrets to the Germans

• Convicted and sentenced to life on Devil’s Island• Prison colony off the coast of South America• Many supporters and family maintained his

innocence

• 1897– evidence pointed to the fact that the evidence was forged

• Supporters demanded a retrial• Gov’t refused• This Affair becomes a national issue and

divided France• Socialist on Dreyfus side

• 1906—Civil Court pardoned Dreyfus• Reinstated him to the French army

• THE REPUBLIC SURVIVES THESE 3 THREATS

• 1905-France separates Church and State