French Political System: Difference between revisions

* Napoleon, deciding that being First Consul really didn't suit him, had himself declared Emperor of the French in 1804 <ref>(he did not, however, snatch his crown from the Pope’s hands - that’s apocryphal)</ref>, thus inaugurating the '''First Empire''' (again, they didn't call it that at the time). He set about conquering Europe. The other European powers ganged up on him in various ways, with limited success. But, beginning with his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, he overextended himself militarily, and was defeated and forced to abdicate in 1814. Exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba (as its ruler), he escaped back to France and raised another army, a period known as "The Hundred Days" <ref>(not completely accurate, but close enough)</ref>. Defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, he was exiled, rather more permanently, to the remote Atlantic island of St. Helena.

* After Napoleon was safely out of everyone's way, Louis XVI's brother, also named Louis, took the throne as Louis XVIII of France<ref> their full, non-regnal names were Louis-Auguste (XVI) and Louis Stanislas Xavier (XVIII); Louis ''XVII'' was Louis XVI’s 8-year-old son Louis-Charles, who was considered to have inherited the title at his father’s death, though he was never crowned or anointed, and died aged 10, a prisoner of the Republic</ref>. This period is thus known as the '''Restauration.''' Louis XVIII reigned fairly uneventfully, leaving the throne to his other brother, Charles X. <ref>Born Charles Philippe, since you asked.</ref> The monarchy under the Restoration was more or less constitutional, but the king wielded great power, and Charles in particular longed for the might of Louis XIV; at the very least, he wanted to be rid of the pesky parliamentarians and their elections.

* After eighteen years, however, many of the king's middle-class, liberal supporters began to chafe at the slow pace of reform under Louis-Philippe. In February 1848, revolution broke out, Louis-Philippe abdicated, and the '''Second Republic''' was proclaimed. Its first elected president was Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon's [[Obfuscating Stupidity|seemingly-inept]] nephew. Through clever manipulation of plebiscites, he managed to get hold of absolute power.

* Flush with victory and a spirit rather like his uncle's, Louis-Napoleon proclaimed the '''Second Empire''' in 1852, declaring himself "Napoleon III" (on the theory that Napoleon's infant son had become "Napoleon II" after Uncle Nap's abdication <ref>Napoleon had formally declared his son to be this, and demanded recognition of this as a condition of his surrender and abdication, but was refused and forced to surrender unconditionally, renouncing all his descendants' right to rule</ref>). In 1870, Napoleon fell into a trap and at war with [[Magnificent Bastard|Otto von Bismarck]]'s [[Prussia]]. Briefly put, the Prussians, commanding several other German states as well, roundly kicked France's ass, leading "Napoleon III" to run off to England. Bismarck declared the [[Imperial Germany|German Empire]] at the Palace of Versailles, and annexed Alsace-Lorraine. Paris was taken over by leftists in an episode known as the Paris Commune, but they were bloodily crushed after 70 days <ref>The Commune is pretty much the first actual application of Socialism, during which the song ''L'Internationale'' was written. As brief as it was, some modern leftwing parties such as the Left Front still attach a great importance to it.</ref>. But by the end of 1871, the time had come for a stable government, leading to...

* '''Charles de Gaulle''' (1959-1969): As a general, he became the chief of the Free French Forces during [[World War 2]] after the fall of France. Talked on British radio on June 18th 1940 about fighting on. Needless to say, he became a hero of [[La Résistance]]. Became President due to his being rock-like and firm in the face of the [[The French Colonial Empire|Algerian War]], although it turned out that he wasn't firm and rock-like the way his supporters wanted, and in fact gave Algeria its independence. [[Useful Notes/Canada|Canadians]] remember him best for his infamous "Vive le Quebec libre!" comment at Expo 67 in [[Montreal]], which emboldened Quebec separatists and [[Berserk Button|pissed off]] English Canadians to no end. Despite his charisma and popularity, he was seen more and more as dictator-like as his term went on, and was considered way too conservative for the France of [[The Sixties]] - May 1968 will attest as much. He managed to survive the May 1968 revolt by calling a snap election where his party won a crushing majority, but [[But Now I Must Go|quit]] after a referendum on reforming the Senate and administrative divisions was overwhelmingly defeated, because he had promised to resign if it failed. He is still seen as one of the greatest Frenchmen of all time. Famously depicted as very tall, with a big nose, wearing a military uniform with the trademark [[Nice Hat|two-starred kepi]] and forming a "V" with his raised arms.

[[File:Pompidou_9733.jpg|frame]]

** Another thing he is associated with is the Pompidou Center, or "Beaubourg", a modern art museum with a... [http://www.mackoo.com/Paris/images/IMGP2840.jpg remarkable (and controversial) architecture]. It started a tradition among presidents to create a cultural monument: The Louvre Pyramid for Mitterrand and the ''Quai Branly'' Museum for Chirac.

[[File:Giscard_391.jpg|frame]]

[[Category:Useful Notes/France]]

[[Category:French Political System]]